Greg Beaverboy Muich
Bossloper
I was born in 1961 in the historical city of St. Louis Missouri, home
port to our party namesake, Manuel Lisa, and home of his final resting place. It
was along the banks of the Mighty Mississippi River that I learned to track and
trap critters. My Grandfathers farm also played a big role in my love of the
great outdoors. His farm was where I saw my first whitetail and hunted my first
game.
At the age of 15 I discovered the wild Missouri River west of St. Louis.
It was on the willow flats and large islands of the Missouri River that I
learned to trap beaver and the fine art of turkey hunting. We camped in Tavern
Cave of fur trade era fame and across the Missouri River from the home of Daniel
Boone. In the evening I watched the sun set on the Missouri and knew like
trappers before me that my destiny lay around the bend of this great river.
After high school a good friend and I planned and took a three month
canoe trip in the Missouri Ozarks. We hunted, trapped and simply survived. But
most importantly, we learned how to become true outdoorsmen. It was a trip I
wouldn’t want to do again at this age but a trip that all young men should
take.
After the canoe trip I migrated to Wyoming with only a backpack, bus
ticket and some cash and worked the oil patch during the oil boom & bust of
the early 80’s. I was thrilled to be a small part of that era. It was in
Wyoming that I truly came to love the open west and became a westerner! I
trapped, hunted and explored historical locations of the fur trade era while
there.
After three years in Wyoming I moved to Montana. My first job here was
coyote skinner for the largest furbuyer in the Rocky Mountains. I learned more
about furs and fur handling in one month there than in the previous ten years on
my own. I eventually became a furbuyer and got to know the best hunters and
trapper in this great state. I bought fur from cowboys, trappers, Hutterites,
hunters and Indians. I found out through fur trade era research and first hand
experience that the fur business has not changed that much over the centuries.
I no longer buy fur but continue to trap. Earnings from beaver I trapped
bought my first flintlock, tipi and other primitive gear I use. I still try to
purchase all my gear with fur money. It makes me appreciate it that much more as
trapping and furhandling is a very demanding job.
When not working I spend my free time enjoying the great outdoors with my
teenaged son. We travel the west exploring new places. I also write a monthly
buckskinning column for the Great Falls Tribune.
I am a Life Member of the Lewis & Clark Honor Guard, Member of the
National Rifle Association, National Trappers Association and the Montana
Trappers Association.
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