Opinions differ and, as mentioned in Part 1 (Sept./Oct. 2007, pg. 60), I’ll temper my own thoughts with advice from consultants Judd Cooney, Ray Driscoll, Kevin Maden, Lyle Rilling, Stan Rodgers and Roger Scheurer, plus the experts at the North American Fur Auction and Fur Harvesters Auction.

All aspects of handling fur are determined by your fur buyer’s needs. Some buyers want unskinned, “in-the-round” animals, and this is a valid option for anyone not in a position to handle furs. For a fee you might hire another hunter, trapper, fur buyer or taxidermist to skin and take care of an animal for you. Some hunters freeze whole animals for later skinning, but this takes a lot of freezer space. If you plan to skin your own animals now, see Part 1 for instructions.

If you skinned your critters in the field, as recommended, you have options. These green pelts can be rolled (fur out) slipped into plastic bags, frozen, and then thawed and finished after the season is over.

Getting Started

When you’re ready, pelts need fleshing, stretching and drying. Although fleshing can be done in the kitchen, for marital harmony, move to the garage. The best place is a separate fur shed equipped with gloves, apron, small-bladed knives, fleshing knives, knife sharpener, rags, fleshing beam, stretchers and a fan. Although contracting diseases from animals is uncommon, prudent fur handlers wear rubber gloves.

Step 2: Fleshing

Fleshing

Fleshing is scraping all meat and fat from a hide to prevent spoilage, although some experienced fur handlers insist that fleshing – especially for beginners – does more harm than good, when dealing with lean species such as coyotes, bobcats and foxes. The most efficient fleshers use a fleshing beam and a fleshing knife. Beams can be purchased although most hunters make their own (see sidebar).

Pelts are fleshed by slipping them over the end of a fleshing beam, holding the pelt in place by pressing your apron-covered belly against the end of the beam, then shaving off the fat and flesh with a fleshing knife. Beginners should seek guidance from an experienced flesher. There is good visual instruction on the DVD “Fur Handling.”

Basically you are pushing the fat and flesh from the hide, and yes, you’ll put a few nicks in the first pelt or two. Fleshing efficiency comes with practice, but here are a few key points: coyotes, red foxes and bobcats require little fleshing; raccoons need a lot. Coyote hides are tougher than fox hides, so can be fleshed harder. Hides are thinner around the neck, so ease up. Take care around any bullet holes or cuts in the hide. Don’t flesh too deeply and expose hair roots. Some hunters re-wash and dry fleshed pelts while others rub the fur down with fine sawdust, cornmeal, paper towels or rags, to remove any grease.

Sew It Up

The hunter now becomes a tailor to sew up bullet holes, cuts, and other hide damage. Use a veterinarian’s surgical needle. It is curved and has a tiny, three-bladed cutting tip, like a miniature bowhunting broadhead. These are easier to push through the hide than ordinary sewing needles. Use nylon thread or dental floss, and sew from the hide side. Use loop stitches, 1/8- to ¼-inch apart.

Step 4: Stretching

You’re now ready to stretch and dry the pelts. Here again, opinions vary regarding the best method. As one example, Groenewold Fur and Wool Company (see sidebar) wants both raccoons and gray foxes dried fur in, while Fur Harvesters Auction says raccoons should be fur in, but foxes fur out; other buyers want all pelts dried fur out. Most want all pelts cased, while some want badgers and raccoons skinned open.

Pelts are dried on stretchers. You can buy wood or wire stretchers, or make your own wooden ones (see sidebar). Roger Scheurer, based on his decades as a professional fur buyer, does not like metal stretchers. Ungalvanized metal stretchers can rust and stain furs. Galvanized stretchers sometimes react with the hide, which at best leaves a mark, and at worst causes the hide to disintegrate when the pelt is tanned. Others use metal stretchers and experience no problems, and appreciate being able to buy uniform frames.

Slip the pelt over the stretcher and adjust it so that the eyes, ears, legs and tail are centered. Pull the pelt down snug lengthwise, but don’t try to stretch it as this thins the fur. Use pushpins to pin the lower end. Spread the tail and pin it open. Some buyers prefer tucking the front legs in, but most prefer the legs out and pinned. Wire stretchers have clips to hold the pelt in place. Give the pelt a final inspection before hanging to dry.

Dry pelts quickly without much added heat. Drying time varies with climate, current weather and a fur shed’s ventilating system. A temperature of 50 to 60 degrees, with low humidity, is ideal. Some fur handlers use dehumidifiers in damp climates, while in dry climates, opening doors and windows awhile each day allows moisture to escape. Fans help everywhere.

Drying is a “hands-on” activity because pelts are dried until the hide no longer feels tacky to the touch, but not too dry to turn. This might take six hours in Nevada or 24 hours in Florida. Check frequently and wipe with dry rags to remove any oils seeping out. Pelts not dried adequately can taint and spoil. Those dried too much are difficult to turn fur side out for final drying.

Once sufficiently dry, the pelt is slipped off the stretcher, reversed so it is fur side out, then replaced on the stretcher, making sure everything is centered.

Step 5: Reverse brushing your pelt will help to fluff the hairs.

The boarded pelt is then hung for a couple of days, up to a week or so, where there is good air circulation. It can then be removed from the stretcher and hung until you sell it.

Make ’Em Pretty

This is also a good time to pretty-up your furs. Brush them out, then reverse-brush to fluff them. For one good example, check the Primos ad on page 11 of the PX Sept./Oct. 2007 issue. Randy Anderson is shown with coyotes that look as if they’ve just come from the beauty parlor. I asked Randy what made those pelts look so nice. He told me that they were heavily furred, cold-weather Saskatchewan coyotes. Too bad for most of us, because nonresident coyote hunters aren’t allowed in Saskatchewan anymore. You can duplicate everything else Randy did, though, such as using a .22/250 with 50-grain V-Max bullets and precise shooting. Each kill had just one small entrance hole, with no hide-blasting exit hole. The furs were back-brushed by hand to fluff them up.

Selling Your Pelts

Each fur buyer has his own requirements, terminology and schedule, so ask, because it’s to his advantage to help you do it right.

There are three general options for selling dried pelts: small buyers, big buyers and auctions. Each option has its own pros and cons, and where you sell your pelts depends on how many animals you kill, how much effort you want to put into handling the furs, and how much you want to dig to find the best buyers.

Smaller buyers are local or regional, and have the advantage of either traveling through periodically, or being within driving distance. Ray Driscoll told me that when he drives to a fur sale, he places “fur wanted” ads in small-town newspapers along his route, then buys on his way to the sale.

The bad news is that small buyers can’t pay as much as larger buyers. Don’t begrudge them this because they have to be able to make a profit when they resell. The upside is convenience. There is no need to ship, and you can accept or reject what the buyer offers. Hunters who produce only a few pelts find this a logical way to go.

Finding good small buyers requires digging. Some states require buyers to be licensed, so a list might be obtained from your state wildlife agency. An Internet search for fur buyers might also reveal some options. For example, and Internet search in my state revealed a buyer 18 miles from home that I didn’t know about.

Larger buyers can pay more, but you have the hassle of shipping, and you might or might not have the option of rejecting the price offered. Those who produce more than a few pelts should consider larger buyers.

The big auctions, such as North American Fur Auctions and Fur Harvesters Auctions probably pay the most, but shipping is involved and you take whatever they sell for, minus a fee.

With the current high prices being paid for predator furs, it pays to give serious consideration to all phases of this fur harvesting/handling/selling business. Remember that furs are graded and bought by eye, so everything you do to present attractive furs is money in your pocket.gh do-it-yourselfers prefer to shape their own, using clear, pitch-free softwood boards, ½-inch thick. The following dimensions are typical, but keep in mind that none are chiseled in granite and should be adjusted for regional size variations, and to match your fur buyer’s preferences.

More:

From BANG to Buck$ Part 1

Fur Markets 

Large Buyers

Groenewold Fur & Wool Co.

815-938-2381

Rocky Mountain Fur Company

208-459-6894

Wiebke Fur Company

507-495-3469 or 608-784-5453

Major Fur Auctions

North American Fur Auctions

416-675-9320

Fur Harvesters Auctions, Inc.

705-495-4688