I use some wires that have been converted work good.

Great info I got a bunch of wire I could bend and put wood in like that. Could you do that for rats the wire is about 3/16 and about right length.

i had alot of coon fall into the xl 27-29 inch that i know could have been in the 2xl by having a streight skirt, so to me that would make it worthwhile to modify some as the picture shows. thanks for the idea!

Wood or wire is a valid question, maybe, when coons are worth a $20 average. In today's market, I doubt it makes a hill of beans worth of difference. My partner and I use wood bottom/wire top stretchers because he insists on it, but when I'm trapping alone or with my wife we put up on wire, and both types of put-ups average within pennies of eaqch other. Wire is MUCH faster, wood makes the fur look marginally better. Proper skinning and fleshing are much more important.

My 2 cents.

That looks real good HC. I wouldn't have a problem buying that coon at all.

Thanks Mark i wish i could get down there and gets some tips from you but the budget just wont allow that at the time im tryint to learn what i can off here and hope i get it right..thanks to all for the help.

He's still learning Tex

Tex are you talkin about how you have it pinned so theres more on the back?

Yeah, pleating does pull more around to the back, and helps you square up the skirt some.

Alright..is it important to have the tail fleshed out good?

Skip the pins if you have more then a handful to do, electric stapler is the way to go.

O yeah. Tail will start to smell real bad if it isn't scraped out and spread nicely to dry. Bad smell = rot and that = buyers walking away.

If you already have coons with rotting tails cut them off entirely from the skin. Even if you scraped it well, not having it spread can sometimes lead to rot due to it not drying well.

In the case of coons, Trapperne is absolutely correct. Any industrial stapler doesn't have to be electric, but they are nice. I don't recommend stapling beaver though, not in this country mark

Why not staple beaver?

we did half on wire and half on wood last season did not see any difference on price. wire is faster for me. but they do look nice on wood.

Personally I believe you can overstretch beaver using staples, causing the edges to tear away, thus losing size. BUT! That is not what scares me most about it here in KY. Our humidity is so high that I just like the airspace provided between the fur and the board when you use nails. Granted, it is time consuming, however, the trade off is worth it when you consider even the slightest chance of mold.
Trappers who have done a ton of beaver over the years, won't over stretch one to the point of tearing, and humidity won't normally be a problem in that experience has shown them what a dry beaver is. But newbies will often stretch to that point, and beaver that appear dry aren't always as dry as they should be.
This guy is still a "rookie" so to speak, and thus should avoid the pitfalls if he can at all.

I have seen it and am a believer! Not sure if I'd staple onto a wooden stretcher but definitely the wires with wooden bottoms.

Yea that makes since Mark..speaking of the beaver where can i can patterns for boards of is there a way to make them on ur own?

FHA and NAFA both have those patterns and they are available on request. I don't use them at all, and never have. If you let it, a beaver will tell you where to pin him down.
Staple your nose where you want it, measure halfway down the free hanging skin and grab both sides at the mid point and pull them out, mark one side as a reference point (should be enough grease on your fingers to mark a spot on the board, and staple the opposite side, then pick up the other side, taking it back to your mark and staple. Then put a staple in the bottom.
Now you have a "diamond shape" on your board.
Now go to the top and working alternate sides (L or R), find the mid way point between your nose staple and which ever side staple, and staple that, first one side, then the other, and then repeat at the bottom between the side staples and the tail staple.
Now you have 8 points stapled out, and the general shape of your beaver.
Now (again working alternate sides), start driving your nails at the mid points also working alternately top and bottom) until you have your nails no more than an inch apart. When you come to a staple pull it and replace it with a nail.
You will drive nails evenly rounding out the nose area by nailing at an imaginary line midway between the eyes and the nose. Then trim away the nose area that falls outside of that line.
Finally nail your leg holes shut, and any "uh oh holes" you might have made.
Finally work your fingers under your nails, and pull your hide away from the board, and to the tip of your nails. It is best to use a #6 box nail. As the beaver shrinks (and it will as it dries), it will pull your nails in a little, bending a few of them, but that is what you want.
I have a rack that holds all of my boards verticle. I like to putr a fan on them which helps dry the beaver a bit faster, and it helps manage the high humidity we deal with here in KY.

You know I was kina thinking along these lines but also weather the coon is from either NC/VA or from minny might make a difference where the critter is from??? some of those big northern coon might be worth putting up on boards but a borderline coat semi heavy its gonna be wire every time for me