You might want to keep an eye on that!

There is no better price for feet on or feet off. Having said that there are rare occasions when they get a taxi request. In this case there is a search through the lynx to find a suitable specimen. Usually it will be a private treaty item sold for the same price or more than the lot where it would have been. The chance of your lynx being chosen is like a lottery draw with no big prize if drawn.

When I put up lynx the front legs are cut off at the elbow joint (if you want to call it that)and on the back legs all of the fur right to the top of the foot is left on. Just the toes and pads are left on the foot. The back legs can be shortened also if you wish.

If there are auction lots with feet on, mostly Alaskan lynx, it is probably because they are a better grade of lynx and belong with each other. The Alaskan lynx, as I recall have longer,silkier guard hair, and mostly have brighter bellies.

The one main reason you will see the Alaska lynx on there own is to do with CITES. All of the CITES papers and tags are preprocessed before they go to Toronto. Due to problems of a lot being shipped out of Canada after the sale that are mixed, some CITES tags already and some not causes some jurisdictional and paper work problems. So it makes sense to keep them separate.

Those front legs if pinned out on a small board so they dry evenly prior to turning fur out will not taint if left tucked inside the pelt. Being a very thin skinned animal they will dry very fast and dry enough to leave tucked in.

you must have a pretty good carcase pile by now ...Good luck putting in the line at least you wont have to worry about bringing any sun tan lotion in this weather.. its still -38 at my house..stay safe.

And thanks for your insight Ron.. always aprieciated.
I did one this morning and left the stubs in. I turn before they are "hard" dry so as not to crack and tear the fur so the armpits are still damp. I do spray them with a water bottle before turning to dampen them if they are too dry.

I also put a T.P. roll in the leg stubs to hold them open for drying (I dont split them up to the armpit)

YJ the lynx on the right looks like the legs are tucked in, looks much nicer. What works for me is to use a small marten board down each leg when leather out with two push pins. If you push the board in far enough the marten board will stick out on it's own with the nose of it against the lynx board. It is important that under the front legs dry. I hat to call them "arm pits" as lynx do not have arms, but you know where I mean.

I won't be having any lynx this year to show what I do. Pulled all my trap sets mid December, what few I had out, as my mother is very ill in the hospital. That is taking a lot of my time.

Ron Best wishes to your Mother and hope she feels better soon.
I would like to see your put up someday when ever you get the chance again.

Jeff, we bailed. It's too cold. We had 10 sets out that needed to be checked so we did that and it was COLD! No cats and 2 more fox. The fox are crazy high this year.

Good call the wind is supposed to pick up might get ugly out there. better safe than sorry.

OK, need some advice. Got a marten stuck on a stretcher and can't even get the belly wedge out. Left it outside at -35 for 3 hours and still no movement. Haven't ever had this happen before. Usually a tap on the nose on the floor and it comes right lose Any more tips to get it off before I soak it?

-TJ

Try thawing it out first?!!!!!

"The tanker is carrying more than 1 million gallons of diesel fuel loaded in South Korea"

Why all the way from SOUTH KOREA ????????

The people from Nome will know what I am referring to .

Have they made it through the ice, yet?

Doesn't look like they are even close.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45909554/ns/us_news-life/#.TwhwlaWHHQk

I don't understand why they would let their fuel supply run short like that. Seems to me that they should be installing a few more large capacity fuel storage tanks to get them through the Winter without having to call in for deliveries when they need it the most and when it is the least accessible and most costly and difficult time of the year for delivery.

Pete,

Alread skinned and dried. Tried to stick it outside to see if setting it in the cold would loosen it up a bit, but no luck.

-TJ

TJ you may have to use a damp towel and wrap it up for a few minutes is setting it outside did not work. Sometimes if the belly wedge is stuck you can use a vice grips to get a better grip on it to pull it out. Once with a stuck belly wedge I drilled a hole through it then used a big nail through the hole to make a T handle to grab on to. Now I use a small wedge under the back end of the belly wedge.

Just be careful to pull straight back and not up.

Yeah, tried the vice grip thing as well to get extra purchase, but will drill the wedge base and stick a nail through to at least give it a handle (not a bad idea to do this to all of mine for the future). This was a small female and the only part of my boards that I haven't waxed is the belly wedge (never even thought of it as I have never had this issue before). What I think might have happend is that the belly board is stuck up towards the front on the hide as I can move part of it back and fourth towards the legs, and with the fur drying it dried not only to the belly wedge, but tight to the board as well, so if I can get the wedge out then the rest should come off.

-TJ

Fwiw, when I use a belly wedge I try to push it in far enough so it sticks out the mouth just a bit. Then you can just drop it nose first and drive the wedge out.

You can just run it under the shower on both sides just enough to get it wet then wait 10 minn and it will come right off.

CB, that fuel situation is a joke. Their guy is a retard and put the delivery date too late. He scheduled it that way. The storm didn't have anything to do with it. They are just using that as an excuse, when really it just falls on Sitnasak and stupidity. The other fuel company got their supply just fine. The city won't run out, just that company's supply.

Ron, the drilling the hole and putting a nail through there worked great and it popped right out after doing it. I think it allows for a more direct pull along the board instead of trying to use vice grips. I think I am going to drill out all of my belly wedge's, just to make it easier pulling them out going forward if I need it. Was quick and easy to just stick a large nail in there and pull it out.

-TJ