My lotting letter with grades is up for the upcoming NAFA sale.
1\3rd of the mink I shipped are in the top two lots.Should be good for $20 bucks apiece at least,lol.

Good Deal!

Hope the eastern coyotes sell well, seems that's all 8 can catch.

Missed the top lot on coyotes, have coyotes in the second, third, and fourth lot.

If your lucky boco. That's pretty sad when your hoping for a 20 dollar top lot.

Ended up with a top lot otter, 12 coyotes in the top 7 lots of easterns, 7 east Canadian cats in the top 4 lots, and 2 eastern beaver in the 2nd lot. Pretty pleased with grades!
Now fingers crossed for decent prices!

Not to sound like an idiot, but how do you know if a fur is in a top lot?

A true top lot is the top line on the top section,on the first page of the species.The one lot that brings a stupid price compared to every other lot below.

Usually the first lot in a species or section is the top lot.

Buyers get special recognition and sellers with a pelt in that lot get a certificate and maybe a hat.

My skunk disappeared again.
Yesterday was the first time he ended up being graded. Today he Is gone. LOL

This one was pretty good.

Nice Boco!
About 1/3 of the muskrats I sent this time ended on lot # 135051. Should be good for about $3 a pelt?

With mink it could drop down to the LM DBR SEL

Holy smokes! my top lot award for my mink last year was for $17.00

Photo shopped. LOL

Best I ever did was $86.00 on a Male Mink

BTW " Coyote, Lynx, Lynx Cat, Russian Sable, Marten (Can/Am Sable), Fisher"

Russian Sable?

It looks like all the skunks and grinners are being offered on a PT sale. I'm probably going to get a bill for storage pretty soon.LOL

Grades on coyotes,fox,beaver,mink,raccoons are really good lots of selects and * probably the best grades in a couple years. Muskrats I'm confused. 372 went eastern and and the bigger percentage went central. Not sure how they graded them but something don't seem right. Not complaining but they all came from the same 10 square mile area.

I have to say this is my first time sending in furs for auction, First year trapping, im pretty happy with my Grade. Not many furs sent in but still.
1 med-sml Mink *I, an other med-sml Mink II.
Its a start...

Exact same here saskbone, a quarter of my rats went eastern and the rest went central.

Had 3 western heavy coyotes travel a long ways to Kansas. First lot semi's,majority 1 page semi heavy. So much for me only having commercial coyotes,lol.

Hey if you are upset about them western heavy coyotes you can move them over to my account.

I found out I don't know a thing about grading coon. I thought and have told people that this year's coon are some of the worse I have caught as a whole collection. They all seemed to have tick bites, small pin holes, scabs from old sores, just plain ugly on the leather side. When I was taking furs off the boards my daughter would wipe down the coon and for her effort I let her pick 3 coons out and I put them in the extra account and she will get the money. She asks, which ones and I said any one's you think are look good, she picks 3 coons with, IMO not one blimish on the what so ever. All 3 off those coon graded I-II, the other 42 coon were put on the other account and 17 went select, 5 went I's. I know there is a lot more than just leather that goes into the grading, but I am disappointed for her.

Also I caught 4 cats off the same property with 75 yards of each other, 2 went western and 2 went southwestern. To bad they were last years kittens, not very big all measured in at larges

This is not a complaint, overall my grades are better that expected can't wait for next week

No all the commercial ones were down here apparently! Lol. Did have some Coons grade a bit better than I thought though.

Curious if they graded any northern or mostly north central on your coon?

tbn most of my coons went western north central and semi. Only had one go northern. That's how it's been that last two years for me, before that I would generally have half go western northern and the other half western north central. I didn't have one grade semi until last year. This isn't a big sample size only 40-130 each year.

What is difference on beaver between a slight an slt? Seems like bigger 3xl beaver get graded hard there,or at least ones I got an lm an meduim on down good, what are auction beaver going for? I pretty happy with grades on everything else, I don't see coon colors graded 5 nomore, just 1 though 4, how good is 3 color

I thought all my 3xl beaver were graded harder than normal as well.

I believe the difference is the "damage" (loosely used term) is either on the leather or on the fur side

Curious, where do you think the "commercials" are in the nafa catalogs?

I would say the semi heavys. Everyone tells us we have a semi heavy commercial coyote in Kansas. Year in and out my coyotes get graded semi heavy at NAFA

I had a couple go Western/Nothern but most in Western/north Central. Also had a handful in semi-heavy

I wish everyone the best of luck
May the competition be fierce

On the 1 of the 2 big beaver, I could not get all tough fat off without risk of cutting though, so I came back for several days after with dull knife an squgee out fat while stretched an did leave marks, anytime u do that,it leaves marks on dry hide, could the marks cause it to be downgraded?

U would think alot the heavy big jumbo selects an 1s, coon well sell an hopefully not just better colors

Something is strange.

I had 8 coyotes from Northern MT on this sale and 3 were graded as 3xl eastern. There was not 1 that was a 35 lb coyote,!!!
and 1 graded as a "red"

Hmm. Really don't think my pick up guy should be handling my furs once bagged!!

I have coon graded as northern, north central an new grade as western semi, what difference between a north central an a Western semi ? Never notice this in past

The North centrals will sell and your semi heavies may not. LLL

I felt my rats were on average a tad smaller than last year. This year the size grade is averaging a bit better than the last two years and my grade is much higher than the last couple years.
In the past better grade and size indicated a up word moving market. We don't have long to wait now.
I caught very few coons this year. I had 1 Western Northern and all the rest 14 were western north centrals with no 11 grades, but color was pretty average for me which is not so good.
Bryce

I can't rember anyhow this semi heavy grade in this area before, maybe something new nafa started,i heard semi heavy but not around here

They all look like that in Montana

Did you trap coon the first week Dave? Probably accounts for your semi heavies. LLL

Foolishly, I am going to try and interpret your question. SLT is good. SDA is o.k. SDB not so good. They will all be sold as hatters for around $13. I hope this helps. Some species get Select grades handed out like candy. Some species, not so much.

This is my first year shipping to nafa, how do you find out if they are graded eastern or western?

bucksnbears,

Just What Is It That You Are Attempting To Insinuate With This Statement ?

w

click the lot number and the catalog it's in will be one of the two.

Thanks

Not even going to touch that subject again.Well,then again,I will. You tell me where the commercials are in a nafa catalog.

Ok another dumb question, most of mine are size xlarge-large. Where do I see xxl or up? Some of mine were close to 50".

Spend some time on the NAFA website on the Wild Fur side. Lot of info there including sizing and fur handling, board sizes etc......

Well my high plains Laramie Coyotes did not lot very well will see what they sell for.

I don't think the top lots have been selected yet - I've never seen any true top lot that wasn't a super select. I also don't think they will have 1289 rats in the top lot like it currently shows. Now I would be cool with that as I have 8 in that lot.

In my experience, you will only see XXL and up coyotes in the Eastern Section.

If there are western coyotes that get that big, they will be in the XL. There aren't enough XXL western coyotes to lot them separately.

NAFA' s current mind set is that large lots and string lots are the way to go. It appears that is what many of the Asian buyers want. That is why you will see many lots with mixed grades/sizes. Like on colors - 1 to 4, all in the same lot.

30 years ago, it was a different story. Fashion industry wanted small lots. And lots of them.

Now why would I answer your question when you didn't answe mine

You have my number.