I have seen some videos of people case skinning beaver, apparently so they can flesh them easier. Is there any benefit to doing it this way?

i've done so many the normal way that i have a very hard time with case skinned beaver.always open them first if any come in that way.

They will not be a proper oval shape if you case skin it and the split it Now it may still work for the hatter market not sure if the shape matters for that market

They are easier to flesh that way as you do not have to lean hard against the end if your fleshing beam to hold the pelt, the few I case skin stay cased and are tanned cased and sold for crafts and to make bags

My advise is if your going to sell it raw, do it the standard way, to make it easier fleshing don't try removing a lot of material at a time. Remove just 3 inches at a time, spin the pelt and remove the 3 inches all the way around the outside edge and then the next three inches and repeat until you get to the center if the pelt

I guess I'm just way to old fashioned I'd rather just clean skin beaver and not worry about it, granted it may not be the easiest but it's way quicker after you get the hang of it.
Allan

In my opinion It would take way more time to case skin a beaver to begin with. So I can't see any benefit In doing It.

If you place you beaver hide on your beam with the beam placed right In the middle of the hide. And then turn It as you go around the edges you will never have to chase the hide. Then when all the edges are done you end up with a 3 to 4" strip right down the middle. Then just hang the nose over the beam end and do the middle.

Thank you for all the replies, It looks like I will keep learning to skin the regular way. I was just curious why there were videos of case skinned beaver. Thanks again!

If you prefer rough skinning to clean skinning,you can also flesh over your knee with a sharp knife.I prefer that way of handling rough skinned beaver as opposed to the beam.

You got to be kidding me.
What would take me 1/2 hour over my knee would take me 10 min on a beam. I guess you know what my choice Is.

lol that's how I learned to flesh a beaver! Over my leg with a very sharp knife! I can flesh them faster over a bean but they are cleaner over my leg and no holes. I case skinned one but its for personal use. I plan to make a hat. I figured case skinned would require less cutting and sewing.It was a dink beaver by the way! No way would I do that to a blanket beaver!!

I agree with pcr2 it was difficult case skinning one after so many years of skinning them the correct way

What you are talking about is described in Nick Wyshinski's books as Cased-Open. I have done MANY this way.

You cut from the tail though the vent to a point about mid stomach, just like open skinning but stop short. At this point I'd cut the back feet off and ring around the front feet. I used LARGE fishing hook to stab the tail to hang the beaver like I was doing any other cased animal from that point on. Last time I did this I used a piece of old snare cable around the tail. Once you are done fleshing you complete the cut and board as normal.

The truth is that it is WAY longer to skin this way. There is little to no slack in the hide to pull the rear legs through the holes, and the tail area is gristle and skin- easy to cut too close given the angles in the cased open.

I rough skin now and it is WAY faster- as in about 3 times faster. If I have to shift the hide on the beam a time or 2 more I'm still WAY ahead in efficiency.

The only reason I'd use the cased-open method again would be if I was camping and di not have a table to skin on. Bending over to skin on the ground would kill my back.

Tom