I bought a couple weasel boxes. Are weasels the easiest and quickest furbearers to skin, flesh, and put up? I bought a couple weasel boards at our state's fall rondy.

Skinning is the easy part, getting them in the box is the hard part.

Smelly little buggers.

Really easy to skin and really easy to rip the tail off. Color is the only thing that separates weasels from Ermine- they should be white shortly. I’ll run a few boxes during gun season.

Splitting tails is made easy with the aid of a tail splitting guide and a small fur pelting knife or scalpel. Just insert the splitting guide into the tail as far “as it will easily go”. This will be only an inch or so. Then with a “little” pressure on the guide, while lifting it up slightly, make short strokes with the knife. As the hide splits the guide will penetrate the tail a little further with each short stroke.

I split the tails a little ways, but it is risky to split them lower. Pull that black tip off, not good. I just got twenty some back from the tannery with tails barely split to down low. Nobody fell off, and no body was missing hair.

Personally I wouldn't split them more than halfway, but I'm a chicken.

I heard that some will skin them from the mouth end.

I do. You got to impale the skull as the jaws are not strong enough to hold on a hook.

I think they are fairly easy to skin. I take my time on the opening cut, foot to foot and around the vent, don't want to nick their anal glands. I don't cut around each foot, slow gentle pull removes each foot. I take my time splitting the tail also. Fleshing is a snap, nothing more than a couple of pinches if that. Weasel sizes are all over the place, so I have picked up several boards of different sizes. I was using little wooden skewers for belly boards. I have forgot to put in a belly board and the pelt still slipped right off easily.
AJE, they are fun and a very interesting critter... good luck!



Here's a pic of one of my boxes. I use the rat trap with the big yellow pan. I also use tuna cans to hold the bait, keeps things clean.

A great weasel trapping video, Porters Weasel Trapping System

once the tail is out it goes fast. Use a small bladed knife. Plus be careful around the vent, cut them glands and it will open up the sinus's.

Pan trigger rat trap stapled to milk carton, throw bait to back of carton.

That trying to trap them looks like work to me. I get more than I want without trying.

I've never gone out of my way to trap them myself. I just place a box under a tree I have a marten/fisher box on, trying keep them out of the marten/fisher boxes.

I kind of think of them as the opossum of the north. There was a time frame back a few years ago they brought good money for the effort though.

Weasels are not worth a lot of money but why not trap them if you are traveling to trap. 1 or 2 a day just might help pay for gas.

IMO if you have lots of squirrels and weasels in your bush they are definitely worth trapping in a reasonably good market. Even at $1.25 to $1.50 average they add up and help pay the gas bill. At most marten/fisher sets I will set a weasel box. If you are walking past a squirrel midden to check another trap, set it up with a snare pole. It has been my experience every time you check the other trap and have nothing you will often have a squirrel or two or a weasel also. With practice it only takes 3 minutes to skin, flesh and board a squirrel. Maybe a little longer for weasel. On a trap line with a good squirrel/weasel population and market value, the squirrel/weasel catch will often cover most, if not all, of your fuel expense with very little extra work is my experience.

I like catching weasels,I had no problem selling over 100 that I tanned this summer for $20 each.
I don't bother setting specific traps for weasels ,I just drop a few more marten boxes in place.They work great for weasels,marten and fisher.

Don't you guys have to wash the blood off? Most times, unless I'm lucky, blood gets on the white hide and I spend time washing and drying the hide before boarding. More time.

The reason you don't trap anything when the price is down, is you want the price to come back up. Keep supplying weasels for a buck and you'll keep supplying weasels for a buck.

Use dry borax powder on dried pelts. No washing.