Is there anyway to not have the stomach on muskrats blow open when skinning them or is this just a fact of skinning them?

Before you start pulling on them, Loosen up that stomach area with your hand then push the front end towards the tail like you are turning a sock inside out.
Works most of the time once you get the hang of it.

Pull the skin on the back up over the front shoulders like you are pulling a shirt off over your head while pushing the head and front legs toward the back bone. When you get the skin pulled over the head get yourself a small towel like an old dish cloth and hold the gut are down with the dry towel while working the skin of the stomach toward the head. This helps to lay the rat on a bench and pull the skin with your left hand toward the head while holding the rat down with your right. When you get past the gut you are home free. It takes a little practice but working with a dry towel helps a lot.

"Peeling" is better than "Pulling".

A similar method to all the above explanations is; following the initial cut free the pelt from the hind legs and tail. Now work your thumbs, or hand, up the back between the pelt and carcass to the head. Now grab the neck and shoulder with one hand and with the other work your fingers and thumb between the pelt and carcass in the throat area. Then the pelt is worked down the belly pulling the front legs and finishing the pull in the groin area. Then the rat is placed into a clamp, by a foot, and the head area skinned out as is usually accomplish on other animals.

Don't worry about the guts,just use a rag to hold the carcass and spilled guts while removing the hide.

ADC thanks for that video a pic is worth a thousand words. That was awesome

I open rats with two cuts. I unlike many put the rats on a gambrel and skin. I am left handed so I use my left hand to loosen the pelt from the inside and outside of the left leg. I pull that off and loosen to the tail. I take a knife and cut the pelt free from the tail and also slice the pelt loose by the anus. I then use my thumb to loosen the pelt from the right leg and pull that free. Most times I then use my thumb to free the pelt about halfway down the back of the rat and then peel forward around to the belly side. Typically i have the saddle or the muscle tissue free on one side. I can then grasp the rat around the lower rib cage and pull forward until the front legs are exposed. I pull the front fee through and finish with a knife around the ears, eyes and nose.
If the belly comes free I hold the belly to the body of the rat and work the pelt free until I can grab the rat around the ribs and pull forward.
I am not a speed skinner. I do about 25-30 rats per hour when they are fresh. Frozen in the carcass and thawed they break apart much more and my number per hour drops a lot.

Bryce

Good gosh ADC, that is fast. Thanks for sharing.
Bryce, your fast as well.
Mac

I can do about one a minute and there are guys that are faster. On a side note at the beginning of the season I freeze my rats whole, the trick is don't thaw them completely they should be a little crunchy. They will skin as easy as fresh.

I love these post! Amazing at what all you can learn! Im always amazed at the different ways and techniques folks can come up with!

Great post and video.

I skin in my lap, and use a rag on my lap I can grab for traction. I do turn them inside out like in the video.

That's pretty much how I skin them too. Frozen they do break apart more. I find ones that drown fall apart more too.