I am curious as to why some trappers, game callers and hound hunters don't learn to finish their furs?
Our local fur buyer is overwhelmed with critters brought in to his shop in carcass form. Help is hard enough to find for other jobs but try hiring skinners and fur finishers!
I enjoy finishing fur and take pride in doing a good job. I consider it as finishing the last step in the harvesting process.
Well handled fur brings a better return as the buyers can judge the finished product better.

Correct on all points, Larry.I’ve asked that question a million times if once!

Seem to be lazy, I buy some fur mostly carcass fur.
And ask and offer to help them.
I throw out there I keep the fur one of each I show them.
Start to finish.

But never get any takers, all say It looks like to much work.
I don't have a place to do it, all the tools cost to much.

And if they cry about what I pay , I tell them go somewhere else.
I do It cause I enjoy it, got a good job already .
Wish I had someone offer me the opportunity when I was starting out.

Some people trap because they enjoy being out it's not the bottom dollar that counts it's the fun of seeing how critter's work the set etc.up until recent times you could sale carcass/ green fur just as easy as put up fur. Then you have learning curve and price of equipment to get the ball a rollin, some kids verily afford the traps.

Same reason people don't learn to modify or build their own gear I reckon. Not worth their time in their eyes

I am trying to learn, my problem is that I want to do things myself, but when I see the end result, it's just not good enough! My goal is to be able to tan everything that I want, maybe it's just a pipe dream!

for years most handlers did a lousy job. Buyers got to a point it was easier to do it themselves. Didn't take long for all trappers to jump on the carcass band wagon to save time. Carcass fur pays better than poorly finished fur.

I still kick myself because back in the early 80's the local fur buyer offered to show me how to put up animals -- I said no -- but i did let him show me how to skin them and brought them to him that way. I had to learn much later in life to flesh and dry -- the only ggod thing about that is that when i was just skinning them I was getting 5$ each for nutria -- now I skin flesh and board for 2-3$

You said it right there. You enjoy finishing fur. I despise finishing fur. Since moving down south where there are no local buyers, putting it up is pretty much the only option. I hate doing it so much it makes me not even want to trap it in the first place because then I know I'll have to put it up.

Monster hit the nail on the head.

Facilities to handle fur
Cost to get decent gear to finish fur(fleshing beam, fleshing knife, stretchers, pins, etc)
Carcass disposal
Cant really learn how to do it from youtube.

It might be that from a time equals money standpoint, more money is made catching instead of finishing. That is when fur is valuable/profitable.
I enjoy putting up fur myself.

When, in the last how many years, has it been beneficial to sell fur in the round than finished? The market has declined so much in the last so many years that I don't feel your point is valid.

In many areas you have to do your own fur, we dont have the luxury of a fur buyer right down the road.

I always caught more fur by spending my time tending and setting traps than in the fur shed finishing stuff. I only put up the easy stuff, rats, mink, fox, etc... I have never had any desire to scrape coons and beavers and the like. In the end, its the same money, sell more green furs or less finished furs.

I suppose if you don't catch very many then you may as well put them up.

I trap because I enjoy catching animals. There are many things I like much better than putting up fur, that pay much, much better, that I would rather do, so I have not put up any fur since the early 2000's.

Keith

I enjoy putting up fur, but I trap mostly easy to put up stuff. Coons, rats and mink.

The minimum wage in 1980 was about $3 an hour. The fur buyer/ processor could probably put up a $30 coon for a buck. A trapper was better off catching more $30 coon than putting up $30 coon for $31. I learned to put up fur when I had no choice. I learned from books, magazines and later one video. I would still sell in the round if it was profitable. I have been told that I do a good job. I wouldn't know.

I have been shown. It takes me 45 min to do a coon and im not sure if its correct when i get done. I used to skinn and sell green. Now buyer dose not even want coon. If i had someone to stand next to and learn from untill i get each animal down i would love to learn but i have no one i know close enough that has time for that. So 8 have a full freezer and have not set a trap. Heck i wanted to pay a guy to put them up and tan them last year but would not get return calls when i called him to do it after season.

Not being able to put up my fur or having some5hing to do with it makes me not want to bother trapping the little i do.

I have went to a few fur sales and observed the put up. Well maybe more than a few but anyways in the western trapper run fur sales I would say the put up is decent overall. Yes there is some that stand out and are a cut above(pun intended). I believe that the majority of serious trappers put up or hire someone to put up their fur. A lot of the carcass stuff such as coyotes are taken by hunters who have no idea how to do it. I remember years ago going to a major fur buyer and he has semi trailers full of frozen carcass coon. I am sure most were taken by coon hunters. That was something to see. There is not a lot of carcass buyers in the west so you pretty much have to put it up if you want to sell it at sales.