So I have been putting up my own coon for a while now and no matter how clean I get them fleshed out it and no matter how often I wipe them down as they dry it seems like they are always end up very greasy. Is there a trick that I'm missing to fix this issue or is it just the nature of the coon that no matter what they are greasy? With fur prices low I thought I should work on upping my fur put up quality and this issue has bothered me for years now

Use sawdust when fleshing.It will keep the grease off the fur.
Keep fatty hides cold to flesh,there will be a lot less liquid grease to deal with.More like firm tallow.

So just put some saw dust on the unfleshed coon to help soke up the grease do you apply some to it as it dries as well? The keeping it cold is one that I'm going to trying this year I finally got an old chest freezer so my plan is to skin the coon then drop them in the freezer and they pull them out to flesh as I have more free time vs skinning and fleshing all the same night like I have had to do over the years

Yea,as you flesh,throw a few handfulls on the pelt as you go.
helps the flesher grip the flesh too.
Pay particular attention around the skirt.

Remove all the sawdust with a coarse scrubrush just before its pinned on the board.

Thanks Boco I will give it a try

Try this.
Start your fleshing about 6" above the skirt area( bottom part of the hide) This will leave a nice clean area so you won't have any fat and grease build up when you go back to the top. Then when your done hang the coon tail up so any remaining grease will drip off the nose.

I have put up a lot of coon and never saw the need for using saw dust. But I'm not saying It won't help.

Thanks I will give that a try as well and see what works best for me

Do you wash your fur after fleshing? I’ll throw them in a bucket with some water and dawn and wash off all the excess fat and ring them out real well and let them hang overnight to dry fur out then flip and board the next day. This helps clean up the fur after fleshing and gets rid of the blood too

When you have the coon on the board(uf using wire lay the coon on your beam) with the head pointed down, take your fleshing knife or ice scraper and squeegee the grease towards the head till you cant get any grease to come out. They dry much nicer and you'll not have to wipe hides again

I just can't get my head around washing a perfectly dry coon hide. Then putting on the heat and starting up the fans to dry It again.

If your coon are really greasy after your done scraping then your not doing a good enough job on the beam.

i wash all my fur with a liitle fabric softener on rinse cycle only.
let em hang for couple hours to dry.

as for my coons after they dry they go in fridge fur in overnight. the fat firms up and not nearly as greasy when fleshing.

if you dont think it helps try it.
you wouldnt believe the dirt that comes out of what you think is a clean fur.
also doesnt hurt that they smell good.

I hear ya. But when were talking $6.00 coon It's not getting washed.

Well that may be the difference between a $2 coon and a $6 coon, I think I’ll take the few minutes to wash my fur. Especially in this market it’s all about presentation

I can see washing pelts that are sold fur out but fur In pelts I'm not so sure.
All my pelts fur In or fur out get a god work out with my air compressor. That dries fur and It cleans It to a point and really fluffs It up.

Greasy coons: read a thread on another forum where a ratio of 1:1 morning urine and h2o was used successfully as a degreaser. The guy let a coon sit in the mixture for 5 hours initially, added some more mixture, and let it sit for a total of 12 hours. He said it worked well. He stated there was a slight urine smell which went away completely after tanning.

^^^^. Think I’ll pass on this “trick”

I've taken laquer thinner and wiped hides down before to cut some of the grease after they dried but really havent done that since I started doing the squeegee thing .