Hey all, I'm seeing a lot of confusing answers where I find this question elsewhere... how necessary is stretching? I live in a 1br apartment and don't really have anywhere to stretch my hides. I hardly even know if my storage plan for salting them is going to work, but I don't want to sell if I can help it I would like to keep some furs myself for decoration and to make a few things from.

Also for those of you who know about me and my only having two traps, I've yet to catch anything, but I did get my pappaws old box trap and a rusty #1 longspring from the shed, and I'm going to scrape together what i can for a trip to sterling fur company this weekend. Continue to wish me luck! thanks in advance for the answers and as always God bless you all.

I just sent you a PM. I was blessed with several traps at Christmas, and I'd be glad to send you some of them if you want them.

As for your question, I don't have a clue. But I was once in your shoes- eager to get out and do this, but without many traps. I had a fella help me out, so now I finally get to pay it forward!

So salting and drying hides if you’re going to tan them is ok short term. Stretching a pelt is not a necessary step if you’re going to tan, but honestly it takes up very little space and will make storage of dried pelts easier. The term “stretcher” is really a misnomer. You really don’t want to stretch a pelt. The stretcher is really just a form used to dry the hide evenly and in a presentable manner, so that buyers can easily grade, transport and store pelts.

If you are not going to sell, salt them really well and hang them somewhere that air can circulate all around them, make sure there are no places where the skin folds on itself or it won’t dry properly. Then tan ASAP.

Question, where do you plan on doing the fleshing? Usually people flesh and dry in the same place

Use Borax instead of salt.

I replied, I appreciate your kindness

Firstly thank you for the thorough explanation, and for your question I'm going to be fleshing them right on my patio for all the neighbors to gawk at haha the only place I have to try to store them is in my storage locker down the road (I bet that guy thinks I'm a loon) where I originally planned on storing them very thoroughly salted (or boraxed as someone mentioned) in/on some sort of tote just until spring when I can go to my parents house and do the entire tanning process all in one swoop.

I also realize that this made me seem like some sort of a bum which I want to make sure I clear up in case anybody gets the wrong idea, as much as I hate having two (now 4) traps I almost like it. It's what I could afford with what I saved and spent on an eBay auction, one of the traps I bought came broken, so I was off to a bad start. But I pulled together and got a few things from good sales and kind older trappers who for example had an extra bottle of old coyote lure and a book on fox trapping for me (thanks, Mr. June in advance for all the fox I'm going to catch someday) and I'm fighting against the odds to do something I'm passionate about and have dreamt of since I was a 6 year old watching Jeremiah Johnson (now you get my name huh?) Sorry for all my long drawn out replies but I really wanted to clear that up in case anybody got the wrong idea by me taking up Raptor on his incredibly generous offer. My intention is not to whine that I only have two traps or make anyone feel bad for me, it's all a part of my adventure.

These guys are full of info. Use the search / archive stuff as much as possible, but the best teacher is experience. I was once "that guy" that had little to nothing for equipment. I think most of us probably started there.
I still enjoyed it with what I had. It's just as fun now as it was then. Just keep after it. It will all come together soon enough.

I think you would be better off to skin your animals and put the pelts In the freezer until you can get to a place to flesh and tan them. I freeze all of mine during the season and tan them in the spring. The fur market is so bad I don't bother trying to sell anything except tanned fur.

Many a mountain man had little little more to start than a few traps and a horse. Sic 'em boy!

Salting it will keep for years. Before its hard as a rock fold it so it fits a box and let it dry all the way and ship to a tannery. Thats what taxidermist do if they dont tan it themselves.

Borax wont do anything but soak up grease and speed up the drying process like sawdust. Its not a preservative. Taxidermists use it as an insecticide on birds mounts and that caused confusion within the fur trade.

What are you trying to trap? Muskrats don't really need to be fleshed, you can flesh what little bit is on the hide with a spoon and you could dry them on a piece of cardboard cut to shape. Something like coon however needs a lot of fleshing and I wouldn't be eager to flesh and dry one in an apartment.

good luck we all started out with only a few traps, what are you trying to trap?

Everything. Haha mostly fox, yotes, coon, and some water trapping. I only planned on land trapping this year but my buddies grandparent's back yard turned into a pond this spring thanks to local beavers, so I'm likely going to give that a shot as well.

Thank you, that's almost exactly how I was planning to do!

I need to dig through the archives more but I absolutely love it here, I've never posted and been replied to with anything less than extensive knowledge and kindness. Being that I'm also a duck hunter and a fly fisherman it's an openness and genuine helpfulness that my other passions are missing.

Post your address so we can help......jk

Borax is anti-bacterial. Guess what bacteria will do to a pelt? It's also a powder. Works better than anything granular for the do-it- yourselfer.

I would find a way to flesh them. You can use a sharp knife and a chunk of angle Iron, head in to the wood find a tree stump or tree growing at an angle and start fleshing. Buy a coon board and you can stretch a lot of animals . you can dry them in the the house. If you salt them its gonna be a mess in an apartment.

The salting was going to be confined to a large tote in my storage locker