Just thought I would share my grey squirrel skinning and put up. Ya I know they aren't worth much but I enjoy doing them. Handicrafters seem to like them when all tanned up etc..Tails are important for sure-ya cannot screw up the tails or people just don't want them. Probably the trickiest part of the skinning is be able to split the tails without losing the tip. I use a small fillet knife-wood handled rapala one and use it strictly for squirrels.As you can see from the pics-they are really fat and greasy-much harder to put up than the red squirrels. Female mink boards are my choice to stretch them-they come out long and slender rather than short and fat if a male mink board is used.

Nice work Thanks for posting

Nice I was always going to do a couple just for myself. Never did.

Mac

Very nice system. Were they trapped? I didn't see any bullet holes. Were you able to save the meat? We love squirrel, black, Grey, or fox. We don't eat red squirrel. When my son was small we would skin and stretch our squirrels that we hunted and sold them with our fur at fur sales. We would get .50 cents to a dollar.

Do you sell them at Flea Markets then?

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. A more suitable splitting guide for weasel and squirrel tails can be made from an old umbrella rib. The ribs (or umbrella stays) have a groove to place tip of knife in.

Nice, thanks for taking the time to show us, much appreciated!

I second the question above.....do you sell at flea markets or?

no we sell online to people and don't sell a ton of them but we do sell them. Don't eat the meat and yes these are all trapped.I do shoot red squirrels though with a .177 air rifle-way less damage than a .22 short or l.r. Nice thing about the greys is they have fairly heavy leather -not tissue paper like the reds. Thinking of sending a bunch to the fur sale in Idaho or Montana like they had a couple weeks back. They have very nice thick short fur-wish we had blacks here but only greys and red squirrels-fox squirrels too but not many.Thanks for the tail splitting tip bctom cat

We have mostly greys here but Fox are also very common. Some areas its almost 50-50.

Thanks again!

Didnt think it was legal to sell game animal parts-grey squirrells unlike reds are not a furbearer.
Maybe not a game animal in MB,just vermin?

Good question...

Law says the same here but we can sell Deer hides and Squirrel tails?

unprotected here Boco-can kill them year round

Skunks are un-protected here as well. Years ago raccoons and Coyotes were also legal year round

Thanks for posting the info. I've done reds before but never greys.

I know here in MN it's legal to trap or shoot squirrels while in season. Just not sure if you can legally sell any parts of them.

nice job you should try eating them they are great ,

I put up about a dozen last year and donated them the the MTA's tanned fur program.

Mepps bought tails when I was a kid. Didn’t know there was a demand for the whole squirrel. If they are shot with #8 shot, do they sell?

MB coonguy do you have any pictures of some of the crafters works ?

An easy way to make a tail splitting guide is to take a stave from a worn out umbrella. I have been using the same one for about forever . Works great for anything from weasel to coyote .