Nice put up

Maybe I'm that one trapper

But, I'm not proud, if there were suddenly a demand for SM section III blue coon I'd be sending them to.

I handle all animals I take to the best of my ability regardless when I take them.
Shipping half rotten fur reflects back on the trapper.Its disrespectful to the graders and the animal.

WIth all due respect, one little spot of slippage isn't a half rotten pelt, and they certainly don't smell bad. But I do get what you're trying to say...even tend to agree with it.

They will still grade out as a highly desirable beaver pelt very much in demand by the current market.

I know you can put up some nice fur BP.
And i understand when you get a large catch that needs prompt attention and something comes up,or a freezer breaks down,stuff can happen.
Just saying some things are under the trappers control and other issues are not.

ANd sometimes a guy bites off a little more than they can chew. Taking 93 beaver and 6 otters out of the freezer all at once was...ambitious? Still, I did not waste any fur, so I have no regrets other than my sore back.

A lot of poor results in any endeavour is often due to rushing a job.
I know a couple of top notch fur handlers here that have put up some marginal pelts due to trying to make a fur pick up.
Sometimes it is a bonus to have long winters and cold water into June.
Beavers keep well for long periods in cold water.
From doing nuisance work in the summer I know how quickly they can get funky when the water is warm.

"This year FHA is proud to offer our worse collection of beaver ever assembled at or upcoming spring sale!"

Thanks Dirt, that was funny!

Hey, if almost all the buyers and sellers are happy come the next auction, what does it matter what they look like. I'm sure there are few buyers on the international scene that hasn't slummed a bit over the years. I'm sure none of them are losing sleep after buying mink pelts were the trapper got a buck for in the last auction.

Are most of those holes from fighting? An what about the really white areas?

It seems to me you are the guy that has been saying not to flesh beaver if they are buying them by the pound. Now everything should put up to the best of your ability? I would think if there was a problem with a lot of beaver they would throw them out. The want the 11% and every other charge they get if fur sells, they will run them through.

That was a facetious comment-guess it went over your head.
And I have never sold a beaver by the pound,lol.
Never even heard of such nonsense except on here.

They're somewhere in the stack. My wife would not have let me put them in her car if they stunk. We rode 200 miles with them to meet up with our FHA guy in Washington.

The holes on the shoulders are mostly older bite wounds/scar tissue. Bites all over the body were inflicted on an already dead beaver in a trap that didn't make it out to deep water. White areas are just where thinner portions of the leather got more of the juice scraped up and out of the leather, or where the was a little freezer burn either way. I dry in a special insulated room with fans and a dehumidifier. Only takes about 36-48 hours to finish.

American Hat Company 1000X Hats are made of pure belly beaver blended with mink and are finished by hand. The American Mink is known as the finest cowboy hat in the world.

Maybe?

Must take a lot of wild mink to get a lb of felt thinks I.

blended with mink You know like beaver hats are mostly a blend of beaver with whatever.

I do understand that it is blended in, but I still say it must take a lot of mink to make a pound of felt to blend in with the other. Beaver felters are now in the neighborhood of $25/lb (based on what we saw on the last auction). How many wild mink to the pound you reckon?

My guess 30 female mink.

Or 20 grounhogs.