Hey all, joined this site over the winter to originally learn about coyote trapping but then decided to go after beaver since I had some nuisance beaver on my property. I did A LOT of reading on here about trapping beaver, so thank you all for being such a valuable resource of information! I managed to get 6 and 1 otter; a 50lb, 48lb female, 46, 43, and 2-20lber's. I went into it thinking I would get 1 or 2 if I was lucky so I did not buy a fleshing board but I also don't have anyone nearby to learn from. So I sent 5 of the beaver off to get fleshed & tanned and I'm hoping to get them back soon. The 43 lb had a pretty big bite mark in it's hide so if I decide to get into this a little deeper and learn to flesh I'll start with that one.

Since I'm not sure if this will be an every year thing for me (depends if more come back), I'd rather not buy a beaver board pattern if I don't have to so I'm looking for the oval or ellipse dimensions from the center point. The only good reference I have found is this old thread below. Can any of you measure your patterns or boards and tell me if these dimensions are accurate? (I'm not doubting the poster.....just can't seem to find any other references).
https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/488267/making-perfect-ovals-for-beaver

1--11 1/5 X 9 5/8 (I'm guessing this should be 11 1/2 and not 11 1/5?)
2--13 X 10 5/8
3--14 1/2 X 11 5/8
4--16 X 12 5/8
5--17 1/2 X 13 5/8
6--19 X 14 5/8
7--20 1/2 X 15 5/8

I also found this NAFA template in PDF form and had Staples scale it to fit the 16" wide paper and also scale it to fit 24" long. Neither print matches the dimensions above.
http://www.wvtrappers.com/beaverpattern.pdf


Thanks!!

Buy the wood template from trapper supply businesses for $20 and be done with it.

X2 easier and quicker

I get it, the boards would be easier and I would normally just spend the $20 on something like this. But I also thought it would be fun to calculate this and then draw it out. It's pretty easy to do once you have the major and minor axis vertices (the dimensions I listed above would be these points), put it into the equation that spits out the foci, and use a single string to draw it out like this video (skip to 1:50 if you're interested): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=663nnvjImh8

I think this would get me pretty close if I can confirm the dimensions, from center point to edge, or overall and I can divide by 2.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aHocaYwbiHE
Hopefully this link works and provides you with the info you’re looking for

I laid out my boards following this video. No problem!

That video does help! It's actually what I first used but found getting the strings to correct length a little difficult....I probably should've used something like a tautline hitch to get the length adjusted where I needed it. That's when I found the single string method shown in the video I posted. I found this method a little easier. I also used slightly different focus points calculated from those numbers I posted above.

I'm probably trying to be too precise. I guess the general purpose of these boards is to keep the pelt "roughly" rounded/oval and use the boards as a guide. Thanks for the help!