Thanks again Ric. Those are some super well-built boards. If Ric still makes rat boards, he's the one to get a hold of.

Beav,are these the boards that have the shoulders shaved narrower?

Yep.

In my opinion all your rat boards are too wide in the neck and shoulders. By taking about 1/4" or 3/8ths off each side in the shoulder area will get you at least 2" more in length. And we all know size matters. I made my own patterns, and Ric made them to my specs. In a strong rat market, it probably doesn't matter but why not get the best price no matter what the market Is. And wire Is losing you money. First of all, you can't square off the skirt area. And the pressure created by wire thins the hide as it dries and you get what we call a paper rat. The thing you need to do is get your rats off the boards or wire in about 2 days. Once the nose is dry your good to go. And DON"T OVER FLESH your rats. Get the red meat off and leave most of the fat. It will be absorbed as the skin dries. The other thing a do Is cut off about an inch of that little tab from under side of the tail area. That part seems to take forever to dry and taking it off won't down grade the hide.

You can't make a rat bigger then it is but you can present that hide so the trapper gets the best price.