Alternatives to drumming fur

So my summer project is to make a decent drum. Don't have time during trapping season right now and I'm wondering if there is an alternative to drumming coyotes in prep for auction. Just brush them out really well or is there a better way?

Brush and an air compressor or shop vac blower.
Look as good or better than drummed,if you kept them grease free to begin with.
Can also do beaver with the blower.

Thank you Boco, great advice, I will give that a shot. I have a leaf blower?

I don't think I have room for a good drum but I wash mine with "mane & tail" then after the flip I comb from tail to head and hang nose down. Have you seen the thread about drumming/washing by coloradocat?

Yeah I did see that and have archived it. How to make coyote fur pop. But I know he drums his fur.

Drumming is mainly to get grease out of fur from poor handling to begin with.There is solvent mixed with the media,the solvent dissolves the fat and grease in the fur,and the media removes it.The dirt and dried blood will come out too and so will some minor pitch mats.
Drums and solvents are used extensively in the tanning industry.The auction houses drum fur prior to grading since they get all kinds of grease soaked and poorly handled fur.If they didn't drum it the graders hands would look like baseball mitts after a few hours.
I drum fur during the tanning process but not for raw fur-just the brush and blower.

Thank you Boco. Exactly the info I was looking for. I'll post some pics when I'm done brushing and leaf blowing the fur.

Here is a bit of fur brushed and blown.

Those look great Boco

What works for me and When I did sold at NAFA many years ago and got top lot on some of my coyote and other skins, I normal wash the skins before I flesh them in cold water. Get all the blood and dirt out of the fur. Then I hang them till the fur is dry I also comb them at that time and after dry I flesh them and board them and then when turn the coyote or fox, I brush them again and then kept on the board till dry then that is it after they are taken off the board and ready to go to sell. The fur is fluffy also.

I'll be building a tumbler as well this winter. Just like a drill; you can bore a hole by hand, or just pick up the electric drill and have it done in seconds with no effort. I also get more fur loss with brushing on long haired animals.

There is a cost to drumming fur,thats why the auctions charge for the service.The media and solvent needs changed regularly especially when drumming dirty or greasy skins.If you don't do that your fur will matt and be worthless.Also the electric to run the drum and the cost of building or buying the drum itself,and the space for the operation.
Also disposal of dirty media.
It is cost effective if handling thousands of skins but no advantage if you only handle a few hundred.

Having your own fur drum is definitely worth it.

I never worry about cleaning or drying fur anymore. Skin and throw in the tumbler and they come out perfect.

Spring beaver seem to be the worst. But, it's so easy with a tumbler. I don't use solvent. Just corn cob grit. It dries, knocks out the sand and burs and fluffs everything out, plus cleans up any blood.

I have a 55 barrel type (used when I travel) and real tumbler that's 4 feet in diameter.

I tumble everything...beaver, rats, mink, coon. But, I'm not doing much trapping in this market.

I have seen fur piled in the backs of pick ups etc that looks horrible,covered in mud,blood,bouncing around with ice chunks etc.Then there is the greasy old beam and liquid grease all in the fur from poor processing.In these cases a fur drum would be beneficial to an extent.But it is easy enough to turn a 100 pelt into a 10 dollar one and no amount of brushing/tumbling will reverse that.
As a trapper you need to keep your fur clean from the moment you choose a location to make a set,(keep the dirt/mud/burrs off),during dispatch if you have the odd live animal(keep the blood off),and during transport of dead animals(they should be bagged to prevent rubb damage).Then in the fur shed you need to keep the blood off when skinning and handle the animals grease free(don't get the fur soaked in grease,use a handful of sawdust for scraping fatty pelts).
Keep things simple from the get go,and handle the animals/fur with a little respect and you wont need to go thru complicated operations to put up a top quality product.

If you are shipping to an auction and they will drum them, no real need for the washing and drumming unless they are really dirty or bloody.

A drum is well worth the money and space if you process even a moderate amount of fur.

They’re not just for finish work.

x2

The op is looking for alternatives to drumming.Not a drum.

so

honestly i agree with ya unfortunately.

Trappers will buy all kinds of un necessary stuff,LOL.

i've tumbled a lot of dirty,greasy coon in a feedsack with kiln dried sawdust before fleshing,beaver too,tumbling a dried hide bothers me though.

Auctions drum your fur primarily to fluff all that matted shipped fur up so they can actually grade it. Second step after ticketing. Marten for one really don't need cleaning. At least mine don't. Coyotes probably clean up a bit since they are white.