Why people don't learn to finish fur?

I am curious as to why some trappers, game callers and hound hunters don't learn to finish their furs?
Our local fur buyer is overwhelmed with critters brought in to his shop in carcass form. Help is hard enough to find for other jobs but try hiring skinners and fur finishers!
I enjoy finishing fur and take pride in doing a good job. I consider it as finishing the last step in the harvesting process.
Well handled fur brings a better return as the buyers can judge the finished product better.

Correct on all points, Larry.I’ve asked that question a million times if once!

Seem to be lazy, I buy some fur mostly carcass fur.
And ask and offer to help them.
I throw out there I keep the fur one of each I show them.
Start to finish.

But never get any takers, all say It looks like to much work.
I don't have a place to do it, all the tools cost to much.

And if they cry about what I pay , I tell them go somewhere else.
I do It cause I enjoy it, got a good job already .
Wish I had someone offer me the opportunity when I was starting out.

Some people trap because they enjoy being out it's not the bottom dollar that counts it's the fun of seeing how critter's work the set etc.up until recent times you could sale carcass/ green fur just as easy as put up fur. Then you have learning curve and price of equipment to get the ball a rollin, some kids verily afford the traps.

Same reason people don't learn to modify or build their own gear I reckon. Not worth their time in their eyes

I am trying to learn, my problem is that I want to do things myself, but when I see the end result, it's just not good enough! My goal is to be able to tan everything that I want, maybe it's just a pipe dream!

for years most handlers did a lousy job. Buyers got to a point it was easier to do it themselves. Didn't take long for all trappers to jump on the carcass band wagon to save time. Carcass fur pays better than poorly finished fur.

I still kick myself because back in the early 80's the local fur buyer offered to show me how to put up animals -- I said no -- but i did let him show me how to skin them and brought them to him that way. I had to learn much later in life to flesh and dry -- the only ggod thing about that is that when i was just skinning them I was getting 5$ each for nutria -- now I skin flesh and board for 2-3$

You said it right there. You enjoy finishing fur. I despise finishing fur. Since moving down south where there are no local buyers, putting it up is pretty much the only option. I hate doing it so much it makes me not even want to trap it in the first place because then I know I'll have to put it up.

Monster hit the nail on the head.

Facilities to handle fur
Cost to get decent gear to finish fur(fleshing beam, fleshing knife, stretchers, pins, etc)
Carcass disposal
Cant really learn how to do it from youtube.

It might be that from a time equals money standpoint, more money is made catching instead of finishing. That is when fur is valuable/profitable.
I enjoy putting up fur myself.

When, in the last how many years, has it been beneficial to sell fur in the round than finished? The market has declined so much in the last so many years that I don't feel your point is valid.

In many areas you have to do your own fur, we dont have the luxury of a fur buyer right down the road.

I always caught more fur by spending my time tending and setting traps than in the fur shed finishing stuff. I only put up the easy stuff, rats, mink, fox, etc... I have never had any desire to scrape coons and beavers and the like. In the end, its the same money, sell more green furs or less finished furs.

I suppose if you don't catch very many then you may as well put them up.

I trap because I enjoy catching animals. There are many things I like much better than putting up fur, that pay much, much better, that I would rather do, so I have not put up any fur since the early 2000's.

Keith

I enjoy putting up fur, but I trap mostly easy to put up stuff. Coons, rats and mink.

The minimum wage in 1980 was about $3 an hour. The fur buyer/ processor could probably put up a $30 coon for a buck. A trapper was better off catching more $30 coon than putting up $30 coon for $31. I learned to put up fur when I had no choice. I learned from books, magazines and later one video. I would still sell in the round if it was profitable. I have been told that I do a good job. I wouldn't know.

I have been shown. It takes me 45 min to do a coon and im not sure if its correct when i get done. I used to skinn and sell green. Now buyer dose not even want coon. If i had someone to stand next to and learn from untill i get each animal down i would love to learn but i have no one i know close enough that has time for that. So 8 have a full freezer and have not set a trap. Heck i wanted to pay a guy to put them up and tan them last year but would not get return calls when i called him to do it after season.

Not being able to put up my fur or having some5hing to do with it makes me not want to bother trapping the little i do.

I have went to a few fur sales and observed the put up. Well maybe more than a few but anyways in the western trapper run fur sales I would say the put up is decent overall. Yes there is some that stand out and are a cut above(pun intended). I believe that the majority of serious trappers put up or hire someone to put up their fur. A lot of the carcass stuff such as coyotes are taken by hunters who have no idea how to do it. I remember years ago going to a major fur buyer and he has semi trailers full of frozen carcass coon. I am sure most were taken by coon hunters. That was something to see. There is not a lot of carcass buyers in the west so you pretty much have to put it up if you want to sell it at sales.

Minimum wage in 1980 was $1.90 an hour and then went to $2.10 an hour and I thought I was going to be rich lol (young and dumb)

That 45 minutes will get down to 10 or less with practice. It just takes awhile to get the hang of it.

How close are you to Ohio-Bucyrus of Jeffersonville? We have a couple guys, mainly ack, that does a great fur handling demonstration at our fur auctions

Looks like a long way. Im near charlestown IN.

It's hard enough to trap when you have a job. It's even harder to put up fur. No time.

I finish some but some goes in the freezer to be sold in the round. Someday when I retire, I plan on doing all of it.

I wreck stuff skinning it on a machine let alone finishing it. Ive ripped coon in half and now this year two coyotes. I usually mess up around the eyes and ears as well. I hate it. I have no one i know remotely close by to show me what im doing wrong, which is obviously something i cant see. I finally watched a video i thought was good, then i ripped a large nicely furred yote in half and that machine almost got put in a chop saw. Ill continue to trap until there are absolutely zero buyers, then i wont. Luckily, there are walleye and pheasants at the same time of year! My hats off to those who are good at it and like it-but thats not “trapping”.

Luckily we live in America, and have the freedom to do what we want.


Carcass buyers provide a great, and invaluable service .




Use whatever works best for you.

How many animals does the government allow you to take in your state?

I'm with monstertom on this one,,, when put fur is only worth 10$ more than carcass goods it's not worth the time .
And before you jump on me I can put up fur

Agree 100%
Best way to evaluate a pelt is when its stretched and dried.
Any skins that cant be fully evaluated will never realize their true value..

I’ve had help with muskrats in the past. Mostly my grandmothers but other than that and my very first fox I’ve put up every single animal I’ve ever killed by myself.

Once you have been tanning fur pelts for a few years you will find that you have become an expert fur grader-no joke-true.

I enjoy puting up the fur i catch, but i find it hard to work 8hr a day, check and remake set's every day, skin, flesh and board what i catch and keep peace in the family.
I'm not that fast at putting up fur so it seem's that i spend at lot of time in the fur shed.

I should have told that joke to Paul Millette,lol.

It’s because we have made it sound to complicated!

There's not enough price difference for Louisiana fur. No sense in putting up fur for $1/hr

When i first started useing my machine to skin i also was ripping fur, what works for me is to use the machine to keep the fur tight as i pull or use a knife to skin.

...or their true worthlessness.

Most every western auction will have competent fur handlers willing to help the new guys out. John Grahams Coyote Days in August is another topnotch place to learn. Some guys will pick it up others will never figure it out.

I learned to put up fur from other trappers on traplines and at the council workshops. There will be at least 4 or 5 people putting up fur all day. At the bigger councils you could learn from a dozen people skinning and putting up all the species of fur,not to mention how to trap too.
Some great fur handling demos as well as competitions at FHA convention every year in North Bay.I have seen a couple guys doing fur put up demos at the NTA and OFMF-but it is in the summer and the animals are rough from the start.Not the same as fur handling demos in season with fresh fur.

How many of you see the skinning demos at local, state and national conventions?
Greg does or used to do several species at the national conventions, and Leon from Top Lot does an excellent job too.
These can perhaps be an asset you can use to help you learn fur processing.

Put up fur for the local fur buyer for years .but the good friend past last year. Been thinking of being a fur buyer. Would rather put up fur than trap.

My reason is = That Alabama and Texas coyote fur is basically worthless. Been catching coyotes in Alabama since 1990. Their are friends of mone that have made a whooping big pile of money on 6 dollar coyotes. Thats prime fur for here WHY In the world would. Man want to skin a 5 dollar coyote? LoL!!!

Because most who don't are still given the ability to shine at conventions or clubs or even over the fire about their prowess
at trapping or calling, thats all they want to hear and feel. They are not interested in completing the cycle to it's finish.

Unfortunately these are also the ones who complain about not getting paid enough for their efforts, never giving a thought to finishing off the pelt, to them a carcass pelt is the same as a finished one only it takes a bit longer to do, which they don't want the time to give to do.

I've stood right next to sellers at auctions and listened to them whine why they did not get a higher price even though their bring in's were a better color or larger animal, they are inept at reasoning about it as well, they just will not accept the difference, and use the excuse that they spend as much time as any trapper or caller getting the pelt, but absolutely ignore the time needed to finish it off.

I can understand the time, when one works long shifts or is out away's from the trap line, and most of those people are educated about the time needed and accept the lower price, it's the ones who feel as equal to those who do finish off the pelts who just do not want to get messy, or bloody or have to discard the carcass and will not accept the lower price because I or some one else has to finish off to get our money back. It is also very risky to buy carcass pelts due to spoilage and care in handling while finding a buyer.

I always tell them spend more time to finish and get paid more to do so, some have learned others till don't care and never will !

Hahahaaaaa.Somebody had a little too much beaver squeezins tonight.

Never seen one. I probably could give one, if I cared.

I hear you are good at wolverine Dirt-come and do a wolverine demo at FHA next convention.

I would catch 20 to 30 coon a day first few weeks of my season. Skin and put up all dry ones that nite. Wet ones would hang until next nite and be put up first then the dry ones from that days catch. If I got far behind I would skin and freeze them until the coon run slowed down.
A good fur handler should be able to skin , scrape and board 4 or 5 coons an hour. Some will do a lot more.

I think people who start putting up fur the same time as they learn to trap mostly will continue to put up their fur.You start off trapping less fur when you start trapping and it takes longer to do a decent job putting up that fur because you are learning that also.
When you get more proficient at trapping you also have to become more proficient and efficient at putting up your fur.
After a while you will be trapping large amounts of fur of all kinds and putting it up very quickly and efficiently and doing a good job as long as no bad habits were ingrained when you were learning.That is why its important for beginners to watch good efficient fur handlers put up fur.That way they wont get bad habits ingrained like some do when self teaching-It is almost impossible to change the way you do something that is repetitive if you start off on the wrong foot.

[quote=KeithC]I trap because I enjoy catching animals. There are many things I like much better than putting up fur, that pay much, much better, that I would rather do, so I have not put up any fur since the early 2000's.

Keith[/quote

I with you a far as putting up fur. Never liked skinning and probably never will although I still do some of it.

I think it's partly a regional thing. I started buying fur in Washington State in 1978. 100% of it was put-up fur.
I got a call from a trapper one day who said he had a 100 muskrats or so, and asked if I could come to his house, he only lived a few miles away so I said sure.
I got there and he led me out to his shed and opened up a big chest freezer. I found myself staring in disbelief at a hundred whole frozen muskrats. I was at a loss for words, I had never heard of such a thing. The guy told me he moved from Ohio to Washington recently, but had always sold his fur in the round.
I told him I had never heard of such a thing, I left without even making him an offer, in hindsight I probably could have bought them pretty cheap.

My dad had 4-5 trappin buddies when I was growin up and not one put up or even skinned. There were always other guys at the fur buyer every week, and the only ones i can remember even skinning were coon hunters who didnt want to carry a carcass. This was in Iowa.

Nice pictures boco but there's more to trapping than putting up fur.

Ii have a buddy who's deer hunting group of farmers and other rural folk from just over the line in Minnesota have never cut up their own deer. Sure, they field dress it but always bring it to a local "locker" for processing. A good number are farmers and deer hunting is during harvest or trying to do fall field work so why dink around cutting up a deer..? I also think there's a bit of "snobbery" thing, if your bringing in a quarter million or more cash flow farming, why waste your time on saving a couple hundred in cutting up and packaging a deer...?

I've put up easy things like mrats for a long time but didn't move onto to greasier things such as coon until much more recent. When the 2013 NAFA sales happened, I asked myself "why I'm I selling to a middleman when I could send to auction and cut that step out...?" Just need to get the right equipment and technique. I'm far from fast but it seems that I do a good job when looking at how my skins grade. I like, untill the last few years years, how my hides stacked up at say NAFA. Then again, I don't have 20-30 coons laying on my garage floor at any one time. Everybody finds their comfort zone...

Huh? Except for a few minor species, there is no limit in how many critters we can take in my state. Most states are that way. My state's trapping regs are about 3 pages at most.

You got that right always include the kids.Taught them to skin and put up fur too..

I work 35 days overseas and 35 days home off. I don’t put up anything now. It’s not worth my time. When I’m not hunting, shooting coyotes or trapping I’m spending with my wife. If I can just get gas money back it’s worth it to me.

I do know how to put fur up just not worth it to me anymore. When I retire I will probably start back putting up my fur. I did get some deer ready to tan this year. I want to get some beaver tanned this year too.

I am taking a different approach. I am learning how to finish fur first. I successfully completed my first tanning project: a deer skin rug for my wife and 8 grey squirrel skins. I then built my first coon board yesterday along with 7 squirrel boards. I built a fleshing beam and got a fleshing knife I purchased a tanning DVD and a tanning kit. I now have 10 lbs of alum and 2 lbs of washing soda. I am getting naphtha for a degreaser. As soon as I get my first coon I am going to flesh it and begin the alum tanning process. Once I have had satisfactory results doing this then I am going to start getting serious about getting coons. And muskrat. My wife comes from an Amish background and you can't kill things unless they are going to be eaten. I already make deer and squirrel into cat food and preserve it by pressure canning. I am going to do the same with the coon we don't eat. The muskrat will be donated to a fire company my cousin works at where it will be used for a muskrat dinner fundraiser. The coon fat will be rendered and I will find a market. I am going to address the muskrat glands as well. I bought a book on tanning and skinning, 2 books on sewing leather and fur (I learned how to sew and alter patterns years ago). My approach is learning how and what to do with the skins and critters first. I have something probably lots of you don't have: time and a home that is paid for. If I had to slave away paying a mortgage or rent, I would probably be daydreaming about catching critters, tanning my own hides and making coonskin caps while in the store buying pet food. I am greatful for what I have and respect those on here who do things differently. I feel gratitude for those of you who work all day then run trap line and getting this occupation relevant. Thank you.

Way cool Boco! Thanks for passing the love to another generation.

Right, absolutely no limit on any furbearer species here.

About once a year somebody asks this question. This year you ought not be selling anything but the top 10 percent anyway if your putting it into the traditional fur buyer pipeline. If your trapping south of I40 (except western mountain bobcats) it should all go into the ditch if you havnt created your own niche or meat market. If your selling meat dont sell the skins. Any fur that is bought is going to end profitable for somebody. Dont play the trappers should pay to trap game

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/crown-cap-coyote-mountain-man-hat

People do not put up their fur for the same reasons many do not process their own deer. Lack of knowledge and ambition.

I put up all my fur. But 95% of my annual catch is red fox. they are probably on of the easiest critters to peel and board, hardly any fleshing involved.

I avoid coons like the plague and grumble when the occasional one finds it's way into my traps.

If this is true, which it very will could be, the lack of knowledge is laziness too. When my kid was12 he used youtube to teach himself everything he needed to know.

I taught my kids how to put up fur and butcher deer (and all other game). My granddaughter made me promise I wouldn't process the deer that's currently hanging until she can help.

If you have that knowledge and don't at least try to pass it down to your kids/grandkids, shame on you.

I had 4 or 5 buyers within 40 miles of me growing up. They all wanted critters put up different. So it was just easier to sell them whole or skinned and let them do it themselves. When I went to college I never put up because of no place to do it.

Now I have the room, but no real desire to do it. I still skin some things, but I've been selling to taxidermists lately and they want whole critters.

I'm on my second go-around with trapping. First time at it was back in the 70's during my teenage years - really liked going out to catch muskrat and beaver under the ice and sold everything in the round back then. No other trappers in my family so it was an added mystery to me in regards to how to properly put up and finish fur so I opted to "not screw up" the pelts and left it to my local buyer. I winter trapped for six years before other things in life came about and I hung up my traps.

Fast forward about 40 years and the desire to trap has become a burning desire to get back out there and do it to it's fullest extent with a high emphasis on fur put up and utilizing the animals as much as possible. It's been a great endeavor learning and exploring each and every aspect and I truly envy each and every one of you who have stayed with this as a lifelong pursuit. I'm not in it for the money - although I will admit to using that as a reason to justify "expenses" to my wife. There is an incredible amount to learn in becoming a full fledged trapper and, for me, learning the methods to put up my own fur is a large piece of it. You don't know what you don't know and at this stage in my life it's about doing, or at least trying, some of those things I've come realize I missed out on earlier in life.

Thank goodness for this site and the willingness of all you "lifelong" trappers to share your tips, advice, and experiences.

I don't flesh and board most fatty critters since I do all fur handling in my basement. I know how, and can do it, but the mess is not worth the money to me. I am very particular about how I handle the animals from catch site to the fur buyer and my averages seem inline with current prices. So I don't see the need to mess with it.

I guess the question was, "Why don't people learn to put up fur?" So I agree people should know how to but I don't feel it's necessary to do IF the animals are properly handled, as in clean, combed, carefully skinned, frozen properly and presented to the fur buyer in good condition then the buyer will still be able to grade the fur with confidence and the price will reflect the care and quality of said fur. Thats good enough for me.

I have only an unheated barn, no heated space to dry them in

I think many dont have a good area or heated shop to hang them in and don't want to bring the mess inside the house

If you think about when you first learned to finish fur- you probably had a good mentor that showed you best practices in fur handling. The second component is volume, allowing you to hone and refine those skills for efficiency and quality through high catch numbers. My guess is a lot of trappers and hunters didn't have either. I'm not referring to those that know how to do it like ADC and choose not to, I often sell coon green unless I'm out of freezer space- the automation for some fur buyers negates the cost advantage and I'd rather trap.

Dont need heat. Just need dry and some air movement

When I started trapping coyotes 6 or 7 years ago, I learned on my own how to put them up. And YouTube. When I sold my first ones, I got $85 for them. I asked the buyer what they were worth as carcass, he said $60. Paid me extra $25 to put them up. I realize that isn't true today with the current price outlook.

I enjoy time in the fur shed as much as on the line. I don't watch any TV which makes a huge difference for time. I used to enjoy butchering my own deer as well but once my son got going and we were taking
5-6 a year it was just too time consuming with his and my daughters activities. He is now moved out and does his own but I do pay for that occasionally. I take great pride in my fur put up but I am very picky so that helps.

I kinda think fox are harder to put up than coon because you have to take your time and be careful with the thinner hide. You can get pretty aggressive on coon without hurting anything. But then, I don't catch many fox so am slower at those.

Good reasons for either depending on your situation, but you guys are missing the most obvious. Cash in hand with no waiting for a check. One of the most common arguments for selling weekly at the rat wagon.

I only put up fur cause I have no local buyer, keep freezer space, and I feel less risk when holding fur. Certain species the price is main reason like rats. I wouldn't care to ever put up another coyote but weirdly I find putting up beaver relaxing.

This X1000. There are so many hunters and trappers out there that do this for the picture. They kill a big buck, have a big pile of ducks, or a truck load of trapped critters. They take the pictures and post them online and toss whatever was in the picture in the ditch.

From the general consensus of the replies this will probably ruffle some feathers, but I was raised that if you take somethings life you use it to its full purpose. Putting up fur is just part of the process for me. I'm a perfectionist and enjoy the small details of it. I don't view it as an option is what I'm saying. It never crosses my mind that I could just toss that coon in the freezer and sell it whole. It's automatically programmed that I have to take care of it start to finish. I realize the current fur market doesn't reward your efforts, but an extra dime is an extra dime. I'm not saying you should process coyotes with mange or unusable fur, but the good stuff should be processed start to finish by the trapper that caught it.

Part of trapping heritage is fur handling. Carry it on and pass it on

One reason could be the trappers hands won't allow it. arthritis can stop one from being able to skinn and flesh but not inhibit the ability to still set traps. Pulling the tail out of 3-4 coon in one morning is all I could manage without severe pain. But with our coon worthless it's even more reason not to trap them let alone process.

Lot of people who say they don't have time to put up their fur also don't have time to join their state and national trapping associations. All part of the process for me. If I screw up on a couple these days it's not a big financial hit unless it's a cat.

In the very near future, if not already now, trappers will not have the option to sell in the round. With the near extinction of country fur buyers, the only way trappers will be able to sell their furs is through the auction houses.

More likely the opposite may happen if FHA cannot hang on through this drought. Then we may be left with one major buyer totally controlling prices.

That is what already happened with the coyote market. A chinaman was the money man for all the buyers actively pursuing coyotes, now he killed the market because he doesn't want anything but the best of the best. That is what happens with selling to the chinese, get you to selling to them, pay your prices for a few years, then start telling you what they will pay....and no more. Then what they will buy.

Space, cracass removal, time, smelly garage/shed, ect. I never put up fur until I started trapping in Wyoming. In iowa (back then), there were numerous fur buyer in the area and we always had a place to take them. Out here, it was hours to the closest buyer and we also deal with warm spells from the southwest chinooks. Now, I can't even fathom not putting up my own stuff, it's just the last step of the process.

Castormound are you looking for any beaver trapping areas? I know of some need here in SE Wyoming.
We have quite a few buyers come through Laramie and they all prefer put up fur and pay well for it when done right. Our buyer told me how much difference in price for green and put up and it was a no brainer after that. I also enjoy part of the work, spouse does the fleshing though.
I find it satisfying to have buyers tell you your put up is first rate.

This is close to the reason I will be quitting soon. Throw in reading glasses, allergies to some pelts now. Getting old sucks!

I never understood the idea that you can trap more if you dont put up fur,unless you are hindered by restrictive trap check laws or dont use lethal sets or trap in warm weather.
Traps are out working 24/7 when you are in the furshed or at the hotel.Gang setting means you always have traps working when others hold fur.

When I was younger I ran 3 longlines and two shorter lines every week,I always took a day to skin and put up some fur,.The rest was done after trapping wound down when landfur season closed and before the spring under ice beaver run,and there was plenty to put up.I also worked full time back then.

The idea is you can run a longer line. Drop off the catch to a buyer or freezer end of the day, sleep a few hours and do it again tomorrow.

Yes there are 24 hour check laws .I'll try to explain how it used to go for me. Coon and rat trapping was done in a time window. Once things froze up it was over. You had to keep pulling and resetting new locations to keep catch rates up. If you had the freezer space, which is a lot of freezer space for frozen coon, I suppose one could put up the fur after the window, if it was worth it. I think many trappers skinned coon just to keep the freezer space open. Back in those days the buyers actually preferred ( I believe ) to put up the catch. It could be done more uniform and relatively cheap compared to the value of those pelts. The pay difference between put up and in the round was not much. There was no real incentive to put up fur.

In my area as a buyer if I didn't buy on the carcass I would not get anything bought. The main excuse I hear is "I'm not skinning that stinking thing it was all I wanted to carry it to the pickup". My family has bought fur for many years and in the 70s we bought a lot of put up fur but in the 20+ years I've been involved in the business I can count the number of put up and skinned hides I've bought on my hands and won't need all my fingers to do it and most of that fur looked like it was skinned with a chainsaw. Most of it was guys who thought they wanted to skin or put up thier own fur until they tried one and after that they decided it was more fun killing than skinning. The majority of people I buy from will put what they kill in the ditch or on the fence before they put a knife to it regardless of price because "its nasty". Most of the same people would do the same thing with deer if they had to butcher it themselves instead of letting a locker do it.

I'm sure the antis would love to take credit for poor fur prices, but I think they have very little to do with this situation of poor demand.

People's tastes are changing in many regards. For example; up until about 1997 the Japanese would pay very high prices for certain high quality Douglas fir, western hemlock, and Alaska yellow cedar logs. They wanted large diameter, clear, old-growth (high ring count) logs. Just as an example, a 30 Inch diameter, high ring count (#1 Peeler) Doug fir log was bring $3200 per thousand board feet. That same log today is nearly unmarketable. The Japanese no longer have the desire or taste for high quality lumber, they have moved away from traditional, esthetic construction, and have adopted western style tastes.

If a person has some high quality logs they now want to market, they have to find niche markets such a wooden boat builders, or timber frame home builders. Then they need to arrange for a custom sawmill to manufacture the lumber.

This is very similar to what I see happening in the fur industry. The fur industry is not as dead as the high-end softwood lumber market, but it might be on it's way there.

Good posts Waggler.

I got my start selling nutria in the round, but when I moved off to college there weren't any local fur buyers so I had to learn to put up all my own stuff....(much to the chagrin of my fraternity brothers)! I hated catching beaver in those days( in my nutria sets) because it took me so long to process them. As time went on and I needed my trapping income to keep me afloat in the winter months when I wasn't farming. I started catching a lot of beaver and little by little got efficient at putting them up. At some point my bigger than average lots of beaver started getting noticed at the OTC sales in our state and I was asked to give some skinning and put up demos.

The 1975 me never would have guessed that 15-20 years later I would be giving beaver skinning demos! I would have said NO way, impossible.

But trust me, if I could get there, surely anybody can.

Spot on BP-once you start skinning large amounts of fur on a regular basis you get good and fast.
Even if I take a couple months off with not skinning beaver,it takes about 4 or 5 to get back in the groove.

And it can also recover and take off again. Something as simple as a new fashion trend can breathe new life into the industry. It's happened many times before and probably will again.

I'm sure the anti's have had no affect on the European or North American market. What are you guy's smokin?

Corn silk

What is he paying? Im in the area.

When I was 11 or 12 me and my buddy took our fur in the round to a buyer. After that I taught myself to skin flesh and put up all my fur. Never thought about someone else fleshing or skinning my catch. Many long nights have been spent putting up fur. Even when I was young burning the candle at both ends I wouldn't trade those times for all the tea in China. For the last couple decades I've skinned and frozen my fur then thawed and put up fur in the deep of winter at my own leisure. A few pelts a day. That way my beat up body doesn't have to push itself. Hopefully I will continue to put up my fur, it's very enjoyable to me.

I agree to a point, but that happened years ago and has been cooked into the market for quite a while.

When I started trapping putting up fur was an important part of trapping. It's part of what trappers have historically done. I enjoy seeing well handled fur. I enjoy it more when it's fur I have caught that I am looking at. I get as much out of a fur handling demo as I do most how to catch'em demos.

Rat at cascade are 3-4 in the round are 5-6 put up,,,,, you do the math
Sure collect the glands on beaver and otter, but I would rather use my time more productive.

$3 in the round $5 put up
$100 in rats in the round. $167 put up
More than enough incentive for me to keep putting them up

When I started trapping , prices were always low at the beginning of season .
The fur dealers back then were more than happy to show you how to put up fur .
I remember early muskrat @ around $ 1.50 and late season $ 4-5 .00 .
Fox early season $ 7. 50 , end of season $ 85.00 , so it was well worth the effort .
I started selling in the round , and learned quick to put the fur up , it brought a lot more back then .
Now it's a very sad state of business .
Only ones making money off trapping are the nuisance trappers .
Farmers now use poison more than ever before because there's few trappers and hunters left because of animal rights zealots .

Millions of animals go to waste every year because they still have to be controlled .
People become more and more removed from real life and common sense everyday .
They throw their money at the scam commercials , without thinking , pure emotion .
LMAO Now they want $ 19.00 a month to save the polar bears because of Global Warming .
People are getting dumber by the minute .

Correct. As one of my sons says “ya can’t cure dumb”. Unfortunately true.

I put up fur because I choose to and I don't catch large numbers and have invested in the assets needed to put up fur. Why do we put down trappers for not putting up fur? Many drive autos and trucks thousands of miles each year and don't service their vehicles. Many raise livestock and poultry for food and have the animals commercially processed. Many deer hunters don't process their venison. The vast majority don't file their own taxes. Most don't represent themselves in court when and if needed. most farmers don't process their commodity production. The list can go on and on, but it seems that many define a "trapper" only by doing the whole nine yards and if we are going to continue this form of scorn on those that don't even fewer will set a trap and control wildlife. I bet a lot of commercial ADC trapper don't put up even a small portion of their catches.

Bryce

Not to mention it is a matter of minutes to skin and stretch a rat.

I knew a number of excellent long line mink trappers that caught a couple hundred mink a year and claimed they did better selling green than put up. They reasoned that the fur buyer was not grading the mink as hard since he could not see the imperfections, lice, blue skin, etc. Always talked about getting nose count average with no grading. Pretty sure the buyer was still grading and building in a certain percent of imperfections into that nose count average, but you couldn't tell them any different.

Bryce, I guess you just like to stir the pot, seems to me you missed the whole point of the original question !

Most ADC don't get to finish fur, here the ADC and DWR see that as a conflict of interest, meaning they may take unnecessary animals where not needed to for the money, don't know about other states to much though. All they take goes into the burners or buried. If caught finishing or giving away they can lose their jobs.

As to the rest of your examples, I don't care about all them others really, the question was about trappers, learned along time ago that there are people who will finish and then there are others who don't but always complain about the low price they receive. When trying to explain why to them they feel that they expend just as much effort and by bringing it in on carcass that shows they are much better at taking care of the pelt, regardless of the green bellies, or shot up mess they want top dollar for.

I don't think the scorn you talk about is for every one just those who think they are just as good as any other finisher, they are not, trapping has always and will continue to be about the total process in my view, you can give them a bye if you like !

As to all the other examples you give, most all of them have a service built up around their jobs or employment. Not so with Trappers, I don't hear of any Dentists saying they make their own tools, or Doctors practicing for free. Lawyers seem to be the only people who can make money either with a win or a loss !!

They are In it just for the killing. Finishing fur too much like work and no fun for them. Buyers of carcass fur make it easy for them to kill w no quilt attached because the dead animals become someone else's responsibility for proper utilization. These people will sell cheap for the most part just to continue their killing habit.

Seriously?

Yes, with few exceptions, seriously. Some hunters the same way. Kill and then wonder what to do with it all.

Exactly. I make a living killing 400 to 500 coyotes a year in Alabama and Texas. How in the world am i suppost to put up that worth less summer time fur?? Lots of people have decent fur we do not! 2 dollar coyotes? No thatnks. Some people claim = we are wasting the resource But how is it a resource if its worthless? Just because someone doesnt put up fur DOESNT automatically make them lazy or some kill for fun trapper. I have been trapping for 34 years and have never skinned and sold anything

I said with few exceptions. You steeltraps were at predator control "made a living" for animals that were worthless but needed culling.[b][/b]

Go back to the original question on Page 1 of this thread.

I was posting to this ^^^^^ remark. Im in Central ~West Texas on a 2 month coyote trapping job in sheep country. I have 1 bar service. Very slow So os my typing Crosspatch. So I was responding and had not seen the = With few Exceptions part. My bad. Carry on. LoL!!

I read all 6pages of this post. Went back and read Larrys o p. It seems to me this has been a good all around talk. Would like to put in my 2c.

First, I worked 25 years in the building trades and was laid off in winter. Trapping for me was a way to bring home a check. I remember we used to tell the boots to get good then get fast. At first I sold in the round, I learned that the buyer had a market for everything from all animals, carcass, hide, glands. It wasn't until I caught 14 coon about 4 total miles from my truck that I ever thought to skin in the field. After that it was natural progression to putting up the fur. Then came good first, fast second. I hung out and befriended my buyer and learned his ways. Now I wouldn't dream of not putting up my own fur.

Second. Fast forward 30 years I ranch. And in defense of farmers and ranchers how far do you take doing their own finishing. Plant, harvest, grind the crop, bake it into bread. Raise to fat, kill, butcher, wrap, the meats. I think we can all see this is not a reasonable expectation.

I think folks now days don't put up their own fur because it's not a necessity. Folks nowadays only know right now. Instant gratification. No hard work involved. It's not worth it to me at this very moment. I will do the fun exciting part let someone else do what I don't have to do. Just my two cents worth.

Never considered myself a “true” trapper, just something I was “voluntold” to do for someone after 35 years since I’d last set a trap and actually enjoy it. We used to skin and sell green as a kid and man we made some money. $18-25 for coons. Up to $35 for fox. And $65 for cats. And this was back in the late 70’s and real early 80’s.
After I started trapping as an adult I got with my childhood friend and we skinned everything out my first year. He was thinking about getting back into as well until he started looking for a buyer. Not sure when he found but $3 for coons and less than $15 or so for fox, cats, and coyotes, put a damper on his plans and mine for skinning anything else, lol. I told him to keep the money cause I was getting paid per critter anyways.
Basically not worth my time.

I know there are some that seem to kill for fun , but I don't know too many.
Only one time did I see someone kill just to kill .
There has always been a reason for me and most people I know of to kill anything .
Be it protecting live stock , or crops , garden or foundations of buildings .
Killed many groundhogs as a kid and most of my life because they clear cut bean fields , and cause dangerous holes in fields .
Try baling hay in a field full of groundhog holes .
10'S OF thousands of muskrats are trapped and thrown away in Europe / The Netherlands protecting the dikes .
But not one can be kept because of anti fur laws there .
With prices today a few put up their furs to tan and sell as finished furs .
I'll bet in Ohio alone 10's of thousands of coon are poisoned every year protecting corn patches , especially sweetcorn patches .
Let along cabbage family patches , bean fields and hay fields for groundhogs , and don't forget the damage deer permits where the deer for the most part are shot and dumped in a gully .
I honestly believe very few kill just for fun .

Amen. Folks often run their mouths until theyre in those shoes.
But then again, they probably reside in shacks or shanties.

Those that do put up fur can't figure out there may be a good reason beyond laziness not to put up fur. People, who put up fur for no good (what is your time worth) economic reason baffle me. We all get baffled.

I like to put up fur. But, I do what the buyers want! Right now. I am selling green. And I put the pencil to it, if they want it put up. It’s up to them!

If you put up your fur you have many more options when it comes to marketing your collection.

Dirt
I know people who put fur up just for pleasure and don't really care about the price, but they do finish it off after catching it, the whole process for them is just a mind game, finished fur is the end product !

Why is that so baffling, it's not like it's going to waste, one does not have to worry about getting paid to do the finish if they enjoy the whole process.

I don't understand the part of taking the fur just to throw it away, thats baffling to me, it's always worth something unless it's been infected with lice or mange, taken to early like ADC work, there is a market for finished good fur, it may not pay the same as auctions, but it just may pay better as well !!

As an end user and small buyer my self, I come across very nice pelts all the time that people just don't wish to throw away and just are happy to be able to move them to someone who can do something with them.

One only needs to do some searching to find the market, pretty soon the hobby-craft market will be saturated as well, thats probably when fur will completely die off in this country or maybe it will be the cause of people actually really finding out the utility of using fur as apparel and making money.

I put up one finished beaver just to try it out. I just nuisance trap (can't keep them) or trap for the meat. Maybe if they had better fur like up north I would finish them.

I wish I had a bunch of people around me that enjoy putting up fur. I'd let them put up mine and wouldn't even charge them for the pleasure. I'm a giver!

I got hired on a real good trapline to apprentice with an old accomplished trapper when I was learning to run a registered line.All I had to do was put up the old trappers catch for him.At that time he was catching about 1/3 the marten quota and 1/4 the beaver quota.The rest was mine.

When I was a kid I started trapping to make stuff out of the fur-I trapped skinned and tanned fur for my own use.It wasm't until a couple years later that i even knew you could sell raw fur.

I don't care if TM members skin and put up fur or not. I don't judge. Everybody has to decide what's best for them. After all, many of the iconic trappers that we so much look up to like Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Joe Meek, etc, etc likely didn't put up much fur either. They had camp keepers and squaws for that. But you can bet they sure knew how to.

I finished fur when NAFA was going just to get the satisfaction of making top lots. That told me I was doing it right. Price was secondary. These days you get no recognition of doing great job of finishing from the buyer.

Maybe your fur buyer is swamped with carcuss fur because there is no money left to pay for help? 2,3,and 5 dollar finished pelts doesnt leave much room for hired help.

If u dont finish pelts an do good job, ur definatrly trapping for fun, no money in it at all an green or carcass , close worthless, wasn't plan on trapping this late but warm this week, probly leave a few out till next weekend , thinking about not do any at all after then until Jan in thaw, have not been get much lately as no new places , no idea what going do about marketing yet, way things are going, not sure if hardly any markets a year fr now

I just read all six and a half pages of the responses to my post. Wow what a diverse group of post!
My initial question was solely directed to fur trappers and I didn't mean to include ADC trapping.
I have been fur harvesting (trapping and coon hunting with hounds) for about 50 years.
As a young man following a pack of hounds thru the north Missouri woods I learned to skin coons at the base of the tree. Usually with very poor lighting so I didn't have to carry the carcasses all night. If we happened to be close to the truck I would carry a coon back unskinned. In those days I usually froze those skinned coons and sold them green at the end of the season.
I skinned everything I trapped those days and froze most of the hides to sell green at the end of the season. I did finish my muskrats in those days and longed for the time and knowledge to finish the coyotes, beaver and other furs.
After moving west I started to pursuit finishing more of my fur. One old fur buyer I dealt with gave me some pointers about how to do a better job and get more money for my furs. We did business for several years and eventually I and my trapping buddy started going to the buyers shop and helping him put up fur he had bought and trapped himself. We helped him solely for the experience and education with the only pay being a free home cooked breakfast if we worked all night! We could only do that on the weekends as my buddy and I had day jobs.
I must add that I didn't put up most furs until the seasons were over. I skinned most critters the day they were caught and frozen right away. The one exception was bobcats, I put them up the day of harvest. Which sometimes meant getting out of bed to turn the hides on the stretcher in the middle of the night.
At the end of trapping season I gradually thawed out hides then flesh and stretched them. During season I want to spend my time and energy collecting more furs instead of finishing them.
After retiring I do finish more fur as I catch them but if I seem to be getting back logged I will skin and freeze hides until I have more time.
I take great joy in finishing all my fur and enjoy getting a picture of my seasons labors when the job is done.
Thanks again for all the opinions and comments. I feel it has been a very spirited and constructive post.
Larry

Larry, thanks for posting back and for letting me ride along.

One thing about learning to finish furs , is you can skin any animal for the taxidermy trade , just need to do a couple things different .
But the skill is learned over the years .