Fur Handling, Your Fur Log and Selling Your Fur

Handle it right or lose the value

A well-caught animal can lose most of its value at the skinning table. Good fur handling is worth as much as a good set.

Before skinning

• Make sure the fur is dry and clean. Brush out burrs and mud.
• If you can't skin right away, keep the animal cool. For longer holds, freeze it whole in a plastic bag, with as much air out as possible, and thaw it slowly before skinning.
• Check animals for parasites and wear gloves.

Skinning

Most furbearers are case-skinned: the hide comes off like a sock, starting with a cut from foot to foot across the back of the hind legs. Beaver are the main exception; they're skinned open (a cut down the belly) and stretched round. Learn the right method for each species from your trapper education materials, a local association demonstration, or an experienced trapper.

Fleshing

Remove all fat and meat from the hide with a fleshing beam and a fleshing knife. Fat left on the hide can spoil it and causes "grease burn" that ruins the fur. Work from tail to head on case-skinned furs. Take your time near the ears, eyes and legs.

Stretching and drying

Put each hide on a stretcher made for that species and size. Wire or wooden stretchers both work. As a general guide:

• Muskrat and mink are usually dried fur-in.
• Fox, coyote, fisher and marten are usually started fur-in and turned fur-out once partly dry.
• Raccoon can be dried either way; check what your buyer prefers.
• Beaver are stretched open and round on a board or hoop.

Dry hides in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place, out of the sun and away from heat. Never dry fur next to a stove or furnace. Once dry, take them off the stretchers and store them hanging, not in sealed plastic.

Check with your fur buyer or auction house before the season. They'll tell you exactly how they want each species prepared, and following their preferences pays.

Keep a clean fur log

Your fur log should record, for every animal:

• Date and species
• Set number and location
• Sex and approximate weight or size, if you record them
• Condition notes (primeness, damage)
• What happened to it (sold, kept, tanned) and the price

A clean log makes harvest reporting easy, helps settle up with a fur buyer, and shows you which sets and locations are worth your time. Sprung Trapline builds the log as you go: every catch is tied to the set it came from, and the season report PDF gives you totals by species, ready to take to the buyer.

Where to sell

• Local fur buyers: quick and simple, often pay on the spot. Prices vary, so get to know more than one buyer.
• Auction houses: Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay, Ontario is the main fur auction in North America and has depots and agents across Canada and the US. Auctions often get better prices for well-handled fur, but payment comes later.
• Tanneries and crafters: some trappers have hides tanned and sell finished fur or crafts directly.

Fur prices go up and down year to year. Some trappers hold fur over to the next sale when prices are low, so store dried fur properly in case you do.

Report your harvest

Many provinces and states require a harvest report or fur dealer records. Do it on time. Your fur log makes it a ten-minute job instead of a weekend of digging through notes.