Need help turning Ears

gethuntin

Member
I need some advice how to turn ears. Is there any good videos on the net? I have read to cut around the bud and should be able to pull it out but have a hard time getting cut around the canal side.
I can get the back side of the ear and right now i just cut the cartilage in quadrants and peel it of with a pliers but sometimes it rips anyway and its very time consuming.
 
Here's one video that shows the screwdriver method of removing cartilage. Ear Cartilage removal

It will work fairly easy with fox, but you may or may not be able to pull it off with coyote. Take a close look after the ears come out and you will see that if you are not real careful you will leave parts of the outside ear attached to the cartilage. If you want a perfect job on the ears you are best using something like the end of a metal soup spoon to slowly wedge the cartilage away from the outside ear skin. Once you get to the ear edges you can cut the skin with a sharp knife. The end result will be the cartilage and inner ear fur stay on the head, while just the outside of the ear fur stays attached to the pelt.

Be patient and good luck.
 
wow that screwdriver technique looks great if i can get it to work. it looks like his ears ripped at the tips and the hide stayed. i thought he sadid something it came out of the freezer and it wasnt fresh, i am guessing that may have had something to do with it.

I am just tanning them for display.
 
Not sure about frozen because I don't wait, but I've tried it with freshly killed coyotes and you can still tear the outside ear skin if you are not careful. If you are just tanning for display then I'd take a few minutes with the spoon handle or maybe a round bladed putty knife (no corners or sharp edges) to work between the cartilage and the outside ear fur to the edges. Some trappers I've seen can work the ear apart with just their fingers and some borax, but I don't know if I've got strong enough fingers for that.

If for some reason you come across a torn up roadkilled yote or maybe shoot a big ole hole in one you can still use it to try the screwdriver method out as "practice".
 
Variant of the screw driver method I have used is one of the brass base round diamond stones. Works pretty good. Or be real skilled with A scalpel. Good luck.

Rhino.
 
Tried the screwdriver method couldnt get it to work. I cant get the inner ear to start or know where to cut along to get it to start. The spoon method how does that work on the inner ear? I know its rather easy to start on the backside. I guess my whole problem comes from the inner ear and removing the cartilage and bud.
 
If your just tanning to hang them up on the wall or something to that effect. Don't believe you actually remove the cartilage. just worry bout the back side then when you get them all tanned up just roll them back in and the ears stay stood up. That's how it works as far as I know anyhow. If you actually want to skin the inner ear then you are gonna have to be really awesome with A scalpel..... I am good with one as I have skinned many A critter for full body mounts for clients N myself. But don't think I am that good... LOL.. Good luck.

Rhino.
 
If I get lucky soon I'll take some pics, but in the meantime....

Keep in mind that the cartilage is between the inner and outer ear, but it is all but permanently "glued" to the inner ear. The idea is to separate the outer ear from the cartilage/inner ear.

The first few times you do it you will find it easier if you look at the ear with the hide inside out, then roll the face back fur side out every now and then to keep in mind where you want to push the rounded spoon handle up into the triangle ear. It will work well to get the ear split right to the end and if you want to keep the inner and outer ear together you can use cheap borax to aid in drying out the ear tissue.

Wish I could find a pic online, but no luck.
 
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