How can I tell the fur is Prime?

B

Brian Bentley

New member
I have a question for you trapper types.

What signs/things do you look for in a fur to determine that it is "prime"? Is there a delineating factor that makes a fur "prime" or not?

The reason that I post this question is because we have many geographical locations represented here and I would like to have explained exactly what it is that make a fur "prime" or not. Being from Texas, we do not see the quality of fur that say our friends in Montana might see, but they are st some time or another "prime" for this area.

As professionals, (read selling furs for profit), what attributes do you look for when making the determination as to the "prime" condition of a fur?

I know there has to be some scientific explanation or at least an accepted methodology. I'm just not smart enough to explain it.

Thanks,



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Brian K. Bentley

Hunting is not just our right, It's our HERITAGE.
 
I don't know how scientific it'll be, but here's what I can tell you, Brian.
Every summer when fur bearers shed, they are losing the best, thickest, part of their coats. Every fall it grows back brand new for winter, and a prime pelt is when this new growth is at it's peak.
This usualy occurs at different times for different species. And locations. Such as water fur bearers, mink, rats, beavers, etc. don't get prime till the middle of winter. Fox, Coyotes, and the like are normally prime the first part of November. Obviously the further North you are it will occur sooner, and the further South you are it will delay. The best way to tell whether or not a fur is prime (in my opinion anyway) is skin color. In the summer, most often the skin will be a brownish dark color, meaning that the good fur has been shed.
As winter approaches the skin will begin to lighten and eventually turn totally white. Fur buyers love white skin
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White skins will have thick, full, shiney, fur with rich tones in the coloring. The tails will be thick, fluffy and heavy appearing.

~River Runner~



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predatorlogo3jpg.gif

www.predatormasters.com
 
Brian,
Several factors determine "prime". Primeness is most often determined by the amount of daylight/darkness each day. This is why you can have a desert coyote that has a good white hide like RR talked about. Texas coyote will reach peak prime in and around December the same as AZ. Jan can still have a pretty good pelt too. In Montana, coyotes peak in and around the end of Nov. to mid Dec. The quality of the pelt is then determined by Climate, and Elevation. All fur will prime each year though.
Steve

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www.azpredatorhunts.com
 
Does not the nominal winter climate also dictate the thickness and density of the undercoat (wool) as well as the length and coarseness of the guard hairs? Montana pelts would be thicker/fluffier than say, San Diego pelts. Fresh winter coats also seem to have a lot more lanolin(?) than summer coats.
 
RR, I'm a little ignorant in this area, can you elaborate more on that? When you say "skin" are you referring to external (epidermis), or the inside of the hide? What factors govern or determine skin color? And finally, what makes a white skin hide so desirable? Thanks for your patience with my dumb questions.
 
Yes, I'm referring to the skins surface, the epidermis, NASA. If you part the fur with your fingers far enough you can get down to the skin and see the color. This time of year it should be a blue or brown tone.

What factors govern that? I can't answer that. I know how but I don't know why. That may be a biology question.

What makes the white skin so desirable?
It's actually just a visual tool used buy fur buyers to determine primeness. The white skin tells them that the fur has reached it's peak...most of the time. There's always a few exceptions...like Steve's desert coyote. I've heard about warm weather and white skins, just never actually seen one.

~River Runner~

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predatorlogo3jpg.gif

www.predatormasters.com
 
So as colder temps approach, the skin surface naturally lightens until it's almost white (peak/prime). And then, it begins to darken again as the season progresses and temps start to warm. I get it now. Maybe the darkening is an enzyme or hormone that triggers the shed? Thanks for the enlightenment. You guys are making me so smart!
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Is this just coyotes or does it include cats & fox allso?

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Keep your hooks sharp and you powder dry.
Wildoats

"The expactations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools."
Confucius
 
If I may toss my two cents in? The fur is considered prime when it stops growing for the season, the blue color is the blood flow to the hair roots, when it stops growing the blood stops and the skin is white. That is why you can get southern fur can be 'prime' it's just not 'Prime Fur' LOL.

Ken
 
River Runner said:

What makes the white skin so desirable? It's actually just a visual tool used buy fur buyers to determine primeness. The white skin tells them that the fur has reached it's peak...most of the time. There's always a few exceptions...like Steve's desert coyote. I've heard about warm weather and white skins, just never actually seen one.

The skin appears dark because of what could be simply described as "active" hair follicles. As is fairly obvious, most furbearer's hair doesn't grow continuously (like humans-'angora'), but reaches a certain length and stops ('definitive'). Hair follicles become dark as hair is growing (and the base of the hair is usually dark). Once the growth is complete, the folicles become 'inactive' and the skin (and bases of the hair) become white--the skin is prime. What's that have to do with the quality of the pelt? As River Runner pointed out, not much. Dark (usually blue appearing) pelts simply indicate the critter is still growing hair-at least in places (most critters start to molt in one area (usually the belly) and continue to the other side). Nothing stops the critter from rubbing the guard hair off (flat hips on fox in spring), not growing much hair to begin with (coyotes down south) or finding something really cool (like spruce pitch) to roll in. In fact, red fox up here are probably 'better' before they're fully primed-the winter ones are so thick and wooly they can't be used for much besides trim (and dumb looking hats with faces...), but they don't sell very well until they are prime.

Enough of a biology lesson? Class dismissed....
 
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