How many of us actually sell fur?

I skin, flesh and board all my coyotes and sell at our trapper sales. FYI, the top lot of coyotes in last March's K.Falls sale were called and shot coyotes and averaged $105. Those were eastern Oregon coyotes killed during the first week of December.

The buyers are saying that heavy and semi-heavy coyotes will once again command good prices this year.

Incidentally, instead of salting coyotes (to send to a tannery) your shipping costs will be lower if you just flesh and dry them. (Less weight).
 
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I hunt coyotes from early November until about mid-January...when they start showing a lot of rub. I skin, flesh, and dry, then ship to NAFA. Top coyote last year brought $122.00. Averaged about half that. I skin them all, unless I have a four inch hole, in the back. Those won't bring any money. Sometimes I will take a pelt that needs holes sewn up, and have it tanned, then sell it locally. A good sew job won't even show up on a tanned skin that might not bring any money at auction. Never sold in the round, as I don't know any buyers locally.

Sold 23 last season.
 
I remember back in the late 70's when red fox were selling for top dollar, a friend of mine that was given a fox skin that a farmer had skinned up the belly. He sewed the belly shut from chin to vent and sold it to a buyer for top dollar. The moral of the story: Buyers don't look at the leather side and a good sewing job will hide one heck of a lot of damage!
 
i have sold fur for over 45 yrs. i have 2 ringer washers and home made strechers needles and strong thread.i wash all of them and have gotten top dollar.one year we could get 80 plus without even skinning them.lots of work but fun also.
 
Back in WI I was trapping with a local fellow( I hired him to help build a house) and was teaching him how to put up fur as the local buyer was taking real advantage of him buying in the round. He brought me a fox that had been hit with a semi and was pretty much a bloody/muddy three part mess. Just to show him what could be done I washed it, sewed it back together and streched it. When we took his furs and the the fox into a different buyer, he was shocked that he got almost four times more for his rats and the buyer offered me top dollar for the fox. Being the guy that I am I told the buyer to run his hand up in the fox, which he did and said the offer stands just because I was honest about it. I never got less than top dollar from him after that and he never ran his hand up in a fox again.
 
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