What price would it take for you to put up the fur?

Tbone-AZ

New member
I saw some comments on the long range shooters thread, and was thinking about how some say they skin and sell the hides. Others use a cannon cause they don't skin them.

That brings up a question about what price do hides need to be for you to start skinning the coyotes?

I personally don't want to skin a coyote if I am fairly sure that I won't get at least $15 and I really would like $20 or more.

That is just thinking about how long it takes to skin them, store, flesh, sew, wash, clean, and stretch and brush. Not to mention going to the buyer and hoping that you can average enough that it was worth it.

I find that it takes me 1 hour total from start to finish avg to put up a hide.

How about you?
 
I never shoot them without skinning unless they are a mess. Even down south in AZ and NM I skin them and tan them when they are prime, tourist buy them tanned for $60, make them into snowmobile mitts, a vest or throw and you can make money at it.

Even if you don't want to market them yourself, $5. at auction is $5. more than you have leaving them on the ground and putting them up will keep you out of the bars and not in front of the tube.
 
takes a minimum of $30 average for me to put in the work.

but it takes me more than an hour from start to finishing a coyote hide i am proud to let a fur buyer look at. quite a bit more than an hour. lol
 
I get 50 bucks each and all I do is have the scalp with both ears and the bottom jaw.
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Originally Posted By: AWSI never shoot them without skinning unless they are a mess. Even down south in AZ and NM I skin them and tan them when they are prime, tourist buy them tanned for $60, make them into snowmobile mitts, a vest or throw and you can make money at it.

Even if you don't want to market them yourself, $5. at auction is $5. more than you have leaving them on the ground and putting them up will keep you out of the bars and not in front of the tube.


I got a sewing machine a few years ago that would let me sew hides together for a blanket, and one day when i am not so busy i want to make some throw blankets out of the better pelts. But, i don't have a place to store hides, and don't want to send in a pile to be tanned until i am ready. I have learned that lesson with buying lumber, and hardware. Buying in advance for a future project starts to look more like a hoarder than someone with projects lined up.

I applaud you for the effort, I just don't want to do it if i can't get more for my time. Otherwise i could have done something else with that time.

Thanks for sharing.
 
I am in South Central IL and I have been asking around and most people get $7-$30. I can make about $20 an hour working on peoples cars so I would need to make at least that to make it worth my time. I don't do it mostly because I do not have the knowledge, tools, or place to do it.

I would rather a fawn eater have a 4" hole in it and be dead right there than be worried about the hide.
 
I go to work to make money so I can spend it on killing coyotes......Gonna have to be a big price jump for me to skin one;}
I haul mine down to the local taxidermist and throw em out. He can make that money lol!
 
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i may not skin them if i don't think i can get $20 for each, given how long it takes me to put up.

But, i would be a big advocate for learning and having at least the basic gear. (a couple of stretchers, fleshing knife, a few small pearing type knives, apron, fleshing beam, sewing needles and floss, fur brush, and fur thumb tacks.

I say this from the stand point that it would be a good idea to learn. Try preparing 10 or so to start to get the basics. I don't mind messing up a coyote pelt. I would almost cry if i messed up a bobcat pelt. So, learn on a low cost coyote pelt, in case the prices go shooting up, or you get a bobcat or fox pelt worth some money. I wouldn't want to be learning how if the pelts all of a sudden started to sell of $100 instead of $20.
 
Pelts in my area we're going for around $50 according to the fur buyer I spoke to. Looking at the auction numbers they had highs in the $150 range for coyotes. I had 8 nice white and silver pelts, no clue what I was doing and ruined all 8. This year I'm gonna kill a few before prime to practice on haha. Got 3 in July but they were all pups.
 
Cut out the middle man ( local fur buyer) and sell straight to the auction and your prices will usually double.

I put up all my fur.
 
I put up every coyote I tag (unless mangy or blown up) and I'll never get enough money to make it worth it. Most of the skins are too nice to leave in the woods. I'm pretty slow skinning; 1.5 hrs to skin (full case skin, split the ears and lips, legs to the dew claw). I then put them out over night to freeze, then flesh and board the next night. At the end of the season, I send them out to Moyle's for tanning. I've given a few away, they come out really nice. I'm trying to get enough to make a bedspread.
 
Over the yrs Ive put up a lot of MT coyotes for a 25 ave and $10 beaver...its part of the deal and as noted practice makes perfect. If I kill it, I feel its my responsibility to put up the fur. I like doing it, and its not like im working for an hourly wage. I know I make nothing watching tv so the 20-30 min it takes to put up a coyote isn't wasted time or effort IMO
 
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Wow I'm amazed at the fluctuation between areas not to mention how little some guys are getting and still willing to put up. I don't put any up myself but friends are getting an avg of 100-130$ at auction. I don't have the facilities to put up myself so I sell whole and am getting an avg of $35.
 
I put most all of them up until they start rubbing.The more you do the quicker it becomes ,sewing them is what I really dislike I shoot most of mine with a .223 so don’t have to sew many really been thinking of making a .17/223 upper I average about 50 here in wa state but have had a few hit 80 dollar mark.I wish I lived closer to you Yotarunner I would buy them all lol.
 
I averaged 35 on the ones from around tucson low was 3 bucks high was 95. It takes me less than 30 min to put up a coyote comes out to 70 dollars a hour kinda stupid not to put up you can't look at it as a single skin only a few may not be worth it but the average on 100 makes it worth while
 
Originally Posted By: YotarunnerWow I'm amazed at the fluctuation between areas not to mention how little some guys are getting and still willing to put up. I don't put any up myself but friends are getting an avg of 100-130$ at auction. I don't have the facilities to put up myself so I sell whole and am getting an avg of $35.


Can you drive across the border to E. Montana with them?

I'll make em avg more than $35usd and you still wont have to skin one.
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When I lived in the lower 48, I trapped and called coyotes every year regardless of the price. I put up fur for several callers in the area and did it for half. I handled all the skinning, fur handling and marketing and gave them half of what I got for the furs based on the overall average. A couple of callers griped about the percentage. I told them they were welcome to skin, flesh, sew, stretch, dry, turn and market the hides on their own. The guys who brought me fur on a regular basis loved the arrangement regardless of the price.
 
It costs me 8.00 to have a coyote skinned/stretched and shipped to NAFA. About 4-4.50 for raccoon. I still put up my Red fox, they are so easy. Occasionally I trap muskrat, I still put them up. If I don't think a coyote will bring 10.00 it gets tossed, raccoon need to look like for sure 7.50 or it gets sold whole.
 
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