handling fur--in the round versus hides?

M

markalbob

New member
Sorry, new here and some probably dumb or recurring questions:

1. while I realize actual prices vary I assume the average for whole animals relative to fleshed out is about the same proportion each year (i.e. fleshed is worth 2x a whole animal, or 5x, or whatever......)

is this true? What's the "exchange rate" then?

2. I've done enough snooping to decide there is not a perfect bullet. Besides, I hope to have a gun with some potential for being a small-caliber deer rifle as well, rather than a dedicated predator gun. From what I see, a 22-250 or 223 WILL give me some greif in terms of some bad hides if I hit a shoulder, etc. Based upon that, are whole animals priced more uniformly (am I likely to be docked as bad for a large hole in the animal as in the pelt or are carcasses pretty much all bought at the same price)

Thanks everyone,
Mark
 
a big hole in an animal is never good when it comes to price. pretty much any small caliber deer rifle will give you holes, some will be horrible, while others will look like they werent even there. it just depends on the shot angle and the animal you shoot.

a large hole cannot be sewed on a whole animal while it can be pretty much disguised on a fleshed animal. i have never sold anything whole so i dont know the "exchange rate" but im sure it will be considerably lower.

zach
 
I use a .223 and have had only one occasion where it let a big hole. I was using a AR15 and there were 4 coyotes. i shot the farthest one first and worked my way in. got 3 out of 4 but the last one almost ran me over and it was shot around 3 feet away. That will leave a BIG hole on the exit no wait it just left a big hole. Bullet choice is something to think about also. i use the Berger. and the Berger for everything but Prairie Dogs, then I use the V-Max
Hope this helps
 
You will get more money out of a coyote thats skinned and fleshed.A guy was buying them whole or skinned last year but I didnt ever take him any because I didnt have much luck.He would buy the skinned ones for $25 and the whole ones for $15.I would imagine that he gave less for whole ones with big holes in them as well as hides that were torn up bad.I shoot a 40gr.Softpoints out of my .204 and they are fur friendly.Im going to try some Varmint Grenades this year though.They have them for the .223 and .22-250 too,they might be worth trying since your worried about the hides.A 12gauge is very fur friendly most of the time too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I have to agree that any damage that is on a pelt will detract from the price. Blood, holes, and other damage can be much easier removed or repaired from skinned animals than from whole ones.
As I have gotten older and my hands don't hold as good as they used to, I have purchased a skinning machine that has saved me hours of labor and toil, you might want to look into one. I get asked this type question alot and the best thing I can tell you is that the less a furbuyer has to do make a pelt look good to sell the more you will get for it.
- Good luck! - Okeytrapper
 
I sell my fox and coyote to Groenewold from IL. They have over the last 20 years averaged better than anyone else. I skin and stretch them, then comb them out, wash them before stretching them.
I have seen shot coyotes in carcass bring 1/3 of what I get for finished hide. Even a big hole can be sewn if it is not too big. I sew all holes bigger than a pea to dime size. If it has jagged edges you need to trim the edges, then trim it to a football shaped hole. Then put the skin on a stretcher or narrow board, skin side out, pin the hole on both ends to bring it close together, so it looks like a slit. Then push fur in to get it out of the way. Then trim any meat or pink film off the edge of the hole. Then take a needle and heavy thread to sew it together, starting on one end and only stick needle through the very edge of the skin, less than a 1/16", not the pink layer of covering.
While you make each stitch, hitch it tight so it won't roll the skin edge when done. If you don't hitch each stitch the fur buyer will probably feel the raised hump of the rolled edge and dock you. Any questions on doing fur let me know.T.20
When fox were 50-60$ a hole would knock the price in half.
I use a .204 caliber, a Tactical.20, which is close to a R.204. With the Berger 35 gr. bullet, or 40gr Nosler you will have very little fur damage, most of the time. I found on red fox if you can angle the bullet to go through 6-8" of chest from front, you will not have an exit. On coyote you don't get an exit, maybe half the time. If you do it usually is small.T.20
 
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