How long to skin a coyote?

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Dsmith7136

New member
Okay, I know this may be an unreasonable question but - how long should it take to properly skin out a coyote?

It took me darn near 2-1/2 hours to skin 3 of them the other day - not including fleshing, washing, stretching or cleaning up afterwards. That just seems like an awful long time considering I might only get twenty bucks each for the pelts.

I remember skinning foxes out in just a matter of minutes years ago when the kids and I ran a little trapline (before Colorado outlawed all steel traps. Seems to me coyotes shouldn't be much harder. I wonder what I'm doing wrong. thanks for any help you can offer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Someone timed me when I was putting up a lot of fur, it was seven minutes. I'm alot slower now.

I'd say a reasonable time from opening the knife to the strecher shouldn't be much over 20 min. on a cold coyote.

Your fur shed setup make a big difference and skinning hot, in the field is the way to go if you can.

Maybe look for someone close to show you the little things that save time.
 
Hey thanks, Severe. That at least gives me a target to shoot for. 20 minutes a pop would be satisfactory, but 10 sounds even better.

Do you carry anything special (tools) to "skin hot" in the field?
 
Please add details and shortcuts on how you would get a coyote done is such short time. With good fur, I always case skin mine and prep them as though they were for life size taxidermy, i.e., skin feet to last phalynx, turn ears and eyes, split lips, etc. I never get it done in under two hours - but that saves time later when fleshing for tanning. I use surgical scissors for the entire process and never touch the critter with scalpel or knife. I suppose it would go faster if one were just skinning for the fur shed but I figure the extra time makes the end product worth a bit more.
 
I'm fairly new at skinning, so it takes me a little longer than a seasoned pro. But the biggest mistake I think I make is only using one knife. If I had a knife exclusively for the head, it would make that part much faster since the knife dulls a bit by the time I get there. Also I need to start skinning them earlier, instead of waiting till the end of the day. So far I am at about 45 minutes. The longest part for me is the front shoulders. I still have a hard time convincing myslef that I can pull as hard as I want without the worry of tearing the pelt. Also, I always case them as if I was gonna do a live mount too, so I'm sure that takes a bit of extra time.
 
I carry a black bungy with me in the field for wrapping around a low limb, the hooks go in the hocks. I'm talking fur skinning here not taxidermy.

Front feet are cut off right at the dew claw, hind feet you make a circle cut just below the hock. A quick cut down the back of the leg to the base of the tail right behind the bung hole. Hold the rear paw in your hand as you do this, staying on the color line of the fur as you go down. [a sharp pointed pocket knife with a lock is my favorite]
Do the same on the other side, then make a cut across in front of the bung. You start with a little knife work at the hocks till it starts to peel, then a small amout of knife work on the back of the legs ,Hang on the bungy now, then the belly & flank.
If it's a male, pull on the sack and pop the contents and then a jerk on his johnson and a cut just back from the fur line turns it loose.

Now use the tips of your fingers held together and jab down between the fur & carcass. This will loosen things up and you can start tubeing the pelt. Jab a finger behind the tail bone or a blunt rod or rounded screwdriver behind the tail bone and pull down a inch or so. You can use a couple green willows to strip the tail out in the feild or at home I use a sharpening steel and a screwdriver. Reverse the handles, put one on each side of the tail bone, squeeze together and pull down the tailbone, it will strip right out. You can open it up on the strecher. Use the blade only when you have to from here on down.

Now just peel down till it starts getting tough around the shoulder area. Here again, use the tips of you fingers and jam in between the hide and carcass. You make jabs trying to jam yout fingers in between, going around to the back area. When it's broke loose a ways down go to the yotes back and put your knee on the hide right on the back line. Pull the hide out with your hands and act like your gonna kneel on the pelt. This will bring it down over the shoulders in back.

Now work the hide down in the front till you can feel behind the front legs. Use your fingers on a warm yote or a rounded screwdriver- sharpening steel on a cold one, behind the front leg. When you get it thru just grab the end with your free hand and push down. This will let you get a hand behind the leg. Push on the fur down with one hand while lifting slightly on the leg bone with the other. When you do it right the leg will just shuck out. you sometimes have to use the knife on a cold one at the bulge of the forearm.

Do the other leg then jab with your finger tips around the neck area till its loose. If you get the neck area loose enough you can grab the hide in one hand and kneel on it with your knee and get to the base of the ears in one kneel.

There are two tricky cuts to make on the ears and you almost need to watch it done to get it right. The object is to only leave a tiny hole where the ear canal go's into the skull. You will trim the extra off the pelt on the fleshing beam.
The eyes are next and here again it will help to watch a pro the first time. You start the cuts around the mouth at the corners of the mouth try to keep the blade out of the teeth. Work down and slice thru the nose cartalage then finish the bottom jaw.

I then turn it fur side out if I'm in the feild or go to the fleshing beam if at home.

Hope this wasn't to confussing, maybea few trappers have pictures or they will chime in.
 
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Im slower than most. I skin for taxidermy mostly and dont pull the hide off. I skin with a knife every inch. Takes me about 45 minutes to an hour. Feet and face included.
 
Well, shucks......

Now, you all made it look too quick and easy. I guess my problem is that I am a professional anatomist and I do more dissecting than simple skinning. I know I could probably accomplish the task in a couple of minutes too. I'll try the quick method on my next critter and see what I have at the end.

Thanks for the link Mr. Granger.
 
Ive been trying to bone up a littly on skinning also. As I recalled from the last animal I skinned my biggest problems were getting a good grip with rubber gloves on. Someone recomended using a paper towel on the skin to help get a grip, as well as cutting around the gums from the outside before you get anywhere near having the skin pulled over the head. So im going to throw in a few of the heavy blue paper towel to my skinning kit. Lastly I alway tried to skinn them basically in the dark at the end of a day of calling, and that has to be my biggest mistake. I have also been kicking around making a winch type skinner for the rear receiver of my truck. I saw someone posted a pic about 6 months ago but never could find it again.
 
I'd go with 20 minutes as a good average with the fur stretcher in mind.40-45 for taxidermy skinning via a dorsal incision,plus another 20 or so to prep, as in turning ears,splitting lips,eyelids and nostrils.Just like anything else,the more practice you get,the faster you get to be.
Robber,thats true about skinning the mouth from the outside on any taxidermy skinning.It allows you to clearly see that youre leaving plenty of lip skin, and with a little work, you can skin out the head as far back as the eye socket,all through the mouth opening.Then when you're case skinning, and get to the head,about all you need do,is cut through the ear butt cartiledge, and it all slips right free.
 
I've beening skinning coyotes since I was fifteen. My father was a fur buyer and had 3 buyers that ran routes thru Oklahoma and Texas that they ran once a week. I would hate to guess how many coyotes I skinned in the late 70's and 80's, it would be in the thousands as they would bring back anywhere from 100 to 300 coyotes a week. When I was in my twentys I could average 8 coyotes and hour and would sometime skin from 6:00 in the morning untill midnight. What we did was rip the hide off. After the tail and legs were skinned out it was one motion to the shoulders. I would grab both legs and the tail pull it down put my knee on the hide and use all my weight with a jump up and it would be to the shoulders. The front legs were cut off with a pair of limb knippers and I would shove a steel rod through shoulder and neck area and with one jerk pulled the hide off a front leg then repeated on the other side. Put the hide between my legs and wrap it around my left leg holding it with my left hand and would lean back. Pulling it to the ears two slices, pull to the eyes to slices, pull to the nose and cut off.
I timed one of the best skinners that I have ever seen on a fresh killed coyote. He had in hung up and the back legs cut around when I started the stop watch, he finished in 68 seconds.
 
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