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#11998 - 03/03/09 10:04 PM Skinning Beaver
GeneHoweGuy Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/21/09
Posts: 21
Loc: Texas
I have just recently started trapping beaver for ADC purposes on both my WMA and for some outside ADC work on local ranches. Out of all of the animals that I have ever skinned in my lifetime, beaver rank as #1 on the toughness scale. Since I am skinning the ones that I trap on my WMA for educational purposes and the ones on ranches for future profit, what is the quickest way to "rough" skin a beaver? How long does it normally take to do one? I have purchased Hal's "Clean Skinning and Stretching Beaver" DVD, but I do not have enough time in the evening or freezer space to utilize that method (since my primary job is wildlife biologist and not professional trapper). What I plan to do is to take my catch, quickly skin them out (if the word "quickly" can be applied to beaver skinning), and throw them in the freezer until I have time to thaw and flesh them out in the traditional manner. Does this sound viable or do I just need to face facts that until I improve my skinning technique, that I am going to waste a few animals (least preferred course of action)?
Do ya'll use a gambrel when skinning beaver or just have them lying on the truck bed or table while you are?

Thanks for the help.

GHG

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#11999 - 03/03/09 10:44 PM Re: Skinning Beaver
Hal Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 07/17/00
Posts: 10227
Loc: Blue Creek, Ohio, USA
The easiest way is to use the trough like you saw in the video. There is no particular trick to rough skinning, just be careful you don't cut the hide. Don't worry about how much flesh and fat you leave on the pelt, you'll flesh that off later. The only thing that will improve your speed is practice.

Hal
_________________________
Endeavor to persevere.

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#12000 - 03/04/09 12:22 AM Re: Skinning Beaver
mngreenhorn Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/22/09
Posts: 16
Loc: Minnesota
I just saw diagrams on how to skin beaver and have not had the privelage of watching Hal's video (yet). It takes me about 40 minutes to skin a beaver. Most of them are around 35-40 pounds, and my skinning is really rough. I think my first one took me about 1.5 hours though! That was pretty demoralizing, but I'm getting quicker with practice like Hal says, but still far from 25 minutes per beav. I think my main problem is having/keeping my knife sharp. I'm not sure if it's the beaver fat or if I just have a cheap knife, but i hit it with a steal about 3 or 4 times per pelt. That or not being able to grab the hide and part of the body to steady the carcass and have it peel off like many other critters. That's my very limited rookie experience, but maybe you can identify with it.

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#12001 - 03/04/09 02:45 AM Re: Skinning Beaver
dodgetrapper Offline
Member

Registered: 10/22/08
Posts: 118
Loc: Virginia
When I get first started skinning beaver it took me forever but now I’m around 15 to 25 minutes, that’s a rough skin. I first make the initial cuts on the beaver on a table and skin out the belly, and then I hang them with a snare cable by the tail and skin the back. This is where I can cut because once you get past the tail gristle you can bear down and pull the hide till about the shoulders. Then just skin out the shoulders and the face and your golden. It’s rough but I find I can rough skin and flesh a beaver faster than I can clean skin one.

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#12002 - 03/04/09 07:47 AM Re: Skinning Beaver
Wis Trapper Offline
Member

Registered: 10/03/08
Posts: 163
Loc: South West Wisconsin
I make my initial cuts around the feet and tail with the beaver lying on its back. Next I cut the feet off and make my cut up belly from just below the front feet to the tail. Once I skin around the belly I hang the critter by it's tail and skin the back pull the front legs through and finish skining the hide from the carcass. The reason that I make the belly slit from just below the front legs to the tail is because it makes it easier for me to hang the pelt on my fleshing beam. I flesh from the head to the tail very similar to a coon and when I'm finished with the fleshing I finish my belly cut to the chin.

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#12003 - 03/04/09 02:04 PM Re: Skinning Beaver
GeneHoweGuy Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/21/09
Posts: 21
Loc: Texas
Thanks for all of the help, fellas. I'll try the hanging technique on my next one and hopefully, I'll be able to get the skinning time down to 25 minutes (as opposed to 45 mins. to an hour wink ).

GHG

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#12004 - 03/04/09 03:06 PM Re: Skinning Beaver
Ldsoldier Offline
Member

Registered: 12/14/06
Posts: 917
Loc: Raleigh, NC
Though there are shortcuts, like Hal said, the best way to improve your time is with practice. My beaver skinning time has gone from 1.5-2hrs(just hide) down to 30-45 minutes (including the meat).

Proper tools help, too. My first year I was using a $0.99 paring knife, that actually holds a pretty good edge. The next year I bought a beaver knife and that cut down my time quite a bit, and also saved a couple of knife cuts in the pelt. This year my wife bought me a skinning knife for my birthday, and that cut down time on everything as well. Something else I've noticed that helps is what I call the Wyoming style knives (I've seen them advertised as tail zippers). If I can get it underneath the belly of a beaver, that cut can be made pretty straight, pretty easy, and pretty quick. Sometimes I can't, but I always try.

The trough helps out quite a bit, but a table works fine, too. If you use a table, nail or screw a block of wood to a portion of it. This gives you something to hold the head when you skin that portion out, and keeps the weight of the hide from pulling the carcass off the table.

I'm not an expert by any means, but these are a few things I've picked up and done over the last few years. Good luck.

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#12005 - 03/04/09 09:32 PM Re: Skinning Beaver
flandrax Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/05/09
Posts: 13
Loc: north carolina
I like to lay the beaver down on a table and skin it out. One thing that I found is I use scalpels from Mckenzie taxidermy. The scalpels have disposable blades. So, when one gets dull... Just throw it away and put a new one on. They are very sharp. They stay sharp too. Sharper than any knife I can sharpen. Time is money, so the less sharpening I have to do.... The more skining I can do. (this kinda sounds like a sales pitch). You might try this I'm sure it will save you time.

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#12006 - 03/07/09 08:09 PM Re: Skinning Beaver
GeneHoweGuy Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/21/09
Posts: 21
Loc: Texas
Thanks for all of the great suggestions. I just did another beaver on Friday and it still took me almost two hours. I guess that perseverance and practice are really the only remedies on this one.

GHG

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#12007 - 03/09/09 05:15 AM Re: Skinning Beaver
grinnerskinner Offline
Member

Registered: 11/23/08
Posts: 61
Loc: kansas
Dull knives seem to make a job take forever. I skin all of my catches with a scalpel.

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