fatty beavers

[squirrel hunter9292]

how do i get the meat and fat off my beaver hide. plz help!!!!

[Viper1]

You have to flesh it.

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Viper1

[LoneWolf]

I'm willing to bet, more than one master can answer that question right here Viper

[rubicon]

once you get it streatched out on a board you can scrape the fat off. They make fleshing tools but in the day I used a big spoon or a putty knife. what ever tool you use- scrape rathar than cut and you wont damage the pelt. suprisingly that fat comes off pretty easy

[multibeard]

Trying to explain how to flesh a beaver is not going to be easy.

I always fleshed mine over a beam. Using either a beaver knife which is a thin bladed knife that doesn't have a sharp point. It is rounded where the point should be. I also used a draw shave that was intended to be used in removing bark or smoothing wood.

A beam is a piece of 2X6 around 5 foot long that has the working end rounded and tapered with the end rounded off. I set mine up so that it came up on an angle from the floor. The tip was just below belly button level. The hide is placed over the beam flesh up.

I would either use the draw knife or beaver knife to work the fat off. The larger the beaver the harder the flesh comes off. On most beaver I would take the flesh off the back by kind of holding the beaver knife relatively flat on the hide and shaving the fat off. The fat on the belly side of any beaver is relatively easy to push off with a draw shave. You have to be careful as the hide of the belly is quite thin and is easy to tear. Especially where the nipples can be caught by the knife or shave and the hide will tear.

There are fleshing tools that are sold commercially. For beaver you need one that is sharp. A lot of the cheep ones are almost worthless when it comes to fleshing the back of a beaver. The favorite brand amongst trappers in a neckker knife but it is expensive.

[Bogmaster]

A word of caution on fleshing beaver.If you use a sharp knife on the edges,you are going to have some severe cuts.
Dull is for the easily removed fat on the edges of the pelt.
Sharp is for the head and the tough stuff down the middle(from the head to the tail end).
Tom Olson

[Skyline]

Well I take a bit of extra time while I am skinning beaver and pretty much skin them clean with a beaver knife. The little bit of fleshing that is left to do I can do after I have nailed the hide out on the stretching board.

I then trim and close the leg holes.........use paper towel once ot twice to wipe the skin down as itis drying and that's it.

How did you guys do in the last sales. I got $66 each for some 0's in the February sale.

[squirrel hunter9292]

thanks for all the help guys!!!!!

[Trapper7]

skyline, what are you referring to as "O's?"

I had 3 beaver go over the $50 mark. My average for beaver was around $28 shipping to NAFA.

[Skyline]

Trapper7....sorry I was away. XXXL was what I was refering to. '0' was local speak.

I averaged about $37 - 38 over all. Not too bad. Makes it worth catching and skinning them. I also geta $15 bounty per beaver locally from the municipality.

[squirrel hunter9292]

where are u all trappin at. down here in la the hides arent worth much........i dont think.

[Skyline]

squirrel hunter9292...........I am trapping in Manitoba, Canada.

Just a little bit colder here than Louisiana, so the fur is a little better.

[Bogmaster]

Skyline, the prices you posted on your beaver.Canadian dollars or U.S. dollars? There is a big difference.
Tom Olson