I am wondering how many people, when skinning a beaver, hang it and how many lay it on a table? What do you consider the advantages and disadvantages of both methods? Thank you for your response .... Garry-

Lay it on a table and move from side to side.

I use a troth this method is good for me.never hung one though would be interesting to try one like that.

Lay it on the table Actor, zip it from the chin down to the tail,(direction of the fur) use a lanoleum hook type blade, it is quick, skin one side, spin it, do the other side. Takes about 8 min. To flesh, start in the center of the pelt and work out to the edge. Get A Good Knife !! Takes about 12 min. I like beaver.

The last few I caught I hung by the tail. I always cut from tail to lip laying down, then hang. My opinion is below.

Advantages of hanging:

-back aches less
-eye level to the castors, therefore easier to see

Disadvantages of hanging:

Pure heck lifting them up to hang (I need some kind of hook)
-pelt eventually drags the ground as I near the head
-all the blood seems to drip onto the pelt
-carcass swings in the wind

Keep in mind I am a bad skinner, only been taught through video and pictorial instruction.

I hang by the tail ..dont know why thats just how i learned...i have done a couple on the table and ended up finishing them hanging...just me.....
\fireguy07

I start on the table, and then hang by the tail when I'm about half done. I rough skin, then flesh on the beam.

on a table clean skin them in 30 minutes .as far as the blood i wont skin a beaver for at least 3 days no blood or very little.

on a table skin it then flesh it with a ulu on my nee.

Shadow

I always hang mine and case skin them then off to the beam or freezer I split them later I use to split them and then flesh but always had the problem of them coming off the beam seen an old time trapper case his and split later thought it made sense and been using it for many yrs now.

when I learned to skin beaver the guy showed me how to case skin them , works slick and he said when fleshing it stayes on the board better. I sell green so I dont know that for sure

I hang by the tail and skin them cased. I think it helps me when fleshing. The beav stays on the beam without falling off. I can actually skin a beaver in good time this way. I skin them on the line in the woods this way too at times. I guess I just got used to this method. After fleshing the beav I just cut him up the middle and put him on the hoop.

Me too. But I use my skinning machine to pull the hide off the back, raise the head to eye-level, and keep the pelt off the ground.

~ADC~

troph method for me
skinnin sitting down

I don't do ANYTHING all the time so I'll have to say both ... I've case skinned many a beaver ... works great and once ya get your mojo rhythm thingy going you kinda slip into autopilot mode

prep all ya plan to skin at one time (remove feet, cut around tail, make your opening cut from base of tail up to just above the vent ... keeping it as short as possible but manageable ... then start skinning what you got open ... you'll decide whether you prefer to pop out the legs on the bench or once hung ... I hang mine by the tail using a loop of heavy braided small diameter cord, using the loop I make a slip knot by passing one end back through the loop ... then hoist to a hook secured to a rafter or whatever solid beam ya got ... I like mine to hang fairly low ... that's just another preference thing you'll figure out on your own if ya give this method a try

If I'm fleshing a beaver I very much prefer it to be cased ... a lot easier when working it on the beam

I was curious how one case skins a beaver since there is no opening cut from heal to heal with a beaver as with a coon or other case skinned fur bearer?

ttt

Dave, not case skinning like coons. You just make the first cut from the tail about half way to the head. Start skinning the back like normal, then hang up.

OK I get it now. Thanks!

I also use a trough and clean skin. Probably at one time or another tried every method. My average time to clean skin is about 20 mins, and then it is easy to flesh the little bit of meat and fat off on the board.

The case skin and flesh on a beam was ok, but I reverted back to my old method.

Not sure how others case skin, but I cut around the tail, around all the legs and then about 4 to 6 inches down the belly. Then just rough skin cased, hanging up of course.

Clean skin in a trough, standing up. Made my table/workbench height just for doing b'vers.

I have only skinned about a hundred beaver as they were new to me when i moved here. three fourths of them i skinned on a trash sack on the groundm where i caught them, the other fourth was skinned on the tailgate of my truck. On the truck i skinned the whole beaver laying down as it was comfortable, but the ones on the ground my back starts to hurt quite a bit, those i hung from a tree or oever the bank from a root by the tail and finished the back part and head.

Using a trough here also and a linoleum hooked blade to make the initial cut as well.Branch cutter for the feet.The trough was built so that there is NO bending over at all.Built a vertical skinner copied from The Beav also known here as Gary Mather a few years back.Will give that half way up the chest cut a try to see the difference how the case cut method lets the pelt treat me on the beam.As for peeling the back i,ll keep stepping on the tail grabbing the pelt just above the tail and pulling the hide free from the back up to the shoulders.Time spent rough skinning the average beaver for me is about three or four songs out of the radio ...with the phone unplugged:).

I don't have the patience to clean skin so I found that case skinning - skinning around the tail and splitting up the middle to the chest and then hanging it up by the tail to work it off the beaver. Cased that way makes it easier to flesh and once fleshed I split it all the way. If I had a skinning trough - clean skinning might go a little easier - slower - but easier.

i lay them on the tailgate of the truck or the table in the shop

frezer top

im no pro at scraping but ill sell green before i scrape a beaver at least 65 inch and up

their is my technic,
this small table it's for let the beaver far to de durt,blood,belly liquide etc.etc.

with the bicycle tube and two hook

I hook it in the front leg and the back leg


for hold the beaver


MINGO

Awsome post Mingo!

You're doing it backwards. You're supposed to hold the knife in your right hand - lol.

THANKS
And some times i clean skinn (at home)and other time i rugh skinn (in the bush at the trapping camp)and do the job on my beaver beam at home.





MINGO

Another great post Mingo! That's an excellent idea!

I hang to dry one day. Lay on table. zip up the belly. Skin one side, then the other. Hang by tail by cable to skin the back. Cut through breast bone, Gut it and let insides drop into bucket. Bring large plastic bag up and over it. Bring carcass' to Game club for game dinner. Seems to take forever, but I see I'm not alone, with some of you anyway.

I built a skinning bench that is taller than a normal countertop so I don't have to bend over so much. I lay beav on its back, split from tail to chin, work each side around as far as I can get without flipping it over, then flip it over and work from the tail towards the nose. After you get so far, the skin can be flopped over the nose and the weight of the skin helps with the pulling process. Then off to the beam.

Do you always skin in a brand new white tee shirt, lol. Great pics.

That the same T-shirt after 15 beavers...MAN! I'm a professional!
and I have a very good bio soap.
MINGO