I just received my fur back from Moyle. I only sent 1 marten, 2 beaver, 3 wolverine.

Back in 2005 I swore I was finished with Moyle when, after a couple previous bad returns, I got back a lynx with no tail and a one wolverine with half a face missing. Well I guess they worked out their problems and everyone was once again pleased with their work.

Today my decision is final. Never again will I use Moyle. The Marten lookes like they ran it through a chicken plucker, the beaver have holes and hairs pulled through to the skin side, and the wolverine are rock hard in the heads and feet. The skins are a different color than the customary Moyle white. These are brownish looking. Maybe they've changed their chemicals.

My final gripe is that they were just wadded up and thrown into a box that wasn't even sealed on one end. I could stick my hand all the way in and help myself to whatever I could grab. The fur will eventually brush and lay straight but for now it ain't pretty. Maybe its unreasonable to expect quality treatment for my money. Guess I'll go back to Hector.

..just sent beaver to 'em on Monday....

Well they may be OK. I think it may depend on who gets ahold of them when they come out of the chemicals.

Going into this season I am planning on setting some fur aside to get tanned. What are some good tanneries that everyone has dealt with?

I was gonna say Moyle....

I just got some fur back from moyles last week.. beaver, coyote, otter, ermine...all were pretty good, although the beavers had fur coming thru the hide in a couple of holes.. I assumed that was errors on my part when skinning, but now that I think about it, I dont think I knicked the hides at all in those areas. White, do you think they shaved them too thin or what would cause that?

The ermine were a little ratty looking, but not too bad with some grooming.

As a side note on fur prep, I stretched the beavers in june and had a hard time getting them to dry without a fan on them (no electricity). I had to wipe mold off of them a couple of times. I sprayed them down with bleach water and wiped off the fuzzy mold. I was worried they would slip, but they did not and although the hide seems a bit weaker in those areas, they seemed to tan up fine.

Dont know how they will hold up for mitts though, so I'll probably use them for something else..

BTW, all of mine had nice white hide so maybe yours when into a different batch??

It's like rolling the dice with tanneries it seems. Sorry to hear they came back like they did White. Pm sent.

Boy, sorry to hear that Ken. I just got back my batch which was 4 fox and 3 otters and I think they are best looking tan jobs I have received to date. One of the fox had the tail off but I have had several over the years with different tanner's that have come back with a tail disconnected. At least this one was in the box with the rest of my fur...

10 wolverine, 14 lynx, 20+ fox, 8 wolves done this year....and all were as good, or better, than I expected.

I've had a few beavers with the hair coming through, and a few paws on wolverine that I couldn't get turned all the way as they were really hard....but I figure that is probably more to do with how I handled them (wolverines that is).

Kind of a crap shoot as no tannery treats the pelts as "their own". And SO MANY factors that can go into a pelt coming out unsatisfactory. For me, I'll stick with Moyles.

pittu if your beaver were caught early or late the hides are thinner and that can cause the hair to come through the back I see it on some fall beaver not all but some. THe tannery shaving them too thin can also be a cause. I just sent Moyle 2 dozen beaver with another two dozen left to stretch that will all go to Moyle. I have noticed the different colors in the leather but it has never affected the quality and since people don't see the leather side of things I have shrugged it off as differences in batches for whatever reason some come out tan rather than white.
Ken sorry to hear you got poor results again. I do know what you mean about them stuffing fur in a box that they do quite often and can be a bit of an irritation but I have never had a box come partially open. I sent them a wolverine last year and it came back perfect head and all. If they screwed up with me on one of my orders I would be calling them that same day and complaining.

I sent them about 15 furs last week, I'll cross my fingers.

Last week I received 14 Lynx that I sent to Moyles in July. All appear to be in great shape. No complaints here. I plan on sending another batch in the near future.

The beavers were january caught and yes I do think they were shaved too close. Maybe just another new employee. The wolverines look fine it's just that I have never encountered this issue with hard feet and heads before. I take pains to make them as good as possible since I always try to sell to the taxi market. The leather color is no biggie it just caused me to question whether something was different and that's why the hardness in the feet etc.

Ken, did you have the wolverines "taxidermy" tanned? That may be a stupid question.

Hmmm, we got ours back this week and will be going through them Sunday. I got 28 beaver to look at plus a few other things. Will be interesting. Sorry to hear about your bad service there Ken.

-TJ

Ken, hard feet and head means they didn't do them Taxi (that's what I've been told). I've asked about how it was a PITA to turn my paws after if sometimes a claw doesn't make it turned, and they told me if it was taxi tanned that wouldn't be an issue.

Interesting. All the claws are there it's just tough to open the foot and look inside. One back foot was split when I got them back. Everything is still there but it looks shoddy.

I got mine back from Hector last month and was thinking of sending the next lot to Moyle's. I wish they were more consistent. I finally did my own bear this year, with lutan f, alot of work but had control of the hide the whole time and had a finished bear hide in three weeks instead of 6 months with no holes or fleshing/shaving problems.

How much does it cost to have your furs tanned? Are you having them tanned to sell later date, keep for you, or what? I have been out of the trapping loop for a long time. So i'm trying to figure things out.

Moyles did a great job on mine this year. Bummer to hear that white.

Unless requested Moyle will always do a garment tan. Though feet that are skinned out in cups can be a challenge to turn they usually are fairly soft. The heads on all the fur I send them have always come back nice and soft and I never have anything taxi tanned.

With the fur prices so low, most of the guys are getting creative with some of their fur, selling to taxidermists, on ebay, making hats etc. in which cases you want them tanned. If you just want to unload your fur, flesh/stretch and dry it then sell to a buyer. Moytown.com has a price list for tanning.

Ken,

Sorry to hear about your furs. Sounds real similar to my experience with Moyles this year.

I'm hoping its an anomaly.

Boy, I hope it isn't a repeat of New Method. As some here will remember, they went from great, to "what's taking so long", to "this isn't my fur", to "what the heck is this?".
So far, knock on wood, I have been very happy with Moyles. Not sure what to think.

I sent my stuff to Hector this year purely because of the price difference. So far no word...got my fingers crossed!

Try Z&L in New York City next time around. They have always did excelent work for me.

I've had LOTS of pelts tanned at Moyles - all of them garment tanned - and haven't had a problem with heads and feet being hard.

Alaskan - I haven't heard that you need to do a Taxidermy tan to get soft heads and feet. Do you remember who told you that?

Taxidermy tan is quite a bit more expensive. I've had skins that were taxidermy prepped done garment tan and they were just fine for mounting.

Well, got my fur today and looked great. Even had several with the paws that I had left on for wall hangers. Out of 28 beaver, had one that got a bit tore up, and I am pretty sure that is the one that was bit up pretty good but I skinned it out anyways.

Paws were stiff, but were all turned out, so I was OK with them.

-TJ

Some people just have low standards I guess.

I can't remember where I was told about the stiff paws/heads/ears. I think it was in the main forum on here though. I remember wondering as my paws came back hard as a mo-fo and the ears and face were pretty hard. Was told that in taxi tanning that wouldn't be the case, but with garmet the prep was different and the care not taken.

just my two cents every year i get close to a thousand or so pelts done and for the last couple years ive been using tubari in passaic nj and i have had no issues all the pcs come back great and ive had stuff done pretty much everywere else and i wont bash any comp names but i am very pleased with tubari work is on the money in fact just sold a bunch of yotes and beaver on here that they did a guy from ak got the beavers for his wife and was very pleased with the quality of tan if anyone needs there info shoot me a pm and i can get it to you

tinemaster - question about the pelts you have had done at Tubari.

Have any of them had the feet attached? I'm not talking about taxidermy skins, I'm talking about just wall hanger type skins with the feet attached - pelts like coyote and fox.

Just curious as to how they do on the feet.

Thanks.

Also, is Tubari up and running on doing the plucked and sheared beaver. When I called last time, they said they weren't ready.

-TJ

feet on come out good dont have any problems only time i ever run in to problem with is when i buy fur and dont know who or how they were handled very far and few but all my reds and yotes that i put up i leave the feet on and they come back good never had any ripped off or torn my mink i leave feet on and same deal come back exlnt

beaver shear pluck i dont know if they are up and running with it yet i know they were in the process im going ther ethis week ill speak to mark and find out i am looking to have my beaver done this way this year gonna break down and get a comfy blanket made for the wife this year with prices being down i do know the new guy who does the beave ris top notch he is from one of the canadian houses and does top notch fleshing i ask they leave mine heavier and they come exlnt time to time for some of my garment custs i will request they shave thinner and they come back exlnt
wissmiss or top jimmy any quests pm me and when i go there ill get you the answer

Does Tubari have a website?

just got these back today. they look good just need a little grooming

Thats a nice looking silver !

no feet in that silver?

TM : How long was the turnaround time for the fur ? That was the only complaint I had with them and I was patient. After a long wait, they told me several times over several months that they would be done soon Also, it was obvious they could care less about customer service skills. Hopefully things have changed.

yeah that was the second fox i ever skinned. i learned how to this spring though.

PIPERNINER I GET MY STUFF BACK WITHIN 3 MNTHS BUT I ALWAYS DROP OF LOTS NOT SINGLE PCS WHEN YOU DROP SMALL OR SINGLE PCS IVE BEEN TOLD THEY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THEY GET ENOUGH OF EACH SPECIES TO MAKE A BATCH THIS I KNOW IS TRUE BECAUSE FORMULAS ARE DIFFER FOR REDS GREYS YOTES BEAVER AND ALL OTHER SPECIES AND I KNOW THEY DO IT BY WEIGHT HOW MANY PCS DID YOU SEND THEM THAT TOOK SO LONG CUST SERV IS A1 FOR ME NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL WITH THEM TREAT ME LIKE FAMILY DOWN THERE GOOD BUNCH OF PEOPLE TO DEAL WITH

Thanks TM. Seems that with most of them, you get good and bad years. Being a walk in reguler really helps as well. My experience was years ago - maybe it an was osolated incident or things have improved. I had app. 8 fox and 12 beaver. Glad to see positive comments .

it has also changed owners when i dont know but before i started dealing with them

TM : I suspected that - it was app. 12 years ago. Good to have another reputable option. Now that you announced it on the Web, they will be swamped - there goes your three months. Not to worry, Underdog says a box of donuts does the trick.

I received a cross fox, coyote, 6 Beaver, 2 black bears about 2 weeks ago. All seemed real good, especially clean fur. Talking to my taxidermist he told me that a dried wolverine that was not salted may return from tannery harder on the feet and head. I asked as I just sent them one I shot this fall caribou hunting. White were the wolverines salted or just stretched and dried. I will say I had a couple of small beaver that had similar false cuts that you described in the 6 but not all torn up.

I have had good years and bad years with Moyle, but the good have out numbered the bad.

So, I consider myself lucky.

I salted my wolverine immediately after skinning because I don't have the space to flesh and stretch them on the trapline. When I did flesh and stretch, I used borax on them. Have used the same procedure for 35+ years with no ill effects.

Might want to check with Bob Mardis. He is a fulltime taxidermist in ER. The good thing is that he tans all of his own stuff. I have been happy with the stuff I have gotten done with him. AKAnatomyBOB@aol.com

All of my wolverines get salt/borax/aluminum sulfate on them when they are stretched for drying. I always do the heads and feet with additional drying agents to ensure those areas dry well.

Got to see the wolverine I got last year. I'm getting it life-sized, so it's at the taxi's. It came out beautiful, from Moyles, but the feet did seem quite dry and stiff. The head was fine. For what I'm having done the feet won't be an issue. Taxi will re-hydrate.