im looking for photos or some info on how to skin a beaver like you skin a fox i think it is called case skinning i skin my beaver like you normally would but i was wondering if it could be done like you would skin a fox or a coon and then i would cut them up the center to be put on a board

its alot easier to skin one open than case skin it

ok i was just wondering because it seems to take me forever to open them i just thought it would be a little quicker to do it like that thanks

Well the only way i can see someone doing it is to make a straight cut to the chest and then just case skinning it from the front legs down.

Skin it like you would for open stretch,around the tail, from the vent cut it only half way up the belly.Around the back legs,pull them through then Peel the hide down the rest of the way like a case skin. It makes for easier fleshing. It'll stay on the beam easier. When yer done fleshing cut er the rest of the way for stretch.

I have skinned many a beaver "cased" ... think it was George Wacha that sparked the idea and interest in me years ago

Here's a pic of how I hang them by the tail after doing the initial prep ... with the beaver laying on it's back on the bench ... first I cut completely around the tail freeing it. Next I split from the center of tail up through/around the vent continuing several inches above ... opening as little as needed. Next I'll cut around the ankles and twist off the hind feet. Once you reach this stage start skinning/opening each side of your incision ... freeing the hind legs, once that is achieved I attach my slip rope around the tail and hang ... now that it's hanging I continue pulling and cutting as needed ... before reaching the front feet ... cut around them and twist them off ... continue down being careful to cut ears as close to bone/skull as you can ... next is the eyes and down to lips and nose ... you're done.

Sounds like a lot of doing vs bench skinning open style ... but it really isn't ... I tend to skin mine both ways ... I think I can probably rough skin open style just a lil faster than cased ... but if you're gonna be fleshing them it sure is nice working them cased

What works for me might not work for you but you should give it a try and decide for yourself

Well, I was gonna respond but TexA and PS pretty well covered it.

To sum up as they said:

Remove feet, cut around tail. Start your openiong cut part way up the belly - I cut up about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way up. I then skin the critter out until I can see the tops of the hind legs and then hang the beaver up and start skinning from the tail down - pop out hind legs and continue to the nose.

HOWEVER, I put my beaver on my winch to remove the pelt (do this after the hind legs are skinned out). The key here is to attach your clamp TO THE BACK ONLY. If you attach the other clamp to the belly skin the guts will rip open most of the time and you will have a mess. AS WELL REMOVE THE PELT SLOWLY to reduce gut rip. This keeps my hands free and basically all I have to do is cut the connecting tissues between the pelt and the carcass.