Have had as high as 93. I run a 24 hr check.

Thanks Dave and GFW. Great video and I did pick up some tips for the fur shed. Much appreciated.

That the shed looks real familiar. Good job on the video. Too bad you didn't have Gary grab a few of your finished coon and kind of grade them on the spot and talk about color, size, and today's price of each pile.

Wish we would have too. He did buy the finished coon hanging above the carcass coon. $11 ave.

Great video Dave, appreciate your sharing your set up. And, dont listen to Carl about the “beam belly”. We know your on the level when you have the bubble in the middle. Groeny Rocks!!

What kind of knives are you using to skin?

Glad to see someone that handles a lot of coon to use wire "forms" as you put it Dave. I am of the same belief that too many coon are finished on boards and are stretched too far to get the next size. My coons that have been finished on wire are much nicer looking and dry faster than on wood and the fur on the back that shows in the window is thicker because the hide isn't stretched too far. I have both wood and wire and I will be purchasing more wire in the future. I know everyone has their own preferences but most every time I see a trapper that handles large amounts of coon they use wire. They don't have the time to mess with all those pins and wood stretchers take a lot more space to store them. If they were loosing money buy doing this I don't believe they would continue to do it IMO.

Very good. I really enjoyed it. That’s a coon trapper!!

Great video guy's , thanks for sharing .

Yeah Dave I gave up the cigs 28 years ago and have put on about 30 lbs. I don't like being overweight but I will take the health benefits and the money saved every day.

Another issue is at 71 I can work long days and keep up pretty good but one just does not burn calories like I did when I was 35. I work hard and get hungry. I don't get that sustained aerobic status that burns fat.

Bryce

Dave,
Really enjoyed your insights. During the FTA you mentioned that you use a lot of Persimmon as attractant, is that only during the early season?
Thanks Again

I get my knives from Mike Cope of Marshalltown, IA. They are boning knives from a meat processing plant, and Mike has them available at several conventions.

I use persimmon oil mixed in my trailing scent throughout the season.

I hear you Bryce. The health benifits far surpass the weight gain, plus the food tastes SOO much better!

Nice video. I use catfish skinning pliers to pull down the legs.

And that was worth the price of admission this morning.

If you are using boards, try using a staple gun with a pressure regulator set so the staples lightly penetrate the board. It is super fast and your fingers will not get sore from pushing and pulling all the pins. Needle nose pliers and a twist of the wrist pulls the staples quickly. I quit using push pins eons ago and will never go back. It all depends on who you are selling to. My furs go to auction and need to be stretched to a uniform size. I put mega amounts of coon on #4 and #5 wire back in the 80's and it is quicker for sure. Again very nice video Dave.

Dave you still trapping now in Iowa

By the nature of the solid wood form one does not need to pull down hard on coons to get extra length. The one real advantage of wood for me is not trying to over stretch is to have my size marks about 3/8 of inch to 1/2 of an inch past that size. That way I know when the pelt dries and stretches it is still the size it was when I boarded the coon.

Bryce

Finally got a chance to watch that video. I thought that was pretty darn good. Good look at the methods and tools used by a good trapper. Appreciate you guys taking the time to put that together. THANKS!

Not for coon at the moment . Taking care of some beaver jobs, and hitting some rats and mink while doing so.

Nice video, thank you both. Very nice to see how others do things, and informative. It gave me ideas on my own fur shed. Thanks again.