who just cuts down the whole tail and then takes it off... would this affect the money for it. .

It's a whole lot easier to strip it, then split it.

Can you clarify what you mean by doing this? it sounds like youre saying your going to leave the tailbone in ( a big "no no")...correct method is to split the tail around halfway with your knife while skinning then use a tail stripper (metal works best) to pull the tail off of the bone and then split it all the way later...this doesnt apply for muskrats, grinners, and beaver though...

i mean that cutting down the tail from the but to the tip of it then just folding it off.... the bone isnt inside.

takes a lot longer to cut down the whole tail. I use a pair of plyers once it is cut around the base and pull it off. Takes me twice as long to cut down the length of the tail and then remove it.

I also use pliers. Well actually channel locks. I open the jaws all the way. That way the handles close together leaving just enough space for the tail bone then just give a good pull and there you have it, empty tail skin. Then a good sharp small thin blade knife works good for running down the tail. Or you can buy a tail slitting guide. I have one it works pretty good also.

A bench-mounted piece of steel with a deep-V in one end, sticking up also works pretty good. It's handy, if you have the room on the bench for it.

I use an ALUMINUM one all the time. It works much better than the plastic or ?? ones.....


The aluminum Tail Splitting Guide is well worth the money too!

If a buyer does not reduce the price for no tail, why??? Or sell the tails on another market??