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Tip #12 Marking Set Location |
Made in USA |
I put two or three large shovels of dirt in the middle of the two tracks and that
serves two purposes: The 1st and Main Reason - It marks my set location, especially in a new area to stand out. It's easy to see at a distance and saves a lot of time, especially when working flat sets. |
Tip #13 Chilling Out the Fur |
Tip #14 Winch Coyote Skinner |
Weather temperature conditions can vary to extremes. I do a lot of my skinning on the line. I like to get the body heat out of the fur as quick as I can. I take my cats, fox, ringtails and light leathered hides and "whirl" them in the air with the skin side out. Sometimes I use the shade of the truck or trees and this really helps chill the leather and cools them down, even on a warm day. Then, I roll them with the fur side out and they are good till evening stretching time. |
Tip #15 Easier Skinning |
2nd Reason - After bad weather, snow,rain, and freezing, the sun and wind help to dry the dirt
pile out the quickest and it can be used when needed. Another good use for my long handled shovel. |
Chilling out the heavier leathered coyotes, coon, badgers, etc. is hard on the shoulders
and more awkward to "whirl" as they are heavier and carry more fat . I have special hooks on my truck rack and this is where I hang the heavier hides, also with the leather side out. As I drive and check more traps the air cools the hides out. 5-10 min but do not over do, as it will dry them out. This really helps chill them. Then, with fur side out, roll them up till evening stretching time. |
A close up of my homemade roll-out coyote skinning table. It only takes a minute to bolt and unbolt the winch and battery cables. For easy hookup I have different lengths of chain hookups that I use for the smaller animals like coon, cats, fox, etc. I only use the roll out skinner for the coyotes. |
I have found there is less blood using a hortizonal table versus a vertical skinning
method. Putting paper towels in the ears,nostrils and mouth also helps to keep the blood off the fur. I try to do all my skinning on the trapline and the stretching in the evening. |
Freezer Fur When freezing fur you need to get the body heat out of the hide first, especially with coon. An easy way to do this is to lay the hide flat - leather side out - in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Then bag them, fur side out, squeezing all the air out. Spread the bags so they freeze quick. |
I always remove the front paws of the cats for easy and fast skinning. No claws hooking
the fur or myself and I use paper towels to absorb the access blood. It
really pays to keep the fur as clean as you can especially those white bellied cats. |
Tip #16 JC's Stake Puller |
Pop the stake head up using the rigid lift head -- up far enough to get the ratchet head under it . Placing the pivot pipe close to the lift head will give you the most leverage. If the Stake has been in hard ground a long time, I will tap the stake head like I was hammering it in, just to break the ground grip. The stake puller can also be used to pull chain disposables using the 1/4" lift head slot. I use #3 welded chain on my disposables. |
When you have the stake head up 1" to 2", then use the ratchet head end. The head will bite into the stake and you can begin to ratchet it up. Drop the head and get another bite. A lot of times, I put my thumb on the ratchet head to push down and get another bite. Repeat until the stake is out of the ground. For soft, wet ground, I carry a roughly 7"x7" piece of Plywood to place under the pivot pipe to keep it from sinking in the ground. |
More Tips on the NEXT PAGE! |