PELTING PERFECTION

Nowadays most fur trappers do all of their own pelting, and for good reason. There’s pride in processing your catch, not to mention a better looking check, too. But, along with careful knife work there are other steps that count just as much and need to be considered.

GOOD PRACTICES

From the moment you remove a furbearer from the successful set, every move affects the market worth of the pelt. No matter the industry conditions, offer well-handled fur to the grader and you’ll always receive a better return than dirty or poorly handled pelts. It’s a fact, and one that too many trappers seem to ignore. One of the finest old-time graders I was privileged to deal with claimed if trappers spent as much time putting up fur in the best possible condition as they did from grousing about prices, things would be different. He said it was disappointing to find a prime pelt with dried blood, burrs or half a bucket of weed seeds encrusted down to the skin. Wow, would he roar! “Go get the horse brush from the barn and work out all that dirt,” he’d growl. “And tease it out, don’t tear away the fur,”