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February 20, 2013
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I’m a firm believer that anyone who traps or hunts predators should be able to properly skin and put up their hides to sell or tan. The whole process is fairly straightforward, but it can seem daunting to a newcomer. All you need is a fleshing beam and a fur stretcher that you can make yourself, and you can start putting up your fur like a pro.
The purpose of the fur stretcher is to dry and preserve the fur, making it ready to tan. Unlike using salt, your hides will remain clean and neat. This is the standard and usually the only acceptable way fur buyers and auctions will take hides.
You can make your stretcher boards as simple or fancy as you want. A Google search will give you the proper dimensions for stretchers for everything from muskrats to wolves. I’ve made most of my stretchers (primarily fox/coyote, lynx/wolverine, and wolf) using two shaped boards with an adjustable spacer screw a few inches from the top. This is to keep the boards at the right width, depending on the size of the animal. I also make a base for the stretcher with holes in it so I can use a nail to hold the boards spread at the right width.
[ Read Full Post ]February 12, 2013
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If you ever plan on dealing with large quantities of hides, whether it’s deer, beaver, or wolves, one of the most important pieces of gear to have is a fleshing beam. Although you can get away with not fleshing some smaller critters, most hides require a good fleshing job, and when dealing with a high volume, you’ll quickly find yourself overwhelmed if you don’t have a beam.
With a fleshing beam and a draw knife you can scrape off all the flesh and fat much faster, and with much less hide damage, than with a regular knife.
[ Read Full Post ]February 11, 2013
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With new opportunities for wolf trapping and hunting opening up, more people are keeping an eye out for them. Here are a couple of tips for finding them and determining if wolves are calling your hunting grounds home.
There are three basic ways you can tell if wolves are near. The first way, of course, is seeing and hearing them on a regular basis. This sounds straight forward, but keep in mind that often wolves can be in an area without being seen.
[ Read Full Post ]January 23, 2013
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If there is an epitome of trapping, it is the pursuit of the wolf. There are few creatures as intelligent, wily, and powerful as the wolf, and here in Alaska I have the unique opportunity to play my cards with them every winter. Last season I only managed to catch one, but this year is off to a good start.
A pack of wolves—the same pack from which I caught the black one last year—returned to my marten trap line a few weeks ago. I saw their tracks at the beginning of the season, but I wanted to pattern them, and nearly eight weeks passed before they were back. One of the challenging things about trapping wolves is the mental side of it. I knew that these wolves would probably come back, and had a good idea of where they should return, but I had my doubts. I waited to see what would happen, and when they did come back, it was in the exact spot where they jumped on my trail last year. The next weekend I set out about 18 snares and a handful of Alaskan #9 legholds, and spent a lot of time at work daydreaming about how things would go down.
[ Read Full Post ]January 13, 2013
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It’s no secret that The Last Frontier is a land of trappers, but some guys take it to a whole different level. Most trappers here in Alaska trap off of their snow machine, getting access to some of the most remote places in the state. However, there is a monumental amount of work involved, especially when you are cutting your own trail like I do.
[ Read Full Post ]January 9, 2013
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After beating myself up over some bad shooting, a good night’s sleep, and a few extra practice arrows in the morning after breakfast, we were back in the boat. The weather was holding, so we headed back into the bays we had hunted the day before, and it quickly became apparent that there were even more deer on the beaches. On the first beach we checked there was a buck that had some real potential. We got within rifle range, but Wayne decided to pass since it wasn’t any bigger than his first buck.
[ Read Full Post ] January 7, 2013
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A couple days after Thanksgiving, my belly still full of turkey, we were out after more deer with two new guests at the lodge, Zeev and Wayne. As if the hunting hadn’t been good before, Luke assured me that I was about to have my mind blown. The snowstorm had just blown out, and the winds were calm enough that we could make it into some bays that are usually very productive. They are surrounded by steep mountains, so as soon as there’s much snow, all of the deer are pushed down to within a hundred yards or so of the beach.
[ Read Full Post ] January 4, 2013
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Thanksgiving Day on Afognak Island brought a nasty windstorm. This made a lot of areas inaccessible by boat due to a large swell, so we hunted the woods around Seal Bay. Another of Luke’s buddies, Josh Tobey, and I were dropped off on one side of the bay, and Luke, Adam, and Kevin hopped off on the other.
[ Read Full Post ] January 2, 2013
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My usual greeting when arriving at Afognak Wilderness Lodge for a blacktail deer hunt goes something like, “You should have been here last week! We had a ton of snow and the hunting was phenomenal!” Well this year I finally hit it perfect. I arrived two days before Thanksgiving and right after a big dump of snow to spend the holiday hunting with my buddies Josh and Luke Randall.
[ Read Full Post ] December 31, 2012
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I’m a fan of the saying “work smarter, not harder.” With that sentiment, I bring you this photo. It’s easy to prevent getting a hide bloody if you’re a trapper—most of the time. But if you do any predator hunting with a rifle, you know darn well that it’s hard to not end up with bloody hides. I've spent hours washing out coyote hides in five-gallon buckets.
A few weeks ago, I happened by chance to get a crack at a coyote, and shot him in the head with a .17 HMR. I dreaded putting that hide up; the coyote was gushing blood when I dragged him back to the truck.
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