# Sticky  How to skin a coyote. Pic Heavy



## barebackjack

Start with one coyote.










First off you want to open them up. Your going to cut from the hock to the anus on the inside of each rear leg, a good line of reference is where the light belly fur meets the dark fur.










Using your fingers work the hide around the legs, cutting it at the hock.










From here on out, the process is much easier with the carcass hanging. A piece of rope, chain and sturdy hook, or skinning gambrel will work.










Next you want to free up the base of tail, work the hide away from the carcass with your thumbs.
You want to make two incisions along the sides of the anus, these cuts will meet at the base of the tail. You want the anal opening to remain on the carcass. From where these cuts meet, you want to make one incision running down the tail, 3-4 inches is more than enough.










Next carefully work the hide off the tail up to the end of your incision.









Now your gonna have to grunt. They make commercial tail strippers, but a pliers will work in a pinch. Grip the tail bone with the pliers, utilizing a split finger grip over the pliers (two fingers on one side of the tail, and two on the other), pull up on the tail bone, and down with the pliers. The tail bone should slip out of the hide, it may take a considerable amount of elbow grease.


















Now grabbing the "skirt" of the pelt (the hide that used to cover the back legs) PULL! Be careful around bullet holes, especially if their on the belly or in the flanks as to much force could tear them and make them bigger.










Once you get to the front legs, again use your thumbs to work the hide off the carcass through the armpits.









Once you have the hide worked down past the elbows, but through the hide all the way around. (Go a little further past the elbow than the picture shows. So sue me, my hands were getting cold!)









Pop the front leg out of the new leg hole.










Work the hide down the neck, remember, skinning is 99% pulling, 1% cutting. The more you use the knife, the more chances of putting an unwanted hole in the pelt.

Once you get to the ears, youll notice the cartilage bases. In this picture, its pelt below the knife, ear cartilage above.










Cut through the ear cartilage to the underlying muscle, mind the pelt.









Do the other side. You can now use the ear holes as handy finger holes to work the pelt down to the eyes.









Keeping your knife edge on the bone, work the pelt to the eyes. Do the eyes just as you did the ears. If you do it right, youll see no fur, do it wrong, and youll see fur through your cut, and the eye holes in your pelt will be much to large.

Here you see the back of the eye. Cut here.










Keep that knife edge on the bone when cutting through the eye area.









Once you get the eyes open, you can also use them as handy finger holes for pulling, just dont pull to hard.

The back of the mouth is done just as the ears and eyes.









Skin down the nose to where the nose cartilage starts. Once you hit the cartilage of the nose (youll feel it, its much softer than bone), cut through this releasing the top of the pelt from the carcass. The chin can just be cut off, you can leave the last few inches of chin hide on the carcass.


















Your done!


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## moneyshot27

great post bbj. i've been havin trouble with gettin the tail out quickly and easily. those pics helped quite a bit. now i just got to go shoot another one and try it out. hopefully. :lol:


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## Fallguy

bbj

Thanks for putting forth the time and effort to make that post. It will help a lot of people out!


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## jmillercustoms

by the looks of it u did that in a apartment/storage unit garage...nice!


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## Fallguy

I believe this post is worthy of being a sticky!

BBJ, not sure if you have done this, but you should put the same post in the Fur Handling forum.


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## airforcehobit

good on ya.... someone should do one like this on fleshes and tanning...

i am guessing you were kinda close to that dog..... he looks half skinned on that one side...... what caliber/load???


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## barebackjack

Fallguy,

I think theres one in the fur handling forum already, if not, ill post this one up.

Airforcehobit,

Thats actually the exit. .22-250 with a 50 grain nosler BT at 3650fps, he was quartering towards me at about 150-175 yards. Entered in his chest towards the right side. Entry hole is a nice little .22 cal hole and a dime size bruise, exit wasnt bad, only 2 1/2 inches or so, look far worse on the carcass with all the blood.

Bang flop. As I was ejecting the shell I looked up to see him high tailing it back up the hill. Couldnt get back on him in time, but found him about 30 yards over the hill. Coyotes is tough!


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## xdeano

nice job!

xdeano


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## DVXDUDE

an easy way of getting the tail off is to smash it with a rubber mallet a bunch times to loosen the hide off the tail. then a few tugs and that tail will slip right off.

great job on the write up, it will help a lot of people out,


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## Kelly Hannan

It's also easiest when the critter is fresh. If it is a couple days old, or has been frozen, GOOD LUCK


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## barebackjack

Kelly Hannan said:


> It's also easiest when the critter is fresh. If it is a couple days old, or has been frozen, GOOD LUCK


Ive peeled ALOT of critters, their much easier after rigor has set in, and MUCH easier if they've been frozen solid than thawed completely for skinning.

The freezing process loosens things up dramatically. The hardest thing to skin is a warm kill.


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## Kelly Hannan

your animals out there must be different than the ones I kill. I would much rather skin a fresh one. Other than the smell


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## barebackjack

If I can (and its tough if you dont have a facility to do so) I will ALWAYS freeze an animal through and through and completely thaw before skinning. At the very minimum ill wait (if possible) till the body temp has stabilized to the ambient temp and rigor is fully set in.

Makes it ten times easier, and ten times cleaner.


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## travis171

i skin my critters the same day i catch them and flesh n dry them the same day....ive played the whole freezin them game and thawin them out later....definatly easier when fresh....


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## MossyMO

barebackjack
Great post, thank you for taking the time.


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## JxMAN25

so when you skinn it do you put it on a strecher or nail it to a board or what


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## barebackjack

JxMAN25 said:


> so when you skinn it do you put it on a strecher or nail it to a board or what


Bullet holes get stitched up. Than it gets fleshed (all fat, membrane, and meat gets scraped off the hide), drummed (this pulls alot of the grease/oils out of the leather), than it gets washed, and finally goes on a stretcher fur out and into an air-wall. After shes dry, the fur gets combed out and its ready for market.


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## Crazycowboy

Don't forget to split the tail open, or the hide can rot there!!!! Great post btw.


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## YoteSlapper

good post

I agree with skinning fresh critters. Way easier in my opinion.

I would not put the hide on the streacher fur side out. Start the streching process fur side in and then turn it after the hide is nearly dry.

I would also do the fleshing and trimming (trim the bullet hole) prior to sewing.

YoteSlapper


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## Crazycowboy

totally agree slapper...warm, but not toooo fresh, wait for that hide to toughen a little...trust me..torn more than one by being in too much of a hurry  And yeah, I was always taught to stretch fur in to start...then turn them when almost dry...or dry. We always used to flesh and trim before sewing, then wash them, then stretch...but what do i know, I don't put much up, rather put it up green and sell it that way. The wife will let me have fur in the freezer, but not whole dogs :eyeroll: :beer:


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## in2chaos

Thanks for the post...very informative, great info!!!!!


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## laimonas123

WOW, very good tutorial, exellent. I like it 10/10 Can you make more tutorilas with other animals? Very value thing for all life.

Meridia Pill
Meridia uses


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## Sam I am

I used this thread to skin my first Coyote. It went very well. The tail was a real bugger, though. GREAT THREAD!!!! :thumb:


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## peepaw

Great instructions. Just like skinning a deer!


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## wing seeker

That was an awesome thread......we have really gotten into shooting coyotes in the
dense woods. Our weapon of choice is the 12 gauge with HeviShot Dead Coyote shells.
They will literally wack the coyotes out to 5o plus yards.


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## ulmer86

On a average how much more $$ would I get if I just skined them like this and sold them compared to bring in the hole thing like I normally do (was new to selling the furs last year)


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## xdeano

Depends on the critter and how prime it is and how much your fur buyer has been hosing you to begin with.

put up coyotes can average $10-25 bucks more then a carcass coyote depending on hide quality and the size of the hole you shoot in it and where it goes and who is buying. If you send it up north on the auction you'll can get a better average. But you have to look at it in the fact that you're spending time to put a knife to the fur and put it up. How much is your time worth? If you're horrible at skinning and cut huge holes in it, the money in your pocket goes down. There are a lot of factors.

xdeano


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## barebackjack

ulmer86 said:


> On a average how much more $$ would I get if I just skined them like this and sold them compared to bring in the hole thing like I normally do (was new to selling the furs last year)


If you just skinned it, you would get nothing more for it. Skinning is just the tip of the ice berg in processing a coyote.

If you arent going to finish fur, your better off just selling on the carcass.


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## ulmer86

OK thanks for the info will have to find a book or DVD on how to tan and stretch them any one know a good one to look for or where to start


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## Plainsman

Good post BBJ. It reminds me I should start carrying twine with me. In years past I liked to skin them where I shot them and leave the carcass hang for the birds. My brother often hangs a dozen coyote, fox, ***** etc out behind his yard. The birds pick them clean every year. I have often seen two or three little downy woodpeckers on a single **** carcass.


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## marcel9

:rock: Um....you can't....they are - endangered...Yeah that's it...endangered. You can't kill them... As a matter of fact, your are supposed to put out steak and beer for them.... :sniper: :sniper:


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