Mentoring- Putting up Beaver

[HunterDave]

Between now and freeze up I’ll be trapping beavers. If anyone wants to drive out to Morinville for a close up look at rough skinning, fleshing and boarding beavers give me a shout. Plan on it taking a couple of hours. Coffee available but if you want to sip on anything else bring your own.

I’d be a pleasure to have you in the skinning shack.

[expedition]

Awesome offer. Wish i was closer. Crap

[KegRiver]

Hey Dave, didn't I say I'd give you my ice pick?

I was thinking, since I haven't been to Edmonton in a couple of years, and have no plans to go any time soon. I should bring the darn thing down anyway.

Plus I wouldn't mind seeing how you do your pelts.

So, if it was you I promised it to, I'm thinking, with nothing besides a bit of Moose hunting planned for the next several weeks, it might be nice to spend a bit of time with a fellow trapper.

[Marty S]

Dang it Davey, it's just too far for me to come.

Actually I got me a beaver skinning machine demo this summer. Actually much more a tool than machine but whatever. Guy sez 5 minute blanket beaver start to finish, ready for board with zero touch up???

I believe him!

[HunterDave]

Yeah, that was me, Keg.....lol. I wouldn't worry about the ice pick too much. Since I lost my chipping bar down a hole and I found an easier way using my chainsaw. It has to do with wrapping the extension cable all the way up one of the support poles. Necessity is the Mother of all invention.

For sure come on up, even if you just want to hang out. This may be my last week for beaver (maybe next) and then I'd like to put a couple of deer in the freezer. I'll have to deal with them so I don't want to be too busy with beaver as well. I'll be hanging the first of my snares at one bait site at the end of next week and once I start catching fully primed coyotes around November 15, there'll be a busy week of hanging snares during the day and hopefully skinning at night. Let's take it to PM and sort things out there.

Marty, you should come up sometime too. Knowledge is never a bad thing and it doesn't hurt to raise the bar. I've been told that even if you only pick up a tip or two it's worth $420.00!

I found a honey hole today that'll keep me in beavers for a few days anyway.....I don't want too many all at once (wimp!). In my travels I noticed a HUGE dugout where the beaver were knocking down all the trees. I had a very nice chat with the landowners, a couple in their 80's, and I offered to help them out. They were very happy with the offer and by the end of my coffee I had permission to shoot a couple of deer and trap coyotes there this season. It doesn't hurt that their last name is all over the County map as well. That's what it's all about right there.

Picture doesn't do this justice as to how brutal it actually is:

[Marty S]

Oops, I meant ready for board without touch up. Key word... without!

I've been getting beaver demo lessons at the convention every year. I think this year about 5 guys finished 1 second different each consecutively. Jackie had the best time, 2:20 minutes but his astute student Mr Grover came in with second fastest time about 20 seconds behind and won because Jackies beaver was freezer burned and he made two small knife nicks and was penalized.The word was Mr Grover spent some time with Mr Wurz learning every knife stroke.

There was some coyote skinning lessons to be had there too. Some big fat guy did a coyote in 2:00 minutes, but he got beat by 9 seconds in a later heat. In his defence, the winning kiyute was a little baby half pint! Poor, poor fat man. He did plenty of dumb things tho too, perhaps if he had used his head he would have gained another 15 seconds??? We'll never know

[Thomaswright45]

I would be very interested in learning anything you wish to impart to an aspiring hunter/trapper. I have sent you PM

[HunterDave]

Traps will be going out Saturday afternoon at my last location and they’ll all be pulled by mid-week. Hoping to be done all skinning and boarding beaver on Thursday night.

[bill9044]

Originally Posted by Marty S

Oops, I meant ready for board without touch up. Key word... without!

I've been getting beaver demo lessons at the convention every year. I think this year about 5 guys finished 1 second different each consecutively. Jackie had the best time, 2:20 minutes but his astute student Mr Grover came in with second fastest time about 20 seconds behind and won because Jackies beaver was freezer burned and he made two small knife nicks and was penalized.The word was Mr Grover spent some time with Mr Wurz learning every knife stroke.

There was some coyote skinning lessons to be had there too. Some big fat guy did a coyote in 2:00 minutes, but he got beat by 9 seconds in a later heat. In his defence, the winning kiyute was a little baby half pint! Poor, poor fat man. He did plenty of dumb things tho too, perhaps if he had used his head he would have gained another 15 seconds??? We'll never know

I think your being ignored Marty