Coyote Pelts question

[reed1911]

I thought I would address this in a separate thread since it is only somewhat related to the thread that caught my interest to ask this question.

Who actually sell their coyote pelts? Is it really worth it to collect and tan them? We have a lot here in central OK but I just leave them where they lie to act as bait for the hogs and other coyote.

I'm just curious to know how many folks are both doing it as well as is there money to be made at it?

If there is, I'll grab the ones I shoot and tell anyone that is here in the area when I have them, you can take them. I don't have a use for them at all. Obviously there is a time factor involved as I'm not going to skin them, just grab the carcass.

All mine I shoot with a .17 30g or 32g soft point or .14 cal 17.5g so there is no exit hole just a small entrance hole.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Probably hasn’t been worth it since the late 70’s.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

Up until two years ago, it was very worth skinning. In our area there was actually a cottage industry of guys that would buy coyotes with the hide on and skin them.
Good pelts were bringing up to $150 CAD.
The war in Ukraine pretty much killed that.
I'm in Canada, and the sort of coyote hides we have suited Russian tastes. Only the Russians wear fur much anymore.

When was the last time you saw someone wearing fur?

 

[Larryh128]

Up until two years ago, it was very worth skinning. In our area there was actually a cottage industry of guys that would buy coyotes with the hide on and skin them.
Good pelts were bringing up to $150 CAD.
The war in Ukraine pretty much killed that.
I'm in Canada, and the sort of coyote hides we have suited Russian tastes. Only the Russians wear fur much anymore.

When was the last time you saw someone wearing fur?

It's a lot better to wear fake fur made from oil while protesting oil. Go figure.

 

[JFrank]

We see several furs around here in the winter, I can think of a lot of pelts I’d rather have or wear or make a hat out of than a coyote pelt. Any Beaver, Fox, Badger or Skunk would make a terrific hat.
Pick one, I’ve got Fox, Fisher, Martin or Bear.
Jim

 

[kyotekiller25]

Not worth it in my area. Get maybe $25-30 tops.

 

[Clancy]

There are a few areas with Snow White coyotes in which you can bury your arm up to the wrist and not touch skin. They’re still worth some money.

Outside of that, it’s not worth the gas. My family used to take 60 plus cats and 200 plus coyotes to auction in addition to peddling 20,000 or so deer hides a year. It paid more than the day jobs. Not anymore.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

You have to be very selective putting up shot coyote, especially in a soft world market(most countries are still dealing with COVID economies, Europe with WEF nonsense). The Ukraine/Russia and Chinese economy problems are big factors. Any fur quality/pelt damage issues are major issues whenever fur prices are low. I still put up coyote I believe will receive a 10$+ auction price. Selling tanned coyote with good color, fur is also an option. But is a higher money risk due to tanning and shipping costs. Last winter I only put up about 20% of the coyote I shot. Anti hunters/trappers would love to see the fur market collapse completely, I try and support it as best I can.

 

[alf]

There is a small market for taxidermy mounts and tanned hides for the boutique shops.

 

[std7mag]

I'm in central PA.
If the pelt isn't too torn up, I drop the whole coyote off to a guy that does all the prep and sells them.

If I have bullets loaded in the rifle for deer, I just let them lay.

 

[mike mccormick]

The last several years, you haven't even been able to sell a coyote. The big annual fur auction has seen a majority of pelts offered go unsold. I miss the way it was 10 years ago, when a nice sized yote brought 75 dollars or more. Now I just leave them to feed worms.

 

[alf]

The last several years, you haven't even been able to sell a coyote. The big annual fur auction has seen a majority of pelts offered go unsold. I miss the way it was 10 years ago, when a nice sized yote brought 75 dollars or more. Now I just leave them to feed worms.

I still remember going into a Fish & Game office in Montana back in 1978, & they had a picture on the wall of a coyote that brought $275.00. Those prices back then turned everyone into a varmint hunter. No varmints left on the road either.

 

[mike mccormick]

I still remember going into a Fish & Game office in Montana back in 1978, & they had a picture on the wall of a coyote that brought $275.00. Those prices back then turned everyone into a varmint hunter. No varmints left on the road either.

Yeah....I remember being a teenager in southeast Iowa in the early 80s, shooting red fox for 125 dollars each. That bought lots of reloading components

 

[STS]

The decline in the fur market started before the Russia/ Ukraine thing. It started the day that Covid got turned loose on the world. Canada wouldn't let the fur buyers in their country in 2000 and 2001 so there was no auction held. I read a market report at the end of the summer in 2001 that said there were 375,000 coyote pelts in inventory that never sold. The following year the fur producers were sent communication that if they wanted their pelts back, they had to pay shipping to get them. If not, then the pelts would be discarded. No telling how many thousand were pitched. And as we all know the armed conflict in the Ukraine started early in 2002. A fur buyer that I have sold to in the past told me that the tanneries that the Russian fur buyers used were in the Ukraine...... all four of them. That eliminated a huge part of the demand.
The fur in Alberta, Saskatchewan and northern Montana is as good as it gets. I shoot a pile of them here in Montana in the winter and I haven't bothered picking one up in five years. Last word I got was you might get $30 for a prime Montana XL and that's put up. I'm not walking several hundred yards across a coulee to get one, dragging it a half mile, or more, to the pickup, skinning it, fleshing it, washing it and stretching it for $30. Not happening.
The market will eventually return when the war is over as long as some other issue doesn't keep it down. In fact there may be a compensatory rebound to high prices since there is little supply and pent up demand. I've seen the market in the tank several times over the years, but this is the longest downturn that I've experienced.

 

[JB10]

I know someone who does taxidermy work. When i get one with nice fur i call her up to give it to her. If its a normal nasty desert coyote like i normally get, it stayes right there.