# AZP's third cat



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

I'll let Eric describe these.


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

The look of money. Man's on a tear.


----------



## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

He was ready to shed one last season.......


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Thanx Don.

Glen, unfortunately it's not prime enough I've been told, It will make a nice wall hanger. I pulled my cages today, I'll have to wait till later in the season, unless I venture into the mountains.

Well the female above was the smallest of the three, she stretched out to 32". I would have wanted top dollar for her anyway... If you look at the belly with your head tilted sideways you can see spots in the shape of a heart. Sorry about the picture quality... my phone is old.


----------



## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Well done.


----------



## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

Hey Eric, how long does it take you to flesh and get on the stretcher?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


----------



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

If he gets on the stretcher, I'd like to know how long it takes to get back off. Might be good for the back, though.

So, Eric, they have no value to the fur traders?


----------



## Larry (Dec 2, 2010)

Eric... Now that you have "rode the bike" it will be easier later to catch them, no doubt. Great job! Great Skills! For what its worth, I admire your patience, as patience its something allot of trappers don't have today!


----------



## Ruger (Jan 22, 2011)

Good call AZ, I don't really start to target cats until December and if I'm patient enough I like to wait until Christmas time. The best fur on the cats seem to come after the first of the year. 
What elevation are you trapping at?
Good luck.


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Mark Steinmann said:


> Hey Eric, how long does it take you to flesh and get on the stretcher?
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


 You had to ask didn't you... Well there's more than one way to skin a cat but there's only one way to flesh it... Honestly Mark it took me forever, an hour...maybe longer. I wasn't counting. It's was easy to skin, but fleshing it was a pain in the ass. First off I was as nervous as a prostitute in church. This was the first one I've put up. Secondly my fleshing knife is a piece of crap and only made it worse. Other than that it came out ok I think, no holes. If I had a decent fleshing knife it wouldn't have taken but ten minutes or so.


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

glenway said:


> If he gets on the stretcher, I'd like to know how long it takes to get back off. Might be good for the back, though.
> 
> So, Eric, they have no value to the fur traders?


 Glen, I am sure I could sell them, but they are not going to bring what a fully prime bobcat would. I've never even seen a bobcat up close so I am still learning... Hopefully I can compare them to some later season bobcats, that way I'll know the difference.


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Ruger said:


> Good call AZ, I don't really start to target cats until December and if I'm patient enough I like to wait until Christmas time. The best fur on the cats seem to come after the first of the year.
> What elevation are you trapping at?
> Good luck.


 Thanx Ruger... I am in the desert 1,982'


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Larry said:


> Eric... Now that you have "rode the bike" it will be easier later to catch them, no doubt. Great job! Great Skills! For what its worth, I admire your patience, as patience its something allot of trappers don't have today!


Thanx Larry. Patience, I really don't have any patience, it's a sickness... call it trapping fever or whatever, it a disease. ????


----------



## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

azpredatorhunter said:


> You had to ask didn't you... Well there's more than one way to skin a cat but there's only one way to flesh it... Honestly Mark it took me forever, an hour...maybe longer. I wasn't counting. It's was easy to skin, but fleshing it was a pain in the ass. First off I was as nervous as a prostitute in church. This was the first one I've put up. Secondly my fleshing knife is a piece of crap and only made it worse. Other than that it came out ok I think, no holes. If I had a decent fleshing knife it wouldn't have taken but ten minutes or so.


I honestly just havent put up fur before so I didn't know what to expect for the fleshing timeline. An hour doesn't seem so bad to me. I've got a Bobcat in the freezer still....maybe I'll look into trying it myself this time around.

- Mark

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


----------



## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

The old restaurant knives from years past without having any serrated edges are good for scraping hides, not sharp enough to worry about cutting through but stiff enough blade and handle to be in control. If this makes sense.


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Mark Steinmann said:


> I honestly just havent put up fur before so I didn't know what to expect for the fleshing timeline. An hour doesn't seem so bad to me. I've got a Bobcat in the freezer still....maybe I'll look into trying it myself this time around.
> - Mark
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


make sure you have a good fleshing knife... Who was it that bought a post fleshing knife? anyway as long as you have the right tools it should go fine... It's not that easy...but it's doable.
Moral of the story is don't skimp on your tools.


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

hassell said:


> The old restaurant knives from years past without having any serrated edges are good for scraping hides, not sharp enough to worry about cutting through but stiff enough blade and handle to be in control. If this makes sense.


 are you talking about the ones that are curved like a beaver knife? I am going to get a beaver knife and a good fleshing knife. I had a hard time fleshing two coyotes awhile ago with my fleshing knife, I should have thrown it out then.


----------



## catcapper (Feb 11, 2010)

Makes sense to me Rick--- a fella can use whatever their comfortable with.

Don't think anyone could talk me into buy'in one of those fancy high dollar 16" flesh'in knifes. My 10" knife is homemade and I only use it if I'm do'in an elk or cow hide--- they just aren't made for light thin skinned animals.

I'd bet a jug of crown that I can flesh a thin skin critter (fox, yote, cat) with a steel ring currycomb faster than a fella run'in one of those fancy wide blades---------------- and I wont have any holes.

awprint:


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

LoL...
You probably sharpened the Damn thing so you can shave with it. ????


----------



## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Just a regular table knife, a lot of them had what looked like an ivory handle, no serrated edges back in those days, worked great, some old time trappers told me about them, so I used one on my catches- marten, weasel, lynx and wolves. I had bought on of those 2 handle fleshing knives - never did use it.


----------



## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

hassell said:


> Just a regular table knife, a lot of them had what looked like an ivory handle, no serrated edges back in those days, worked great, some old time trappers told me about them, so I used one on my catches- marten, weasel, lynx and wolves. I had bought on of those 2 handle fleshing knives - never did use it.


 I see... My neighbor just gave me some old stainless steel surgical tools made in Germany... Wire snips, cutters, and some precision pliers. They are going to make things easier.


----------



## Ruger (Jan 22, 2011)

Don't have to have fancy tools to flesh a cat, my flesher is just an old file with some handles welded to it. If you skin a cat right most of the fat stays on a carcass. I'd much rather flesh a cat than other critters.


----------



## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

I agree, dont need a fleshing knife on coyotes, fox or bobcats. I had a fleshing machine back when I did taxidermy, but I never used it on predators, only use a knife.


----------

