If you plan on skinning your coyotes either to sell the hide or to tan it or have it tanned then here's an
article you should read.
The Five Minute Coyote
By Mike Granger
The perfect stand. Three coyotes just came running into your best imitation of a dying rabbit and stopped broadside at 100 yards. You slowly squeeze the trigger reminding yourself not to jerk at this crucial time. The gun goes off and a prime coyote is on the ground. Now what to do?
For those of us that not only enjoy calling coyotes, but selling the fur, our work is just beginning. Many a year ago, I would drag that coyote back to the truck no matter how far it was. Besides, isn?t that part of hunting, being exhausted when you arrive back at the truck! I?ve got a better solution. The five minute skinning job.
I distinctly remember the day I decided dragging coyotes was not my bag of tea. I had just walked 3/4 mile over hill and dale to a great spot. Coyotes had already howled at me but I was on a county road and knew they would not come. Off I go. When I got to the spot and start calling, here comes 4 coyotes. Full bore! The closest coyote is on me in no time and I shoot him at five feet (he wouldn?t stop). I start the yelp, yelp, yelp and get one to stop at 100 yards. Bang, down goes another. There I am, two dead coyotes and 3/4 miles from the truck. Of course, I didn?t have anything to drag two coyotes with as I had just come out for a short calling session and just ?knew? they?d be right close to the road. I threw the rifle over my shoulder, grabbed a coyote leg in each hand and took off. If you have never drug two coyotes without aid of any type of rope 3/4 mile, you haven?t lived. By the time I got to the truck my hands felt like they would fall off! Cramps like you wouldn?t believe.
I had read somewhere about skinning coyotes in the field and decided to give it a try. My biggest concern was what do you attach a coyote to so as to skin it. Well, in my part of the world, we don?t have many trees but we have a lot of fence posts. Many of these posts are brace posts (some call them corner posts) and are well anchored into the ground. I figured these posts would be plenty strong enough to hold a coyote while I skin it.
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