Fox Pelts? Any uses?

[jennageit]

Hi guys,

I'm writing to ask what you guys know about fox pelts.

Does anyone do anything with them other than 'bin' them, or turn them into hats or floor rugs?

I've seen many a fox tail on the car aerial, but that's not what I'm thinking of.

Can the leather be worked and used for other things?

Does anyone do it?

I'm hoping to do some upholstery work, i've worked with some leather before, and I was wondering if the same could be done with fox leather.

Any ideas?

Jenna

[Shotfox]

I love your enthusiasm. Worth nothin these days Jenna

[jennageit]

Bugger!

Do you think the leather would be good enough for car seats? I need to re-upholster the seats on my Mini, plus the dash, centre console, and put a new head lining in.

What do you think? More trouble than it's worth?

[Shotfox]

If you are keen I guess it would be fun to pimp out the Mini in fox skin. Fox is used for coats , gloves and the like (well it was years ago) so its not hard wearing and it is more trouble than its worth. Apart from bounty fox skins are not much use anymore. Have you tried to skin a Fox? cause if you havent I bet the smell will discourage you to go any further. When I was a kid growing up in the bush fur traders would buy good pelts for up to $10 a skin but thats all gone these days.

[jennageit]

I've got a friend who wants to work with fox pelts etc.

I've told her that if I shoot them, that's as far as I'm prepared to go until the leather is ready to work. she's happy to do the skinning lol

I have said that I'll put the body in a plastic tub for her to come and collect lol

[Shotfox]

Ok good luck with that. Hope she is paying you well for your trouble .

[jennageit]

Hehe.

We've come to an understanding.

I shoot them, she skins them, preps the leather for me to work and I do what I please with the leather. If there is one with a particularly nice pelt, she will buy it off me lol

She has also offered to pay for my ammunition, and if she wasn't a kid and I was a real bitch, i could make a fortune by supposedly missing lots of shot lol. She's a sweetie who needs someone to be nice to her and help her to try all the things she wants to try. She's also talking of taking up shooting, but her mum wont let her have guns in the house. She'll have to wait until she moves out I think.

[Apollo]

Well, contrary to popular belief Fox skins are worth some money.

I have a friend that regularly goes out Fox hunting and skins then, pegs them out to dry then every few months a buyer comes up from Victoria or is it southern NSW and collects the lot. About $25-$30 per skin last I heard a few months back. I don't know the exact details.

My mate and his son aren't interested in selling them but do save all the skins from the Fox's they shoot here and then do the whole process through to tanning when they get home. Takes my mate a few minutes and you have a complete skin from nose to tail in one very nice piece. I just shoot them, put them in a bag and into the freezer then leave the job to my mate when he visits.

Don't blink when he's skinning a Rabbit or you will miss the process and just see the guts wrapped up in the ball he makes of the skin.

The resident Wedge Tails love us here, free tucker.

[jennageit]

We've got hawks, eagles and kookaburra's here. I'm sure they'd love the free meat lol

I'm not sure i'd be any good at skinning. I've only done it a couple of times. I watched my dad do it thousands of times but I never really got the hang of it.

Time will tell. who knows, I might be a really crappy shot and not hit a thing!

[Blackened]

$10 bounty for each fox killed in Victoria these days.

Victoria fox and wild dog bounty.

[nords]

$100 for a wild dog too. Nice.

Hope a few of those cross your way while you're fox hunting.

[Old Fart]

I love your enthusiasm. Worth nothin these days Jenna

I don't know about that.

If you can make something nice you're proud of that's worth something

[VICHunter]

I've told her that if I shoot them, that's as far as I'm prepared to go until the leather is ready to work. she's happy to do the skinning lol

I have said that I'll put the body in a plastic tub for her to come and collect lol

Didn't take you for the squeamish type, Jenna

[Noisydad]

I had "Daniel Boone" style wattle bark tanned fox skin hat for about 25 years before the fur started slipping. Want to make another now.

[Noisydad]

Skinning is not hard. Just make sure they're head shot and that you don't slip the knife into the body cavity while skinning as the smell of fox guts isn't much fun!

[Mr.x]

Why do the buggers stink so much ?

[botfour]

Why do the buggers stink so much ?

Defence mechanism?

[jennageit]

Hey Guys,

$10 bounty is nice, especially if I manage to wipe the bastards out on my place. That'll add up to about $170. A handy deposit for my next firearm!

I'm not sqeamish VIChunter, but I f***ing hate foxes and their smell. There's one spot in our front paddock where they usually come through the boundary onto the property to pinch the ducks around the dam. That spot absolutely reeks! Plus, I remember their smell from helping my dad with the skinning years ago lol

I'm happy with the plan. I'll shoot them and chuck them in the tup, Katie will do the rest.

As for wild dogs, we don't have any just where we are, but a friend has a huge problem with wild dogs on her property (they come out of the forest) and she can't find anyone to come and shoot them, so I'd better become a good shot, and quickly. She's not going to be calving or lambing this year because she lost so much stock last year. The buggers came right up to the house paddock (less than ten metre from her house) and wreaked havoc overnight. Two of the twelve dogs caught on CCTV had collars on!

Anyway, we'lll see how we go with foxes.

[AusC]

$10 bounty is nice, especially if I manage to wipe the bastards out on my place.

Some guys make a decent amount of $$$ doing it.

If you've got an infested property it's not shooting them that's the problem, it's getting around collection them that takes the time. And it used to be $5 per pelt as well which made spending the effort on it less appealing.

At $10 a head though, if it's making a profit for you more power to you.

Good luck with it.

[VICHunter]

I'm not sqeamish VIChunter, but I f***ing hate foxes and their smell.

I'll give you that.

Can't argue about that smell...

[tom604]

try the lieders,spellings wrong but you can google,tanning kit, it makes the leather nice and soft,colour's the leather a bit(blueish) but good for beginner's about 40 ish bucks. i dont know how to remove the fur if you just want the leather but im sure someone on here will know

[jennageit]

I'll check it out Tom, might make life easier for Katie. Thanks

[thankyoumissthing]

Hey guys, I know this post is pretty old by now, but I'm wishing to buy fox skins for a project and would prefer to buy them locally (I'm in Melbourne, Victoria)
If anyone sees this would you be able to let me know if you'd ever be interested in selling skins to me? Thanks!

[Oldbloke]

Hey guys, I know this post is pretty old by now, but I'm wishing to buy fox skins for a project and would prefer to buy them locally (I'm in Melbourne, Victoria)
If anyone sees this would you be able to let me know if you'd ever be interested in selling skins to me? Thanks!

You could very well have them queing. However more info needed.
How many?
How would u like them Dried, tanned?
Condition required?
Winter, summer coat?
Price?
Small holes OK?

[AZZA'S HJ47]

I love foxes, hunting them at least they are a great looking animal when they are on a good patch i have one that i shot and skinned as a lounge ornament and another as a key chain. But i cant stand the smell of them.

[Blr243]

The manager of my hunting block reckons he uses scented talcum powder on his skins to increase soft feel and disguise the smell. Reckons it works super

[sungazer]

The ones I have tanned, well I cant smell anything from them. Mostly used Leaders then some Neatsfoot oil and then some Jayel saddle type leather wax

[Blr243]

My guess is that if you can’t smell the finished product then u prob did a good job of it

[sungazer]

Before I start any tanning I do give them a wash. This guy has a lot of information on skinning, and prepping hides and a little bit on tanning. He puts all his pelts in the washing machine. Not the same on he does his laundry I hope. It looks rank.

Forgot the link

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCporYD ... tqQX7SLs5g

[Ferrisweil]

I’m gonna suggest something left field and I know it works because a mate of mine used to do it.
He managed a very well known tackle store in Brisbane and any Fox we shot out west, he’d take the tail, salt it, dry it out and sold them in the store as a whole tail. Think they used to retail between $50-$100 per tail.
The local fly fishermen loved them for tying their own flies because of the different colors on them and the long hairs. Was a handy little money spinner but he was quite selective on the tails. Had to be healthy and bushy.