I've searched the archives on this, but didn't really get a clear time amount that I was looking for.
I know that predators like bobcat and coyote spoil faster, so I'm always in a rush to get them skinned, fleshed and salted. But what is a safe amount of time? For instance, say I kill a bobcat and immediately start skinning while he's still warm, how long do I have before I need to get him in the freezer? 4 hours? longer?
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There are probably some variables that play into this. Honestly I do not know what the time window is. I can tell you my husband shot a gray fox this fall, it sat for 3 hours. I froze it, thawed it for a day and a half...tossed it in the fridge for another 2 days before skinning it. I was HOPING it would slip so I wouldn't have to mount it and of course my luck I had no slippage...Now I am stuck mounting it.
I have had fox that lay overnight after being harvested and had the ears start to slip.
Your best bet is salt as you skin if in doubt, and try to get those ears turned and salted as soon as possible.
That's funny. Well, good luck with the fox.
I also had a coyote that lay overnight after harvesting (they couldn't find him). I was worried about him, although, it was freezing temps (about 32 degrees) overnight. How cold was it the night when your fox was killed?
The grey was in upper 50 to 60 degree weather.
The red fox was warm....roadkill that lay overnight. I can't remember but I know it had to be 70. She slipped where the heat of the road was touching her ear....
Good luck to you too!
Ive had reds that get slippy around the ears, it seems no matter what, and I also had a coyote of my own that hung in my barn at least three weeks. I know theres guys in here who saw it and can vouch for that...and it did NOT slip. Go figure. If the seem iffy, I throw the darned thing in an old pail of pickle, before skinning. I like Safety acid, Tannery Degreaser and McKenzie Tan for them, with NO problems to date.