Rooster,
I would rather cook and eat my favorite pair of boots, than skin a raccoon.
I dunno what it is about it, but the smell of raccoon fat makes me wanna puke!
If you really want one, you can have it "in the round" (*whole).
Fred,
We don't have skunks (in my area), so every place one would be, a raccoon fills that void.
Almost all my calls are referrals from the WDFW, and within ten miles of home, for the most part.
I'm doing the same thing, trying to put off beaver jobs... I found an awesome new outlet for tanned beaver pelts, and did pretty well with the wall hangers last time around.
I plan on staying in Newport after deer season, until X-mas, fur trapping, and I'm hoping to spend January, over here, trapping beaver.
*While I was writing this, I got a call to trap some beaver here in West Seattle, and they
can't wait, they've dropped four trees this week, almost killing the neighbor last night.
Krusty
