Need Ideas for a hitch-mounted skinning pole

[ivarhusa]

I took the idea for making a hitch-mounted iron pole to skin coyotes from Simonski's book. I have a few questions for the many souls who have skinned more coyotes than I:

• How far apart should the hooks be on a gambrel for coyote? I am thinking about 16". (Probably not critical.)
• How high above my head should the gambrel hooks be?
• It is easy to suspend the gambrel such that rocks from side to side and twist a bit (setting it over an open hook), but would I be better off with a rigidly supported gambrel?  I think rigid (no twist nor swing) may be better for skinning, but may be missing something.

I am open to other suggestions as well. One idea I will explore will be to make it telescoping, such that I could hang the 'yote within easy reach (not so far over my head), then raise it up a foot or two as I work down the carcass.  You think?

I'll share pictures when it is done.  I already have the hitch attachment complete, and am "working up the pole".

Ivar

[bearmanric]

cabelas has one in there cataloge. check it out for look's and demension's. Rick

[rasbo]

I always use a piece of rope About 18inches long with a hook on each end.throw it in your pack and soon as ya dump a dog do the deed then and there,why lug that stinky *censored* anywhere.. just run it around a tree or bush works great tube and go

[AWS]

I don't care for a gambrel and just hang them by one foot.  Like rasbo if I'm out in the field and it's a long hike I skin them there.  I use a short length of rope with a loop braided in.  Back at the truck I usually have a square stern canoe on the van and use a choke collar for a dog, loop one end over a foot and hook the other end to the stern handle of the canoe.

AWS

[Big10gauge]

I thought that's what trailer balls were for if you feel like packing a coyote back to the truck, use the extra holes in the bumper for a tail puller. Ivar, you must be looking for some projects to keep you busy until coyote shooting time. 

[huntnphool]

$179 at Cabelas

[Houndhunter]

you could weld that up in 2.2, the pully system looks tough though

[Gutpile]

Less than $50 if you know how to weld. I thought I had invented this thing years back. Then I saw it in cabelas. Thought I was gonna be rich!!   As you can see there are no trees where I hunt so we hang them from this. Makes skinning a breeze.




Actually I don't use it for yotes. I use a fencepost or a tree and a rope. Works great, and It's a lot easier bringing out a skin than it is to bring out a nasty stinking yote.  

[ivarhusa]

Ivar, you must be looking for some projects to keep you busy until coyote shooting time. 

True that!

I love making stuff. Perhaps more than using stuff. I dunno why.

Ivar

[ivarhusa]

But for perhaps some paint, my hitch-mounted skinning pole is complete. It has essentially three pieces, lays flat in storage, and is 6 ft long. I used the classic square-tube-inside-square-tube approach to make an extendable unit.  The hooks to hang legs from are initially 6' 6" above the ground, but can be extended to 9' tall as needed.

My receiver hitch is 1.25" square, so that dictated the material choices. I can put my full weight on the bar without permanently bending any components, but it does flex a bit.

If it wasn't 80F already at 9:00am this morning, I might have gone looking for something to hang from it (though hides aren't going to be good this time of year).   




This is the spring-loaded mechanism that engages a 3/8" pin into holes in the inner sliding, square tube.  A handle helps me lift it, with the weight of a coyote on board.

This pole gives me more incentive to process the hide, instead of just leaving the complete carcass in the field, after harvest. I'll admit to having a devil of a time getting my first few hides off the critter.  Getting their ankles up higher, and doing the work while the carcass is still warm will help a lot.

When I get better at the skinning, I expect I'll use Rasbo's method at times (such as when I am further away from my vehicle and don't want to schlep the whole thing back.) 

[stumprat]

Nice job Ivar.

[tlbradford]

Looks good.  You can still practice skinning with summer coyotes which will help you do a better job when it matters.  Of course you may need a respirator because it will stink to high heaven.

[ivarhusa]

When I got the coyote up there (not that easy for me), he was too high to begin skinning work.  I think I'll take it down 8"-12".

Today's hunt:




Ivar

PS to TL-  I intended to skin him, but didn't have any clean up materials.  Next time.