Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Field dressing and skinning

We have a big flatbed trailer that is pulled behind a Massey Ferguson tractor. We fixed a winch on this to pull game up onto it.

This is the preferred method to get big things out of the bush. Unfortunately some of the animals do not cooperate and fall in areas that make this impossible.

Most if not all the skinners do not actually "skin" the huge animals with a knife. They chop the skin free with a panga. Then once the hide is removed it heads to the skinning shed for fleshing and salting.

Of all the Species that we have, there is only one that is so critical that we stop the hunting and get back to camp as fast as possible to care for. Klipspringer seem to begin hair slip after the final heartbeat.

I taught the skinning classes and trophy Prep in Elisrass for several years to the local folks to help them get jobs with the safari companies in the area. Probably over the few years I did these classes there would have been around 150 that came to the first day, and probably 50 that actually stuck it out and completed the course. All of which were employed right away. Several were already employed by outfitters that needed more skinners, or better skilled guys.

Eventually we saturated the local market with really good skinners, and then the outfitters used them to teach their remaining staff. Unfortunately I do not speak great sotho, or tswana which seemed to be the majority of locals attending. I had enough to get by and most skinning is visual anyway. Fortunately the best of the skinners spoke good Afrikaans which made that easier.