Hello, my name is Paul Hester, I am a life long resident of Sweetwater County, Wyoming. I have been buying quality furs for a couple of years now, and I am also a shipping agent for The Fur Harvesters Auction ( the last International fur auction in North America ). There are two different options. I can buy your fur upfront in which case ( I have to make enough on it to cover my fees ) or I can ship it to FHA and you open your own account. ( If you ship to FHA you do the waiting, and you pay the fees after the sale).
Over all this year we saw improvements in most markets, with the exception of coyotes. I will be more interested in cats this year, and I will still buy coyotes but the prices are low. I have no idea how long it may take for the coyote market to come back around, most of you may not even be willing to carry them home for what I can pay for them. I have tried for two years to make the best of this coyote market only to be repeatedly kicked in the teeth. I have updated prices below. I will still be doing the same trapping and calling that I always do and hoping for some changes in the future.
As always I greatly appreciate all of you folks that sold fur to me or shipped to FHA through me, and I hope to see everyone again next season.
The long waiting game we are in right now is the exact reason fur dealers look at the effort you put in to your pelts.
I encourage you to check out FUR HARVESTERS.COM , click the education tab on the top right hand side of the home page to find, fur handling manual, and grading info. I will be planning routes for this upcoming season once the August auction concludes. Check FHA website or check back here in the future, I will post that info here as well. Feel free to call, text (307) 870-5634 or email
( phester74@outlook.com ) me with questions about FHA or any other info on the page. Evenings are best to chat for awhile, but anytime is ok for quick call or text.
Lyman, WY - Exit 41 Gas N Go - 7:00 am - 7:30 am
Evanston, WY -Exit 6 Bear River Rest Area - 8:30 am - 9:00 am
Kemmerer/ Diamondville, WY - Chevron - 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Cokeville, Wy - Flying J truck stop - 11:00 am - 11:30 am
Afton, WY - Tractor supply Co. - 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm
Alpine, WY - KJ's Super store, Hywy 26 & 89 - 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Pinedale, WY - Gannett Sports - 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Farson, WY -Cross Roads - 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Rawlins, WY Exit 215 - Tractor Supply/ McDonalds - 8:00 am - 8:30 am
Laramie, WY Exit 310 - Petro Truck Stop - 10:30 am - 11:00 am
Cheyenne, WY Exit 358 - Little America - Noon - 12:30 pm
I will be passing back through Laramie and Rawlins
if the afternoon is better for you please call and make arrangements.
Notes: Keep an eye on the weather and I-80 closures, if I can't make the run due to closures I will try again the very next day. Times are estimated, but I tried to leave some extra time in there for bad roads and incase someone would like to meet in between stops. If so call ahead to make arrangements.
If you would like to get your fur shipped in you can meet me at the stops. If you do not want to meet in person I understand and you can ship your fur directly to me via UPS, USPS, or FEDEX.
Hester Wild Fur
3876 Sage Ln. /Box 1204
Green River, WY
82935
Feel free to call or email me to discuss any of the changes.
(307) 870-5634
Whole - And I do mean whole, no ears or tails cut off. With as little pelt damage as possible , this is how you put the least work into selling your fur but you need to get it to me ASAP. Hopefully the same day you get them. I work on week days until 4 pm, it's ok to call or text before that to let me know you have fur to sell. That way I can meet you right after work.
Green skinned - Case Skinned or Tube Skinned but not fleshed. Once you have skinned the animal, you should wash any blood off the fur, let drip off, and roll up with the fur out. Wrap in plastic wrap and you can toss it in the freezer. I will give a few more dollars for putting in some of the work. This method works for folks farther away from town so you can bring all your fur at one time. I do ask that you take them out to thaw 24 hours before meeting me. If they are frozen solid I can't check them out and you will get less money.
Fully dried Pelts - Putting up your fur completely requires some tools and skills that take time to learn but this is how you get the most money for your fur. When you start out you will damage some fur, we all do. Every trapping supply co. on the internet has books and dvds on fur handling and there are hours of free stuff to watch on YOUTUBE. Just don't listen to anybody that says ( you don't have to flesh your fur that well or don't wash it ). Most folks don't know that the fur trade is GLOBAL. Your pelts can take anywhere from 3 months to 2 years, stopping in as many as three countries to reach the cutting and tanning process, so the better job you do putting it up the more I will be willing to pay you for it. Also if you don't already, take the time to learn to remove the cartilage from the ears completely. Some of the most valuable fur on dogs and cats is the neck and it can be ruined if the ears rot.
Prices depend on a few things.
The fur quality
how you took care of it .
Size and color
Dried Pelts depend even more on the job you did
Don't expect every skin to be at the top of the scale, every cat or dog is not created equal.
I don't expect to pay those top prices more than once or twice a year.
Whole $0 - $ 10.00
Dried Pelts $ 0 - $ 20.00
Whole $ 20.00 - $ 300.00
Dried Pelts $ 25.00 - $ 400.00
No head or neck shots with those hopped up coyote guns, shoot for the boiler room. All the .22 calibers are good coyote guns (.222 , .223 , 22-250 ). I use hollow point bullets in my 22-250 , most of the time they don't come out the other side. It's ok to shoot animals in traps in the head with a .22LR or .22 short, I also use hollow points, usually don't come out of the skull. Big holes and lots of blood soaked in to the fur = low money or no money
Bobcats are furbearing animals and have their own set of rules, Know what you are doing before going after them. I cannot buy a cat until it is tagged. On whole cats I prefer the tag in the outside of a back leg just above the achilles tendon joint. Where you would hang a deer, not through any white fur. Green skinned cats run the tag in one eye and out the other eye. Dried pelts in one eye and out the mouth.
The weather has a lot to do with fur density so prices start out low and usually peak between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Starting too early will get you lower prices. I don't recommend hunting coyotes until Nov. 1st around here and they can go down hill as early as January some years. When you notice less guard hairs on the tails or hips the prices go back down. Cats take longer to prime up and last longer than dogs. I actually try not to catch cats until December 15th - Mar 1st.
Get your animals out of the sun, inside a metal toolbox, or camper shell with the windows open for example. Anything that keeps them shaded and allows air flow but do not put them in any plastic bag or
trash bag, they will spoil in a matter of minutes. Rotten skins aren't worth anything to me or any other fur buyer.
You will get more money if you come to me in Green River but I can travel a little around Rock Springs, and might already need to go there. Once again I hope to be available at some point every evening from November 1st through the end of March. Call or text as soon as possible to let me know you have fur to sell and I will do my best to meet with you.
Thanks for looking the site up.
Hope to hear from you this season.
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