I am planning on tanning the hide and hanging it on wall in my living room, any other suggestions before I start skinning. I had thoughts on getting it mounted but I'm not sure.

                                   Ed

I was trapping beaver one year,and a friend of mine asked for the hind quarters from one. He cooked it up like a beef roast, and thats what it tasted like. A little stringy but tasted just like roast beef.  

I'm guessing $500-$600 mounted, but that would definitely be nice, probably $50 tanned and nice also.  Or a couple grips from the tail and lots of beaver ball silencers, ha.  Whatever way you go, it's a win-win situation, good luck.

The feet are really unique. I can tan it and still get a few silencers, but how do you do the tail for a grip?

you should make a nice hat out of it.I bet it would look sharp.

I got one tanned round,no tail, and have it on my coffee table with a big shed antler on top of that. Everybody seems to like it, even the city slickers around here.  Or so they say ...

I like the grip from the tail idea, as well as making a hat out of it and using some of it for string silencers.

I wouldn't spend the money for having it mounted, unless I harvested it myself with a bow or trapped it and I had a lot of money!

they use the body to bait the bears in SAS.LOL.

Congrats on even having a beaver in the freezer.  First off, if you are able to save the meat, do so.  It is some of the best eating out there.  I've eaten beaver and served it to others with rave reviews.  Secondly, you can certainly tan the hide yourself - my experience was not very pleasant at the hide turned into a huge frizbee.  I tried to soften it myself and could never get it to where I wanted it.  Much easier to send it out.  Use it for a curiosity or hoop it on willow branches for a wall hanging.  Mounting is another option though, personally I'd rather spend my money on a new bow.  If you want a hat, go to your local fur buyer and ask them about it. I had the one in the picture done 20-25 years ago and I think it was $65 - just heard yesterday that some fur buyers are still offering the same deal.  A note on beaver hats - they are way to warm unless the temp is below 15 degrees and usually I take it off when walking because I get too hot...............Oooops, the pic was too big.........this should work.

The tanned skin in a sapling hoop drying frame makes an interesting wall hanging.

Cool hat Pete!
I've a chest freezer full of beaver that I feed to the bears. May have to skin one and make a hat.

I tried tanning some tails last year. Like the ones I buy much better.

I see a life time of    string silencers in your future>>>---> and the tail can be used to make bow grips  

Has to be one of the funniest titles for a post ever.    :cool:   I have have one as a wall hanging in my den...looks great.

Depending on how much experience you have, beaver skinning is a job in itself. Clean skinning takes some time if you are out of practice but it beats fleshing any day. A medium skin is 26 bucks to get tanned, I have no idea what a mount would run.

I have a beaver pelt back quiver. That's another option.

FIRST, you give your wife a KISS!  There's no way my wife would let me put a beaver in the freezer.

skinning a beaver is a greasy endeavor.  up here we use the carcusses for bear baiting, try to get some paint on instant tan (20-30 per container) this will tan several animals. you just prepare (scrap flesh and grease) and paint on.  you can also smoke cure hide or use of brains spread on the hide for traditional tanning.  Beaver tail grip sounds cool, I've cut the skin up for beaver ball string silencers ( you cut 1/4 inch pieces about 3 inches long using back fur), make sure you keep the casters (you can sell or keep for hunting scents). Intresting things with beavers they are the only animal with a penis bone! makes a cool conversation piece.

Saw this tread and a friend of mine has some in a crock pot as I read this and he never cooked it before...I might have to sneak over and try a fork full just to say I tried it...  

Keefer,If he cooks it right you'll love it!

hummer3t, actually a bear has a penis bone as well,I have one in my man cave that I use as a swizzle stick to prepare drinks!        

I was going to say the same thing, but I don't want to be known as a penis bone expert!