SCENT GLANDS AND EXTRACTSAnimal glands are always in demand. Even if you don't use them yourself, lure manufacturers are always looking for them. If you're a trapper these days, you need to take advantage of every income and saving opportunity you can. The saving and use of animal glands and other parts are the hallmark of an intelligent trapper.
TINCTURE OF DEER MUSKOn the inside rear legs of domestic deer you will find a dark, oily patch of hair. These are the deer musk glands. These should be cut out immediately--hair, skin, and all--and placed in a jar as soon as possible after taking the deer. Cover the glands with cheap vodka (the original recipe called for "good quality moonshine"), cap tightly, shake vigorously, ans set it on a shelf.
In the spring, pour off the liquid. This will be
tincture of deer musk, exactly the same as the
$5 an ounce stuff that you can buy. It's a top-notch deer attractor, and also valuable as a dog-breaking scent. People also use it to cover up human scent, which I think is pretty much impossible. Still, you can make a little money with this.
What I've never been able to do is incorporate it into a lure for other critters. It just doesn't work like
tonquin, the artificial musk from the Asian deer.
MINK GLANDSJust about all mink musk materials come from mink ranches. Wild mink almost invariably release all of their musk when they are caught. Sometimes mink caught in a 110 body-grip trap will be dispatched so quickly that it will retain its musk, but this is definitely the exception rather than the rule.
There may be a farmer in your area who has a few breeding mink in his barn. If so, you might be able to work out a deal to buy his glands. Otherwise, you're pretty much stuck with paying retail from lure manufacturers for these glands.
MUSKRATMuskrat glands or pods are sort of a pinkish yellow in color, and sort of look like lima beans. They are located just to either side of the anal opening, clinging to the large intestine. For most of the year they lie flat, but during the spring mating season they begin to fill with a pus-like substance that is the musk. The glands are most valuable at this time.
BEAVERBeaver castors are also located on either side of the anal vent opening, and are readily noticeable when skinning the animal. The castors are actually tied together by a cord-like tissue, and they should not be separated. As winter gets closer, these castors begin to fill with a yellowish pus-like substance called
castoreum and have a strong musky odor. You should contact your castor buyer and ask him how he wants you to process these castors, since buyers sometimes have differing needs.
The castors themselves are fed by
oil sacs that are slightly different in color from the castors. The oily substance in these sacs are of special interest to lure manufacturers. This oil should be kept separate from the oil from castors.
If you are selling them directly to a manufacturer, ask him how he wants you to process them. If keeping them for your own use, hold the oil sacs between your thumb and forefinger and squeeze out the oil into a container. The empty sacs themselves should then be ground up for later use.
I'll continue this later. As always, questions and comments are welcome.
Onward and upward,
airforce
