Pelt/Hide tanning..?

[BigBore44]

Howdy
Does anyone here do their own tanning?

How hard is it to make a coyote/fox/bobcat pelt with hair left on?

Thanks
BigBore44

[sixshot]

Never actually done it before, had mine tanned a few times by my dad when I was younger though! The Indians, after fleshing real good & stretching used the brains from the animal.

Dick

[wdr2]

I did a coyote years ago using the brains method - actually turned out very nice. Would not do it again, kinda messy....

Bill

[contender]

Labor intensive by hand. I tried it a long time ago,,, using brain. Messy as mentioned,,, but it will work,,, if you do your part.

[dmize]

Google search!!
Brain tanning has been around forever and is very effective but labor intensive.
I have 9 pelts held back from trapping this year to tan.
Check out this guy..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEeAfGE_Y-E
He has posts from beginning to end with all methods. The orange bottle is the easiest.
You need to know that to tan a hide it first must be fleshed and dried which can be a time consuming pain in the ass.
I just finished boarding the 35th coon for the season.

[mart]

Moyle Mink in Heyburn, Idaho. They do great work and very reasonable. I've had a lot of fur tanned by them over the years.

[mattc]

Big bore, I've done quite a few. Fleshing a bobcat or a fox is easy, very little fleshing required. I use tanning crystals from f&t trapping supply. You salt it first, then dissolve tanning crystals in swarm water add flour yo make a paste. Slather it on then cover with plastic. Does a nice job on deer skins. I second marts suggestion for moyles, especially If you want a soft fur. They do not take frozen or green fur, you have to flesh and dry yourselves.

[magnumwheelman]

I remember reading somewhere, that every animal has enough tannic acid in it's brain to tan it's own hide... seems kinda funny that, that would work 100% of the time, since I'm sure there are differences in relation to brain size & body mass... but if I read it somewhere, it must be true

I haven't skinned anything lately, but when I was a kid I used to salt & dry all the squirrels & rabbits I shot, never got one tanned though... in fact several years ago we got the chance to "farm hunt" a buffalo a year, for 3 years straight... the big bull I shot, we saved the hide in the freezer ( had another in the freezer from MRS cousin as well )... when we started raising a few pigs, & I needed the freezer space, so I pulled them out, salted them down, & dried them in the sun, out in the yard ( didn't stretch them out though )... I still have them hanging in the old grainery... probably all mouse chewed up by now, which would be too bad, since the big bull was prime...

what the hide looked like "before"

[COR]

You should do it the "old way" at least once. Then figure out your hourly rate if such things are part of your "value"equation. The old ways should be remembered. The folks who used those methods out of necessity would just as soon have had the methods we have now. I heard it described as "messy". Yep. Then some.

I see much value in YouTube for such things. When I was growing up you had to find someone who'd share knowledge. Today it's on your phone.

I'm paying someone to do it nowadays, of course I have three boys so I'll most likely be doing it a couple of more times.

[foxtrapper]

if you want a wall hanger ,then the orange bottle stuff from a trapper supply house will suit you fine. But if you want garment tanned softness ,send it to a tannery.Turn these into

[jgt]

In the sixties I read an article in a copy of Fur, Fish, and Game OR Boys Life. I can't remember which, but I think the former. If I recall correctly they used one ounce of battery acid in five gallons of water. Put the fleshed hide in the solution and leave for twenty-four hours. Put a box of baking soda in the solution to neutralize the acid and rinse the hide thoroughly. After it was dry they pulled it back and forth through the crotch of a tree until it was soft then rubbed it with your chosen oil.

[buckheart]

I took a coon in Vermont 40 years ago and still have the hide. Stretched it, scarped it out several times and just salted it. It weeped a bit when the weather warmed up and I had to scrape it and re-salt it. Good enough for a wall hanger in my cabin.
I did a brain tan once on a deer hide and soaked another one in a Borax solution. After the borax soak I used wet wood ash on the fur side to make the hair fall out. A lot of work and mess.

[squawberryman]

Anybody remember Robert Conrad saying bee-ver?

[nvcaller]

There are several ways to do it, what is the purpose? If you are just making a something to hang up, mount, clothing. Each use a different method.brain tanning is the basic way it stretches the fibers and fills the opening with the oils then the smoke basically preserves the hide. The acid bath is tricky if done wrong it will destroy the hide it is better at preserving but is a temperature and time sensitive. There are commercial tanning solutions that take the guess work out they are pickle solutions and good for all around use. Don't get me wrong brain tanning makes a real nice and soft fur.It is just a lot of work and the more you do the better the quality.