Preserving animal skins
- Thread starter proxpar
- Start date
Salt only dries the hide - it doesn't preserve it. Here's a link to doing the full job.
http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_l/l-103.pdf
I used the alcohol and turpentine method last year on a coyote tail; it worked great, but you probably want to use the salt and alum tan method for big game.
One tip: find some roadkill, or practice on a hide you don't mind losing. Don't just jump right in with a nice bear skin.
http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_l/l-103.pdf
I used the alcohol and turpentine method last year on a coyote tail; it worked great, but you probably want to use the salt and alum tan method for big game.
One tip: find some roadkill, or practice on a hide you don't mind losing. Don't just jump right in with a nice bear skin.
You have to use salt if you can not get it to a freezer within a day or two, depending on the temperture. If you do not treat all parts with lots of salt(like a paste) the fur will come off where there is no salt if hide is left in the heat untreared. The salt will not dry the hide it will make it run and keep the maggits of it until you get it home.. Put hide in a freezer until you want to tan it. Tanning a bear hide is a lot of work and depending on it size it is not easy. I have tanned two of them and because of the work that was enough. The hard part is scraping all fat and working a hide soft so it does not dry hard like a rock. I use a salt sulfuric brine and hides come out same as a tannery hide. But its lots and lots of work..
If you are really serious about wanting something nice, find a local taxidermist and ask him:
1. How much?
2. What steps/precautions/preparations must you take, post kill, to ensure you get a hide to him in decent shape so that the end result will be top quality.
1. How much?
2. What steps/precautions/preparations must you take, post kill, to ensure you get a hide to him in decent shape so that the end result will be top quality.
