Another Deer Harvested Today - Anybody Know How to Tan Hides?

[TheSeedObsesser]

(Didn't know exactly where to put this, "the harvest..." sounded about right!) Pa just shot another deer - button buck! I don't really like seeing all of the leftovers wasted, especially the hide. Do any of you out there have experience with this? Are the materials... expensive? I'm interested to see if any of you do this with the deer that you harvest. We also have many rabbit hides slip through our fingers. We are also considering getting goats and will not waste goat hides either if we learn how to tan!

My excuse for not being in the deer stand - I had a long day of schoolwork today!

 

[Jared77]

Check your PMs

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Thanks for the links Jared, very much appreciated! Seeing as I really don't get out much I am afraid I will have to let this one go. This will be added to our farm plan as a way to (hopefully) pull in some extra money. Can't wait to start!

 

[Nyboy]

Please visit me and bring your gun They have killed trees I planted. Its war

 

[journey11]

Please visit me and bring your gun They have killed trees I planted. Its war

Giant vermin! At least they are tasty. And cute. When they're not eating your garden.

I read an article in Backwoods magazine awhile back on a very simple and inexpensive method of tanning deer hides. I did get as far as fleshing the hide and bought supplies, but never finished it in time and had to toss it out (one year time frame after salting and drying it.) After scraping it clean--which really isn't that hard to do--you use strong cotton cord and and awl to poke holes along the edge and stretch it on a frame just like the Indians did. We built our frame out of scrap 2x4s. You let it dry for just a little bit, so many hours. Then you need a thingie...I forget what it's called, but it's basically a skinny, smooth, wooden paddle with an acute angled edge (not sharp exactly), and you use Neem oil (found mine at TSC in the bridle/saddle supply aisle) and thoroughly work it in by scraping with the wooden paddle. You can make one of those paddles, which is the part I never got around to. This is to do a hide with the hair still on. It is supposed to make a pretty supple leather, especially the more you work it. There was something more to it to remove the hair...some kind of soaking in salt or something. I forget that part, but I'm sure the info is online somewhere. There's a hide tanning forum out there too. (Also forget the web address.) Been awhile since I thought about doing this... Maybe I'll try again someday when I have a little more time.

 

[Jared77]

NY if there was a way to get the meat home safely I'd gladly take care of the problem for you.

I've looked into it because we're going to have rabbits at some point & I want to tan the hides why toss them? That's how I had the links. Wasn't sure about posting links to other forums so sent them instead as a pm.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I know somebody who'd probably like the rabbit forum you sent me in one of your pms, Jared. She raises rabbits for show and shows them all across the country. Just came back from a show in Kentucky, went to one in Phili earlier. She also raises goats for the same purpose. Did some quick online reading last night but couldn't finish (It's bookmarked, I think) read something about using the brains of the animal to tan the hides. Although I couldn't imagine how hard that would be for a rabbit. I also remember reading something using oak bark in the pickle? Supposedly the tannins in the oak do something, I'll have to look back into that. Also the most "taxidermy" I have done is drying out deer and duck feet in salt, so this should be an adventure! My landlord is a taxidermist, but he is not a great person.

Journey, we use neem as an insecticide! Especially to keep the red spider mites off of the house plants during the winter. So we have a good supply of it!

You're not close enough for us to come, Nyboy! Maybe go out and buy a crossbow? Deer huntin' is easy! Just sit in the nearest tree (don't move a muscle) and when you see one, carefully get ready to blow the snot out of them! Shoot right behind the front shoulder, that's were all of the guts are!

 

[Nyboy]

Thanks jared I guess Fedex is out.

 

[catjac1975]

I don't know anything about tanning hides. However, I do know that one of the worst toxic Superfund sites is called Atlas Tack the next town over from me. Of course the company just let all the toxins pour into the soil for a hundred years. I'm sure there are less toxic ways, or at least I hope. It would be a lot of work but I'm thinking may be a lot of fun. And very rewarding to use the whole animal.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

It's awfully sick seeing how much some people pollute everything. It's probably polluting any ground water under there and carrying to some nearby stream, and further from there. There are definitely ways to do it without chemicals, I couldn't image the indians or the old fur trappers doing it with a bucket full of chemicals.