Greg / MO

Thanks, guys... I'll check out the links, Bruce. Appreciate it!

I agree on pros usually doing a better job (though I've obviously yet to try it myself); I just don't want to spend $100 or so every time I decide to tan one just for decoration (and that's a guess as to what it'd cost). I'd love to have a bunch of coon skins around, but I'm certainly not paying anything close to that for those... but I'd be willing to do it myself for a $20-investment or so.

SteveO KanevO

OH! OH! I have! I have! Pick Me Pick Me!... LOL. I shot a doe and decided to tan the hide. Kept the skin and dried it out, stapled it to a board and began to scrape the excess flesh away from the hide. After that I rubbed it in salt. After that had dried I rubbed it in borax and then........................................... my 2 year old lab got ahold of it and I dont know where it is. HAHAHA.[8D]

Im definately not tanning another hide myself. True story though.....

mathews outback

FIRST OF ALL DONT DO IT YOURSELF BECUSE IT WILL TURN OUT TERRIBLE,I THAT SKINSI HAVE HAD TANNED AND THEY ARE JUST LIKE BLANKETS WHEN YOU GET THEM BACK,I SEND MINE TO A TANNERY IN CALIFORNIA FOR $100.THEY ARE AWESOME WHEN YOU GET THEM BACK

twildasin

The only hide I tanned and still do occasionally is my wifes! JK...No I never did it but i think there are alot of steps invloved in doing it!

nodog

There's an understatement.

My plan is to send in a bunch.

ericstacy

I am not a professional, but here is a beginners home outline to tanning your own skins. Works great.
http://www.wideworldofhunting.com/Tanning%20Deer%20Hides.htm
Good Luck!

HNI_Christine

I've tanned all sorts of critters from deer tofoxes, 'rats, squirrels, chipmunks and even mice. (made some coasters out of deer mice, skinned out round like beavers.)

I've used brains, noxema (really, it works!), and several different commercial tans.

The trick is prepping, and finishing. Different critters require different levels of preparation. (For instance critters like 'coons are greasy, I found I need to degrease them thoroughly.) Deer hides require lots and lots of 'breaking' if you want them soft.

A coyote is a fairly good critter to start with. A beaver would be a bad first critter to start with. (trust me on that one)

bassman417

Ive done ALOT of tanning working for a couple taxidermists around here and my opinion would be havea local taxidermist send it to a tannery. They are best quality hides Ive seen. They're very plyable, not stiff like what most would get unless they somehow softened it up. If you do it yourself, the best way to get the skin soft and plyable is to flesh it very well, follow the tanning guides from the kit you puchase, and to "break" the hideIve used 2x4's and hung the hide and pretty much beat it, then used an orbital sander and sanded it to make it thinner and softer. It will work but its a lot of work, most tanneries arent too expensive. Just make sure to "brand" your hide. Id use an ice-pick or similar and punch your initials in the hide somewhere (on deer) cuz some tannerys will just send you a pre-tanned hide and figure its the same thing. The taxidermist I worked for branded a bear hide and we got a different one back, called the tannery and they found our hide, luckily.