diy elk hide idea's.

[280twoeighty]

What are the options in a diy situation with a nice elk hide. Hate to discard. No tanneries any where near by. Any thoughts without a weeks worth of labor? would be nice to end up with a nice hide with hair on. Thanks.

 

[jmez]

I'd freeze it and ship it to USA Foxx. You aren't going to get an elk hide tanned very well without a week's worth of work.

 

[Beendare]

Taxidermists looking for good hides all the time....freeze and send to them.

 

[gelton]

I have an Indian friend that does it himself, but not without a weeks worth of work. They do it the old fashioned way and use brains. Says they had to search around to find the pig brains...also has to be a little uncomfortable call, "yeah do you have any pig brains for sell?" haha.

Here is one huge hide he took home this year:

 

[5MilesBack]

I've been trying to get an entire hide out whole for 36 years now. Just have never shot one close enough to the road to make it worth my effort. Maybe one of these late season meat shoots some day.

But I'd definitely have someone else tan it. I don't have the patience for that.

 

[armadillo66]

There is a recipe that uses Alum that I have used before. Mix up Alum in water with Kosher salt and submerge in a big plastic barrel, I did a whitetail buck that way and the hair stayed tight but over the years hairs started to break if it got handled rough like when we moved to a new house. here is a youtube video on that method
Preserving Hides With Alum Solution - YouTube

 

[gelton]

When I was a kid, like 11 years old, I killed my first whitetail and brought the hide home. As it sat in the freezer outside I couldnt help myself from wanting to tan it myself. Without telling my dad or anyone, I went to the library and rented a book on tanning hides. They recommended an acid mixture. Followed the instructions and put the hide and mixture in my dads igloo cooler to sit for about a week. Little did I know that he would find it due to the stench. Long story short, that hide got thrown out in the trash and I had to buy a new cooler with money saved from cutting lawns.

Always liked the DIY approach but not sure if I will be attempting it ever again.

 

[jmez]

I've tried tanning quite a few small animals. Beaver, muskrat, coyote, etc. I can get them tanned but I was only every able to get the finished product soft with the muskrats. The bigger stuff always ended up like a piece of rawhide with the hair stuck to it. I tried pulling them across ropes, wire brushes, wire wheels etc. Hard to get that skin softened up in a decent fashion. I've yet to figure that part out.

 

[kestump]

This is probably a little more involved than what you were looking for, but some good info can be found in this thread on another forum:

Almighty Tanning, Fur and Leather Thread | Wilderness Trapping and Living | Trapperman.com Forums

Not sure if we are supposed to link to other forums. If not, admin please delete.