Hair on Deer Hide Tanned

[Arrowsmith]

I did a hair on tan one of the bucks I killed back in November. It came out pretty good. It's a lot of work and takes a lot of time. I enjoyed the process. It makes you appreciate what your taxidermist does for you.

I fleshed the hide with my power washer. Salted it for a couple of days. Rinsed the salt off and fleshed any remaining fat or tissue. Pickled the hide with salt and pickling crystals (citric acid) for about 3 days keeping the PH below 2. Neutralized the hide to PH of 7 with baking soda for 30 minutes or so. Let the hide drain overnight and tanned with Curatan tanning solution. Worked the hide to break down the leather fibers....this is a continuous process if you want it to be soft. Oiled the hide with a mixture of Neatsfoot oil warm water and ammonia.

It has turned out nice and soft. I still need to sand the skin side to clean it up and soften it some more.

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[jb5001]

Very cool. Would you do it again?


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[Arrowsmith]

Very cool. Would you do it again?


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Yes. Absolutely. I have always hated throwing away hides. I have already got more tanning supplies ordered.

I learned a lot thru this process. My tanned finish product will only get better going forward.

I am retired and have the time to do it. It is very time consuming and you have to move on each step in a timely manner. Especially the initial fleshing and salting.

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[AntlerCollector]

I prefer to send mine to a tannery. I’ve done it myself a couple times, but it’s not worth my time when it can be done for $100

[Artemiz]

North Texas Tannery will get it done in-house for a very fair price, it just takes awhile to get the hide back.

http://northtexastannery.bravesites.com/pricelist

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[ny bowhunter]

Looks great. Congrats on your work.

I did it once using the brain tanning method. Really, really enjoyed the process.

[bowhuntntxn]

Should have fixed those holes while you had a chance!

[wytex]

Nice job and those deer have the thick hair up there. I bet it's pretty soft.
I'd leave the bullet holes intact as well, shows you made a great shot.

[Bisch]

Looks good Mike! I’ll just let the pros handle my tanning jobs though!!!

Bisch


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[Arrowsmith]

Should have fixed those holes while you had a chance!

Nope. Every trophy has a story. Those holes are the best part of this trophy's story.[emoji106]

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[Arrowsmith]

Nice job and those deer have the thick hair up there. I bet it's pretty soft.
I'd leave the bullet holes intact as well, shows you made a great shot.

The hair is thick and it's very soft.

These deer have incredibly long tails. The tail is difficult to skin down to the very tip end. I lost a little of this bucks tail while skinning it.

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[Arrowsmith]

Looks good Mike! I’ll just let the pros handle my tanning jobs though!!!

Bisch


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It is an involved process, but very enjoyable. I am doing my own Euros also.

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