Coyote Hide Preservation (Pic Heavy)

[whitetailbowhunter]

I posted a similar thread a couple of weeks ago in the Break Room section but figured it may be more of a hit with The Great Outdoors crowd.

are there any hunters/trappers on INGO that tan their own hides? I have been wanting to learn how to do this for deer/ coyote. I know you can pay +- $150 to have it done professionally but that is not what i'm after. I'm looking for advice for a DIY process.

I heard stories of salting, DIY tanning kits, and also rubbing transmission fluid on the skin to pull the hair in. Who has had success and what process did you use?

Pictures would be awesome!

I decided to try this for myself on the Coyote I shot a couple of weeks ago while Deer Hunting. This male came into our food plot at 35 yards and stopped long enough for me to get a shot with my Bear Truth II. A female came in a minute or so after I took this one but darted off as soon as she sniffed the blood trail to the creek (of course I was about to shoot again we she took off)

Coyote in the field.

After the hunt I hung him by the back legs using twine into a pin oak. I started at the legs and skinned my way all the way down. I had an older gentleman who used to trap until the late 80's show me how to skin out the tail, ears, face, etc. ( I won't lie I did end up cutting through in a couple of places, but like I said this was my first go at it and i'm just wanting to be able to learn the process and be able to use the hides rather than just throwing them into the field and letting mother nature takeover.)

Here is the final hide just after I washed it in water and hung it on a trapping stretcher. I let it air like this overnight, then I turned it inside out and dumped salt all over the hide to dry for 2 days. After the third day I turned it right side out, combed through the hair to return it to its "fluffy" state and will leave it go for a month or two. After that amount of time, I will take transmission fluid and rub it on the inside which apparently "sucks the hair into the hide so it doesn't fall out".

Like I said, this was a process taught to me by a family friend who has done successfully many times. I'm not saying it is the right or best way to do it, but i'm anxious to hear your success stories of preserving hides.

 

[hooky]

As a kid with a trap line, I would scrape, stretch and dry them. i don't think I was really tanning them.

I got this book for Christmas last year and it's part of a great series that explains skills that our Grandparents and Great Grandparents had: Foxfire 3: Animal Care, Banjos and Dulcimers, Hide Tanning, Summer and Fall Wild Plant Foods, Butter Churns, Ginseng, and Still More Affairs of Plain Living: Eliot Wigginton: 9780385022729: Amazon.com: Books

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Question:

Why Transmission Fluid?

I can't find any other Google reference to that being a "real" technique other than what's mentioned in the OP...

Folks have been preserving / drying / tanning hides for a heck of lot longer than ATF has been around.

Just might be wise to did into the rationale given behind it's use. The one given in the OP by the old-timer sounds very "old wive's tail" - ish to me.

-J-

 

[Kart29]

Well... I've never done any home tanning, but I think you need to flesh that hide before drying it out. Did you scrape all the fat, flesh, and gristle off down to bare skin before you put the salt on? If not, I think you're going to have real problems getting it tanned. Alot of trappers these days are using borax to help hides dry out more quickly. Tannning hides is alot of work and usually it starts with fleshing. A fleshing beam and fleshing knife is the best tool for this but I guess there are other more primitive ways as well.

I understand wanting to try your hand at tanning hides at home. But professional garment tanning isn't nearly as expensive as you imagine. You can skin your animal, freeze it, mail it off to Moyle Mink and Tannery in Idaho and they will flesh it and tan for far less than $150. Probably less than $50.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

As a kid with a trap line, I would scrape, stretch and dry them. i don't think I was really tanning them.

Yeah I don't know that it is necessarily tanning but maybe just preserving. Either way I think it is cool. I did this project because as a 21 year old, I wanted to learn a traditional skill that many people before me were extremely proficient at. I think it is a dying skill (like trapping) that needs to be passed down to more generations.

Question:

Why Transmission Fluid?

You're right, It could very well be an "old-wives tail" for all I know. I have read a couple of places that did mention it (of course I can't find them now or remember where). The guy who taught me to skin the coyote told me that it went through the hide and "sucked the hair in" so that it would not fall out in the future. If you don't use something to coat the hide then the hair will just fall out overtime and apparently, transmission fluid has worked for him since the 70's (so i'm simply giving it a try)

Well... I've never done any home tanning, but I think you need to flesh that hide before drying it out. Did you scrape all the fat, flesh, and gristle off down to bare skin before you put the salt on?

I did flesh the hide fairly well before drying and salting. Not perfect i'm sure but that was the first step I took after washing the hide.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

I'd question anything being able to "suck the hair in"... Seriously.

Have you compared that old timer's hides with any others?

It honestly seems either A) unnecessary and B) potentially disadvantageous since it's a right decent solvent. At least it's not brake cleaner, I suppose...

Hair falling out while tanning!

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

Have you compared that old timer's hides with any others?

I've seen his hides and they look fine hanging on the wall. That's all this will be good for once it is dry because it is dry tanned so it will be stiff as a board. All I was wanting to do was have a hide to hang on the wall, but also curious about what others do and the other options for tanning/drying.

 

[usafmora]

Survival Guide, Tips and Natural Disaster Survival try this link it has some good Info. Edit it takes you to survival site but you have to search for tanning hides with brain water. http://survival.outdoorlife.com/blogs/survivalist/2011/11/survival-skills-brain-tanning-hides

 

[possumpacker]

after skinning you need to flesh the hide that is scraping away the fat. any fat left on you will get what is known as grease burn and the hair will fall out. after fleshing cover all the leather with 20 muleteam borax (laundry detergent)in green box and leave 2 weeks to dry. for a hang on the wall hid this will last years.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

after skinning you need to flesh the hide that is scraping away the fat. any fat left on you will get what is known as grease burn and the hair will fall out. after fleshing cover all the leather with 20 muleteam borax (laundry detergent)in green box and leave 2 weeks to dry. for a hang on the wall hid this will last years.

I did flesh the hide but didn't use borax. I have heard of others using it but maybe I will try that method next time. I guess time will tell if this works at all.

 

[trophyhunter]

I did flesh the hide but didn't use borax. I have heard of others using it but maybe I will try that method next time. I guess time will tell if this works at all.

I've been using borax for some years, we've always done it that way and they look great when finished. I find it's easier to complete the final fleshing and scraping after the hide has been frozen for at least a few days first.

 

[kyotekilr]

I have always heard that every animal has enough brains to tan their own hide. Don't know if is is a wives tale or if its is true but would be worth checking out!

 

[hooky]

I have always heard that every animal has enough brains to tan their own hide. Don't know if is is a wives tale or if its is true but would be worth checking out!

I've heard that same thing, but have never tried that technique. It would be kind of a cool experiment to try it on everything I shoot this fall.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

I've heard that same thing, but have tried that technique. It would be kind of a cool experiment to try it on everything I shoot this fall.

a couple of people have mentioned that method and shared articles discussing it. It would be very cool! let me know if you try it out Hooky. It's sounds like it takes a lot time and elbow grease more than anything.

 

[mnoonan]

I taught at the Navy S.E.R.E school in the mid nineties and learned the process of Brain Tanning. After skinning the animal you need to stretch it tightly via a frame or depending on size a board will do, scrape all excess flesh/fat from the hide (being very careful not to puncture) take your time on this step. Prepare a paste from the brain tissue and ash from a wood fire adding water until a honey consistency paste is attained. Liberally apply this to the hide and let cure until dry (this time can vary depending on the size of the critter). Once cured immerse the hide in water and slowly work it until it is supple. You will continue to work the hide until it is dry. Once soft you can work it over a bark removed limb etc. (get creative and be careful to work the interior side so you do not scrape of the hair) continuing until it is a soft as a baby's bum. This can take several hours!!