When drying is well-progressed, break the hide to soften it by pulling it across a firm edge, such as a chair back. Spread it evenly and rub it in with gloved hands.ĩ) Set the hide aside, fur side down, in a protected environment overnight or until the hide begins to dry. Warming the formula in warm water makes it more fluid. Drizzle Deer Hunter’s & Trapper’s Formula over the hide, including the tail.
Use scissors to open the front leg holes so the hide will lie flat. Spread the hide on a working surface, hair side down. Allow the hide to soak for 10 minutes.Ĩ) Remove the hide from the solution, wash it again and knead the water from it. Wash it thoroughly with water, and put it in a neutralizing solution made up of 1 tablespoon of baking soda per gallon of water. The pickle must be kept above 55 degrees.ħ) The hide may be removed at 48 hours (72 hours for deer, otters and other thick-skinned animals). Check the pH the next day to be sure it is lower than 2. Spread the hide to make sure it isn’t stuck together anywhere, and add it to the pickle. Check the pH with the test strips: If it is higher than 2, add more citric acid.ĥ) Hold the hide by the nose and squeeze out as much water as possible with the other hand, moving downward.Ħ) Move the pickle into a plastic bucket. Heat the water to dissolve the salt, and then turn the heat off. Ricks buys his pH test strips online from Indigo Instruments.Īfter he skins a coon, here are the steps to a properly tanned hide:ġ) Make the pickle by adding at least 1 pound of salt and 3 ounces of citric acid per gallon of water. Citric acid can be found in the canning and jelly section of any grocery. Items needed for pickling include salt, citric acid and pH test strips. “If the animal is still limber and it’s a cold night, it’s still good.”Įvery hide must be “pickled” before tanning, using 1 gallon of water per hide. “I even pick up road kill,” Ricks said with a laugh. “What I do now uses an acid pickle that puts the hide through a low acid solution,” Ricks said.īesides tanning hides for personal pleasure, the hunter also displays them at events, auctions them at National Wild Turkey Federation events and gives them to friends.
They would salt the hide, then make a paste of the animal’s brain and rub it into the skin. “The old-timers would use the brain tanning method. I went on the internet and found a lot of versions of tanning. I wanted to learn tanning, but instead sold my furs (untanned) to a buyer. When I was a kid, I was interested in trapping. “I get satisfaction from not wasting any part of the animal. “Tanning gives me a chance to get closer to wildlife,” Ricks explained.
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