![]() Do you really want to do that in freezing weather?Īlso, a frozen hide is much harder to work with than a warm one is. ![]() OK, now that you’ve skinned the deer, you can either head directly into the tanning process or store the hide until the weather warms up, which is a good idea because you’re going to be working outside in water. If you’re dealing with a hide with greasy hair, such as a bear, you’ll need to degrease the hide too, but that’s a messy job that we’re not going to get into here. ![]() If you’re removing the hair, you’ll also need hydrated lime powder and wood ashes. You’re going to need non-iodized salt, ammonia alum, and neat’s-foot oil. We’re going to focus on tanning a deer hide to keep things relatively manageable but within the broad range of animals that most people hunt. Obviously, bigger, thicker hides will take longer to soak and dry than little rabbit hides will. The process for any hide is essentially the same with the exception of drying times. Quartering it will make it even more manageable. If you’re tanning a cow hide, consider at least cutting it in half down the spine. It may be a good idea to try this with something small like a rabbit hide because a full deer hide can be a bit overwhelming for your first time. Removing the hair requires some extra steps, but we’ll cover both ways. If you decide to take the hair off, you have leather that you can use for endless purposes. If you leave the hair on, it’s a great decorative item, or can be used to build a shelter, make a coat or a pair of boots, or just about anything else that you can think of. Now, the next question is whether or not you want to tan your hide with the hair on or the hair off. There are also tanning methods that require harsh chemicals, and we aren’t ever going to write that article because it’s not what we’re about.Īs preppers, we want to be able to use what we have on hand, and though some of these may require an initial trip to the drugstore or superstore, everything is readily available. Since that’s probably not the method that most people would use, that’s an article for another day. There are many different ways to tan a hide, but traditionally, it was done using brains. The problem is that having a hide tanned is expensive, but why not tan the hide yourself? For the most part, hides are discarded, and that’s not only a waste of a valuable commodity, it’s disrespectful to the animal. ![]() You’ve field dressed it and butchered it, but you have no idea what to do with a hide. You’ve shot the deer, or maybe you’ve butchered a cow or one of the rabbits that you’ve raised. ![]()
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