Anyone here do their own hide tanning?

[alpinedust]

Looking forward to spring bear next year, as well as doing some other predator hunting. Wondering if anyone here does their own tanning. Looking for a nudge in the right direction on finding out how to do it myself?

Been watching some trappers on youtube, but most I have seen is scraping the hide, stretching and drying it. They all sell them to buyers at that point.

[Walking Buffalo]

Watch videos and read articles specifically on tanning hides.

Practice on smaller thinner hides first, such as coyote, rabbits and deer.
Bears are a bit trickier due to the fat. I wouldn't start learning to tan on bear.

Tanning is really quite simple, just a lot of work.

I can't help you with a BC source, but you can get good information and tanning supplies from AAA Taxidermy Supply in Calgary.

[alpinedust]

Watch videos and read articles specifically on tanning hides.

Practice on smaller thinner hides first, such as coyote, rabbits and deer.
Bears are a bit trickier due to the fat. I wouldn't start learning to tan on bear.

Tanning is really quite simple, just a lot of work.

I can't help you with a BC source, but you can get good information and tanning supplies from AAA Taxidermy Supply in Calgary.

Thanks, checked out a few videos, looks like theres a few methods from braining and smoking to using a premade compound. I'm assuming most people use the tanning compounds.

[mod7rem]

Depends on what you’re going to do with it.
I’ve wet tanned lots of capes for mounting but never for rugs. The pickling and tanning part is relatively simple but the fleshing and shaving part is where the work is. To get a good product in a mount you want to shave the hide down nice and thin as your pickling it and that is hard to do without equipment. I started out with a Flesh-All hand flesher(better than nothing), then moved up to an Eager Beaver fleshing wheel.
Im not sure how thin it needs to be for a rug but it would have to be Dry tanned instead of wet tanned. The difference is a wet tanned Hide will dry hard(good for mounts) and a dry tanned hide will stay softer and flexible.

[Deer_Slayer]

I always do my own tanning....in Mexico.

[alpinedust]

Depends on what you’re going to do with it.
I’ve wet tanned lots of capes for mounting but never for rugs. The pickling and tanning part is relatively simple but the fleshing and shaving part is where the work is. To get a good product in a mount you want to shave the hide down nice and thin as your pickling it and that is hard to do without equipment. I started out with a Flesh-All hand flesher(better than nothing), then moved up to an Eager Beaver fleshing wheel.
Im not sure how thin it needs to be for a rug but it would have to be Dry tanned instead of wet tanned. The difference is a wet tanned Hide will dry hard(good for mounts) and a dry tanned hide will stay softer and flexible.

okay so dry tanned is what I'll look into. Probably start with a hand flesher.

I always do my own tanning....in Mexico.

thought this would be a fun winter hobby as Mexico doesn't seem to be a possibility for a while