Preserving a Deer Hide

[macavada]

A friend of mine would like to save a Deer hide and create a rug to hang on the wall with the fur (hair?) intact. I have no experience in taxidermy. Can anyone recommend any good internet sources with the basics on how to get this done? We've done a little searching on the internet.

By the way, he bought a bottle of tanning chemical from Cabelas (the orange bottle).

Deer Hunters Hide Tanning Formula

Does anyone have any experience with this product, good or bad?

Thanks.

 

[birddog]

Lots of good information at Taxidermy.net

 

[HSMITH]

Freeze it NOW and send it, packed in dry ice, to a tanner with instructions to tan with hair on.

Hair on tanning is not for the casual homeowner. Send it out or realize the consequences of learning to do it yourself.

 

[Coltdriver]

There is a local taxidermist (sp?) that I contacted about doing this for me.

He charged $85.

If you knew what kind of a mess you were getting into, you'd think that a serious bargain.

He warned me to pack the hide on ice and to treat it like meat that I wanted to eat. He said if you let it get warm for very long at all that the hair would fall out when he tanned it.

 

[macavada]

As I suspected. Thanks for the warnings. I tried to warn my buddy. He's convinced that he's going to save the $$, and it will be worth it. From what little research he's done so far, it's a several day affair.

Freeze it NOW and send it, packed in dry ice, to a tanner with instructions to tan with hair on.

Is that the best thing to do to save a deer head and cape, or deer hide? Just get it frozen, and transport it in dry ice? That was kind of what I was thinking. Do you need to do anything else to it, or avoid anything in particular before getting it to the taxidermist?

Thanks again.

 

[HSMITH]

Marco, the less you do to the hide and head the more your taxidermist will appreciate it and the better the mount will come out. Roll the hide up where the hair is not on the bare hide, try to minimize how much hair touches the bare hide at least. Freeze it and pack it in dry ice to transport. You don't want it to thaw until the taxidermist is ready to work on it.

 

[macavada]

Thanks.