Prepping Elk Hair?

[troutscout]

A generous hunting friend of mine has offered to give me a sizable chunk of hide off an elk he reasonably bagged. As hairwing caddis flies are current pastime of mine I quickly accepted the offer. However, it now occurs to me that I have no bloody idea how to preserve the hide. Help! I really can only keep this in my freezer for so long before my wife relocates it to the trash. How do I "cure" this stuff?

[fessiewig]

troutscout,

I was hoping someone who actually knew how to do it and had successfully done it before would answer your question. Hang in there, I know a couple of people who have done that and I'll ask them to tell me how and I'll get back to you. I work with these guys, so it will have to wait until Monday.

[fessiewig]

The guy I need to talk with will be in tomorrow (Tuesday) weather permitting. Wednesday night for sure.

[troutscout]

Appreciate your help. If I get it done right, I'll happily send you some (after its been sealed in a bag with some moth balls for insurance ).

[fessiewig]

O.K. here we go.

Thaw the hide. Rub the hide with salt (pickling salt is good) and fold in half with the raw sides touching and then roll. Let sit for a minimum of 24 hours, longer if you like. Rinse the hide in warm water and repeat. Rinse hide in warm water and "flesh" it by scraping the raw side (a sharpened table spoon will work just fine). Get all flesh off so that your down to the "skin" or hide. Rinse in warm water. Rub in 20 Mule Team Borax. Using the Borax the hide will be stiff. If you want a soft hide use something like "Liqua-tan". This is something you can get from a Taxidermy outlet.

Good luck.

[troutscout]

Thanks Fess. If it works I'll email you to get an address to ship you some. Appreciate your doing the research!
:lol:

[fessiewig]

You're very welcome. Unless you've got a ton of it, don't worry about sending any to me.