Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints tanning coyote skins??

Im a newbie here and thought this to be the best place for this post..if not please correct me. My question...does anyone know how to soft tan a coyote skin?(fur on) or a cheap place to have it done? I have taken several coyotes over the past few weeks and would like to tan them for decoration at the hunting cabin. Thank for any help...and this is a GREAT site!!!

Good question. Along the same lines, not to hi-jack, but does anybody know of a good book for a guy trying to learn some of the basic do-it-yourself trophy stuff like hides, caping, skull cleaning, that sort of thing? Like the OP, I'd not mind doing some smaller chores myself for some cool stuff to put in the camp.

i use these folks: http://www.hideandfur.com/
or you can search around and go directly to the tannery which will cut out the middle man costs. check your local taxidermist they might get a deal for you by including your hides in a larger order. call around and find a good price.
i've used the home tan stuff (liquatan) and it works but i think the professional tan is worth the money. it is a better finished product and i don't have to hassle with it. and the wife is happy when the food in the freezer doesn�t taste like liquatan.

jPro, check your library or youtube for videos like these: http://www.mckenziesp.com/Instruction_Videos.aspx
i learned by hiring one with a taxidermist for a few years as a part time job doing the nasty/grunt work.

the problem with a lot of home taxidermy stuff is you quickly find you have to buy a gallon or a mile of some product and you�ll only use a tablespoon or yard of it.

Tandy still sells tanning solutions. It's a little pricy, but easy to get for starting out. If you decide it's something you want to do, you may want to find a cheaper source for the solution....like lot's of tea bags (LOL)

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/...eature=Product_2&kw=tanning+solution

For the skinning and prepping hides...there's a good book that may be out of print...

Hunting Predators for Hides and Profit for skinning and preparing hides by WilF E. Pyle. Mine was copyright 1985.

I've been tanning skins for more then 30 years, since I had it as a School project as a kid. It's not technically difficult, but it does take some labor effort.

After skinning you should remove all large pieces of fat and meat. No need to scrape down to the actual skin at this point, but the bigger stuff of more then 3/16" thick should be shaved off the skin. This takes a while unless you have a nice smooth piece of wood coming to a slight or blunt end with rounded edges to lay the skin over for this process. With out this board your gonna have a bit more effort to shave it down easy. You can see what this looks like by doing a web search for "Fleshing beams"

Once you have tired of this fleshing process, you can dump some fine ground salt on the skin side and leave it for a few days. This cannot be over done. You can leave the skin this way forever without any failure. However since we are tanning and not storing you can shake the salt out after 24-36 hours and redo this one more time. Make sure the skin can drain. Lots of fluids will be pulled out by the salt. These fluids need to be drained away from the skin.

Once this is complete you should pickle the hide. This is the first step of the technical process. There are a whole bunch of ways to do this, but over the last couple years I have just settled on Rittels products to pickle and tan the skins.

It's very safe and the least caustic, and makes a fine soft skin that looks very good. I think if you do a web search or maybe even type in Rittels EZ-100 tanning on Ebay. I buy the stuff in larger quantities and have it on hand all the time. However I did tell a buddy to buy the same stuff and he called me back saying he had found the whole "kit" on line.

You will probably find suppliers for this "kit". It should have pickling fluid, tanning powder that you need to mix with warm water, and the hide oil to convert the dry skin to soft leather.

Other then this you need to have lots of salt and a plastic container that will hold 3-5 gallons of water.

As with any project like this, the more effort you put into the skin to clean it up after skinning the less you will have through the process, and the better the result will be. I have used PH strips to test the formulas in the past, but I have also done this without any PH checking at all. It's never failed me either way.

I did a Raccoon for my son a week ago and it's a perfect tanned hide that you would be hard pressed to find more well done. The biggest reason for failure in tanning is salting the skin with too much fat and meat on the skin. The salt will dry and cure the meat and sinew. It will not have any effect on fat. So get all the fat off and after salting you should be fine.

Good stuff to know. Many thanks!

Wow!! fast responses..THANK YOU!

I did a search on the products and ordered the EZ100 kit and a tanning video...with the help of you folks and the stuff I just ordered my huntin cabin should be looking very COOL!

Thanks again!!

Tanning Instructions

1.Drying � Hide must be dry before tanning in order to lock in the hair � prior to drying you must flesh the hide to remove all fat and membranes.

a.Salt Drying � Apply non-iodized salt to entire hide being careful to get all folds and the tail (tail must be slit along its entire length on all hides) fold hide skin to skin or tack it out on a board and elevate one side so that moisture can run away from hide. After 24 hours shake hide free of original coating of salt and apply a new heavy layer. Continue this process until hide is stiff.

b.Stretching � For this process you will need either a spring steel pelt stretcher or an appropriately sized wooden stretcher. Simply place the hide on the stretcher, line it up correctly and insure that it is receiving adequate airflow until it is stiff and dry.

2.Re-hydrating � The purpose of this process is to make the skin pliable again. During this process it is also a good idea to wash the hide with Dawn soap to remove most of the blood/fat.

a.Fill a container (I like Rubbermaid storage containers) with enough water to completely submerge the hide(s).

b.Pour 1 Tablespoon of Dawn/Gallon of water into the container. It is also advisable to add 2 capfuls of Lysol cleaner (comes in a brown container) to the mix to retard bacterial growth.

c.Put the hides into the water and allow them to soak just long enough for them to become pliable.

d.Remove hides and rinse thoroughly.

3.Pickling � This procedure will remove all of the proteins and enzymes within the hide.

a.Fill container with enough clean water to completely cover hide(s).

b.Add as much non-iodized salt as will dissolve in the water (If you forget the salt your hides will be ruined by acid rot)

c.Add several ounces of Safe T Acid (citric acid) to the mix. You cannot add too much but if there is too little your hides will not pickle. I like just enough so the your hand burns a little when it contacts the solution.

d.Place the hides in the solution and let them pickle. Thin hides will be pickled in 24-36 hours, thicker hides will take 36-72 hours.

e.When the hides have taken on a uniformly white appearance on the skin side they are done.

f.If the hide is not uniformly white take it out and flesh it further, then return it to the solution for at least 12 hours.

g.When the hides are done pour most of the solution out and add half a box of baking soda to the brine adding more baking soda and clean water until all fizzing stops.

4.Degreasing � This step will remove the last of the fat that is present in and on the skin.

a.Fill the container with enough water to cover the hide(s) and once again add the appropriate amount of Dawn to the water, add salt to the capacity of the water to absorb and thoroughly agitate the hide(s) rubbing them vigorously to remove the fat.

b.Remove the hides and rinse them thoroughly.

5.Tanning � EZ-100 This step will replace the enzymes and proteins removed from the hide with inert material that will preserve the hide.

a.Fill the container with enough clean water to cover the hide(s).

b.Add EZ-100 as per the included instructions

c.Use as much non-iodized salt as the water will take to avoid acid rot.

d.Allow the hides to soak � Thin skins for 12 hrs and thick for up to 36 hrs.

e.Remove the hides and rinse

6.Oiling � This step will produce a strong pliable hide by filling the pores in the leather with oil. Must use a tanning oil.

a.Thoroughly cover the hide with oil hitting all folds etc.

b.Allow the hide(s) to sweat for 2-3 hours

7.Breaking/Tumbling � This process will separate the fibers of the leather, remove excess oils, and give you a nice pliable white leather.

a.Place the hide(s) in a dryer set to air/tumble dry with several dry towels and set the timer for 60 minutes. If the hides are thin you may want to check it at 30 min.

b.When the skin side feels relatively dry turn the hide (if case skinned) and allow the fur side to dry.

c.Remove the hides from the dryer and put on a stretcher or tack them out on a board in the shape that you want in your finished hide � Leave this way for at until they begin to get hard.

d.Now to finish hide run the skin side over a sharp table edge until soft and sand any thick areas to a uniform thickness.

This is the instructional sheet that I give my students when using the EZ100 system. Follow it closely and you will get a perfect finished product every time. Be very particular when fleshing the hide, this is the most commonly botched step in the process. If you leave fat, muscle, membrane, on the hide it will not be a nice smooth piece of leather when you get done.

Thank you Ranger...great info!!

Well there you have it two guys telling you the success of the EZ-100 that should relieve your concerns about the system. And heck.... if I can make these beautiful soft tanned skins anyone can!

One thought on this from my experience. I have never ever even one time deliberately dried my skins before tanning them. They go from the salt as a damp, but not dripping skin to the wash basin to clean mud dirt and blood out of the fur. Then drip dry for an hour or so right into the pickle. I have never EVER dried them first unless.......... to store them for tanning later or at the end of the season.

In Ranger1's excellent tutorial above these steps for drying with the sub heading of salting OR air drying are not in combination, they are one or the other. Trappers usually sell air dried skins off of a hide Stretcher. Home tanning is far better with salting, and no stretcher is needed.

you guys have been a great help...loads of info!! I came across this site on accident a week ago and joined it, wish I had found this place sooner. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!