Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Elk skin question

I shot my first elk, a cow tag, in 1978. I shot it in the head so there are no holes in the hide. I had the hide tanned with the hair on and I still have it. I have displayed the hide a variety of ways. Right now, it's draped over the back of a leather couch, in the game room.

Native American friend asked my wife for an elk hide from my next elk. I told the wife “hell no I’m exhausted just carrying boned out meat. My hunting partner is much nicer he volunteered to flesh one out salt it & bring it home.

He got a nice fat cow one hole in the vitals, spent at least another hour making sure the hide was clean before we packed out his & mine from the same group. He had laid the hide out Hair up the day before on a flat clean patch of snow. Last trip the next morning he was ready to carry it out only about a mile. Sadly it was frozen solid to the ground. We tried to pry it up but no luck - I offered to pee on the edges to melt the ice so he could carry it down the hill.....he declined & didn’t volunteer again.

An elk hide is heavy, the wetter it gets the heavier. Heaviest pack I ever carried was my muzzleloader bull moose hide. Went in to retrieve it the third day after the kill, and it had rained all night. Folded it into a square package with the sopping wet hair out, roped it to the packframe. At the halfway point was a dome shaped rock I used as a resting spot (one of several). I sat down there and rested the frame on the rock behind me without taking off the shoulder pads. Tipped over backwards and laid there awhile like a turtle flipped on his back. Paid over 400 bucks for hair-on tan, and it really is nice to look at, but I might not do it again!

Carried out a really blonde bull hide from one my Grandad shot one year. It was a heavy SOB but all downhill so not too bad. Got it home and froze it until Grandad decided he didn’t want to have it tanned. Gave it to some local Indian guys who make powwow drums and stuff like that. Found it in the dumpster a week later when it started to stink. Haven’t freighted one out since.

I was fortunate to work for outfitters most of my time in the elk woods. Always had some good horses to choose from. I had all my hides tanned with the hair off. Kept my first two from many years ago which still cover the seats of my work truck 36 years or so later. If one has the resources to get the hide out , I believe we owe it to the animal!