Hello,

I'm going to be going on a Once in a Lifetime Elk hunt in Michigan in right around two months. I've called around to the various taxidermist and they want some serious dough to tan the hide. I'm considering trying to do it myself. I researched and found a product called, Krowtann 2000.

Has anyone every tried to do this themselves? Can you please tell me how it went.

I'd like to hear some opinions on this.

Thanks

Tom

I've done two full elk hides. I have two more salted now that I haven't been able to steel myself up to start.

**it's a lot of manual labor**.

elk are about my upper limit, size wise, for DIY tanning.

a wet elk hide coming out of the pickling or tanning will weigh about 200#. that's 200# of sloppy,slippery, cold, spilling everywhere weight.

breaking a stretched elk hide is a nice shoulder workout too

fwiw,

I've had good success with Van Dyke's (a Cabelas Co) products:

--"whatever they call their re-wetting agent"
--pickling crystals
--Lutan (TM) tanner
--Pro Plus(TM) oil

I use a small spade shovel to break a stretched hide.

You really will work yourself hard trying to break the hide if you aren't able to shave it thinner. It can also be too thick of a hide for the tan to penetrate totally... Usually elk hides are ok and penetrate fine, but to try to break a full thickness hide by hand... more power to ya....I have the equipment in my shop to shave the hide, tan and oil it and go forth from there... On a moose hide I got, I sent it to the tannery and spent the 200 bucks or so. That was CHEAP in comparison.

If you want to do it just to do it, thats fine. By the time you buy all the chemicals and take hours to do it all, you won't be "saving" anything substantial dollar wise though...

Enough said. Don't cheap out because you will regret it. Pay the price.

My daughter's cost almost $600 for the rug eight years ago. Every time I looked at it I saw a very happy 16 y/o female. She now has it on the wall in her own house in her family room.

I've got one out in the freezer from a big cow, I brought it home because a friend said they wanted one. I guess he didn't think I was actually going to bring him one because he changed his tune when I told him I had one for him lol!!

I've tanned fox, yote & bobcat... I honestly do not care to ever tackle an elk hide DIY. no thanks.

I might send this cow hide in for a hair on garment tan just to throw over a chair out an camp or something... but for now I'm getting my critter decor fix by DIY tanning the little toothy critters like I mentioned above.

my god I couldn't imagine breaking a DIY thick azz dried elk hide by hand, it would be like 1/4 inch plywood.

by the way, anybody want an elk hide? LOL!



how bout a practice hide statjunk?

http://www.trophyhidesleather.com/how.html

$135 for an elk hide.

Congrats on the tag.

I've been trying for 20 + years and still nothing.

Don't bother with a DIY elk hide. Either have it done or give it away. Besides a flesh and salt job, the hide should be thinned for proper tanning. If not done properly the bugs will get it after sometime and you will have a mess.

Statjunk: Unless one is extremely patient and skilled, first effort tannings will likely be a severe disappointment. A few questions... hair on, hair off, natural, or buckskin color, and would you be happy with a rather rigid product.

Truly tanning an elk hide is going to require hide thinning, especially in the neck and shoulder areas. Ones best bet is to google up "tannery" rather than "taxidermist." Yes, it will be expensive, but we typically get what we pay for.

As mentioned, tanning and especially breaking a hide down is a ton of work. One also needs to dispose of chemicals. If one values their time, and would like a fine product, a tannery is the way to go. Still, if you want a DIY product, do some library research and a trial run or two on a smaller subject.

Many of the solutions, paste, etc used by taxidermist do put a tan on, but the capes are moistened during mounting to keep them pliable. They subsequently become quite rigid on drying.

I've had several deer, elk, and coyote hides commercialy tanned. Elk and deer hides carrying winter hair are a disaster, as the hair is hollow, thick, and brittle. Every manipulation of the hide results in shed and broken hair. Do not floor a winter hide in a traffic area, direct sunlight, or lay over a couch or rail where it will be subject to handling or abrasion. We eventually yard saled every one of our winter hides.

My wife, with a growing affinity for hunting in beach weather, has taken several elk still carrying their summer coats. That hair is as slick and bright as a curried thoroughbred can be, and after 20+ years those hides still do not shed. Extremely attractive, but summer hides are not found during the typical fall seasons.

Again, the only winter hides I'm happy with are hair off buckskin. Extremely soft and pliable, attractive, and useful for making other products.

Very reasonable & nice people.

http://leakytepee.biz/tanning.html

I'll be damned, these guys are in Owatonna MN.

I didn't know about them, heck I might send some stuff down there.

Thanks for posting that.

Bingo! You guys are awesome. Yes I will send my hide out. The best price I've been able to find is more than twice that number. Don't know if the locals think I'm an idiot or what.

I didn't want to do this myself. It was just DIY or nothing.

I'm going to end up just boiling the skull down and then sending off the hide.

Thanks for the info guys.

Tom

Glad you found the info needed - here is hoping for and wishing you a great hunt.

Just one thing :

Think about what usaually happens when you "sell" a hide before you have the critter down.

I've used these folks for a few years - they do nice work. Remember that they don't do hair on tanning - so you'll need to look elsewhere if that's what you're interested in.

no they list a hair on option at there site, costs more but they do offer that option.

Here's another place, this one is in Duluth. They'll make fur coats and such from your own furs.

http://www.usafoxx.com/

we say that too about bear hide ...!!!!

Yep - thats what I was talking about.

"Sell the bears hide to early and - the bears hide."

Hope all is well.

Couple of other notes..

If you go through a taxidermist, he has to take time to talk to you, do the paperwork records required by his state game and fish, keep all that on file, clean the hide of meat and fat, buy the salt to salt it, say 20 bucks or salt or so give or take, box it up, ship it, ship it back and pay for the tanning...

You avoid a lot of that by going to a tannery direct. As a former taxidermist I prefferred folks going direct if they would, I couldn't charge enough to make it worth my time really. But then I charged what I felt was fair, not what I might could have....

As to not having it done right and bugs.... if its done right bugs can still get into it.... you have to keep your home pest free... dermestids eat protein, IE horns(not antlers) and the skin of the tanned hide, (not the hair) but once the skin is eaten from underneath... the hair has nothing to hold onto and falls off. Ducks and such the same. ITs nothing done wrong with the mount, its how the bugs work. Keep the house exterminated and you go a long way to never having to worry about it.

The olden days allowed arsenic to be put in or on the hides... that kept dermestids out forever.... but we know thats no longer safe or allowed. THere is nothing that a tannery or taxidermist can LEGALLY add these days to prevent them.

Just an FYI

My dad had some hides done there about 50 years ago.

Thanks for the info guys. Yeah I know about counting the chickens. Just trying to be prepared. Elk hunting in Michigan used to be 100% success. Now it's down to about 70%.

It's a once in a lifetime hunt so I hope that things work out for me.

Tom

This place is not cheap for large animal. Right in there with the rest of the folks around here. Not to mention extra because I have to deal with it.

Tom

Good luck on the hunt!!!

I called these guys to talk about this and I have to tell you they are a class act. 100% if I get one it's where my hide will be going. Not to mention the price is excellent.

Tom

Uber are very good folks. I've had a bunch of moose and caribou turned into excellent, long-lasting leather and leather products by them. I can highly recommend them.