Wife and granddaughter went squirrel hunting and came home with a coon, (raccoon you racist). They are all excited and it brought back my old trapping days as I case skinned it. Anyone ever home tan a raccoon hide? If so how? I know we have a lot of fleshing to do.
I thought most coons are already pretty tanned.
Didn't take that long to go off the rails.
Like to watch the occasional coon off my deer stand. 4 legged of course.
Coppertone- - - - -don't forget to turn over once an hour.
Ask your local taxidermist to send it in with his next batch.
After you flesh it make a paste out of salt and Borax, Apply liberally let it sit for a week. Scrape or rub it off and repeat one more time. Let the second application sit for 2 weeks. Should be good after that.
How much does the really foggy day cost? Willing to contribute.
It's a good idea to kill the coon first.
That's about all I know about that.
I was just searching some home tanning. Perhaps this link will help you.
https://www.instructables.com/How-to-tan-a-rabbit-pelt/
This should do it for the hide. Rabbit is maybe 3lbs and coons are 20-25lbs so you'll need to adjust the amount of tanning agents and since I've not tanned a coon hide so can't say the measures.
It puts the lotion on it's skin, or else it gets the hose again
I have been using Van Dykes tanning kits. Coons have alot of fat and have to be
degreased properly. It's hard to get the suppleness that tannery achieves. but a fun
project. Good luck with it. Tell the girls to bring you fox and bobcats.
I guess coon skins are relatively thin so tan easily. I used a commercial tanning kit many years ago and the tanning solution turned the leather a very pale blue and you could nick the thicker parts of the skin to check on progress and see if the tanning solution had fully penetrated the skin. Roos have thick skin on their tails, as well as lots of fat there too that will prevent the solution from penetrating if not cleaned up properly in the first place.
I worked in the fur business and have fleshed 1,000's of coon and most people are unable to get all of the fat off the leather, it is a combination of awareness and lacking a good draw knife and Popeye-like forearms. Getting the leather soft after a home tan is almost impossible but for many this is not an issue as it may just be a wall hanging.
You need to degrease a coon hide before tanning as well. I have tanned some fur. It is a lot of work to make soft leather.
flesh it down, split the tail, air dry it...and send it to Moyle Mink tannery in Idaho. It's cheap and professional.
flesh it down, split the tail, air dry it...and send it to Moyle Mink tannery in Idaho. It's cheap and professional.
This is by far your best bet. Moyle's do an outstanding job.
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