Tanning Rabbit Pelts

[StuDawggie]

Mods: First if this is the wrong forum for this please feel free to move it.

So I'm learning to hunt rabbits this weekend, and aside from those little buggers being mighty tasty, and already having a few old recipes in mind. I was wondering if anyone tans their own rabbit pelts. I've seen the YouTube videos on it, and of course they make it look overly simple and easy to do at home. I'm just wondering if anyone here does or has done it at home, what was your method, and how well it worked out for you. I'd like to try it, and use them in my den. Any tips, anecdotes (about what to do or NOT do), would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[langenc]

Go to FNTPOST.COM and get some tanning paste and do it yourself.

If thy are pretty shot up, might make it difficult.

FNT is a trappers supply in Alpena. The order you send in will be on your porch the next day.

[StuDawggie]

langenc,

I am on the FNT website. The paste you are talking about, is it the Dixietan Paste, or the Rittel's EZ-Tan that requires pickling acids? Just wondering. Or should I just say screw it, and call them once I have pelts in hand and see what they recommend for the newbie?

[langenc]

Read about the dixietan and see if it sounds reasonable. If so get some coming. ive never used it but know some who have. You never know what happen along. There is always roadkill you might want to tan.

Be careful about roadkill. Some possum sheriffs can be real sticklers. You should have a small game license, we all have that now, and watch the season on whatever you pick up.

[Hawgrider]

Mods: First if this is the wrong forum for this please feel free to move it.

So I'm learning to hunt rabbits this weekend, and aside from those little buggers being mighty tasty, and already having a few old recipes in mind. I was wondering if anyone tans their own rabbit pelts. I've seen the YouTube videos on it, and of course they make it look overly simple and easy to do at home. I'm just wondering if anyone here does or has done it at home, what was your method, and how well it worked out for you. I'd like to try it, and use them in my den. Any tips, anecdotes (about what to do or NOT do), would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Brian tan and then smoke it to set the tan. Every animal has enough brain matter to tan its own hide.

[StuDawggie]

Brian tan and then smoke it to set the tan. Every animal has enough brain matter to tan its own hide.

Are you sure about the brain matter thing? I've met some pretty stupid people in my life, and wonder how they even remember to breathe.

But seriously, I've heard that from a posts and YouTube videos (not the best place for instruction, but it gave me some ideas). I've also heard that if you can't get the brain, and brain tan, that egg yolks work well too in place of the gray matter. Have you heard about that?

[StuDawggie]

Read about the dixietan and see if it sounds reasonable. If so get some coming. ive never used it but know some who have. You never know what happen along. There is always roadkill you might want to tan.

Be careful about roadkill. Some possum sheriffs can be real sticklers. You should have a small game license, we all have that now, and watch the season on whatever you pick up.

I'll look a little more into it and see how it works, what's involved, and how caustic it may be or is.

Thanks for the roadkill idea, but I think I'll press my luck with whatever I'm able to kill (if I ever hit anything). Just something creepy to me about getting a fresh roadkill to practice on.
As for the small game license, I have that. I kept my life easy this year and just got a combo license.

[Hawgrider]

Are you sure about the brain matter thing? I've met some pretty stupid people in my life, and wonder how they even remember to breathe.

But seriously, I've heard that from a posts and YouTube videos (not the best place for instruction, but it gave me some ideas). I've also heard that if you can't get the brain, and brain tan, that egg yolks work well too in place of the gray matter. Have you heard about that?What the hell does stupid people have to do with the price of rice in china? Yes brain tanning and smoking the hide is an old school method of tanning hides. Research it before you start flapping off how stupid people are. Geez!

[StuDawggie]

Clearly you missed the joke. (Stupid people, small brains, probably not enough to tan their own hide)

Anyway, what I was wondering about was if you may have heard about using egg yolk if the head was too damaged (ie damn near blown completely off as in what happened this weekend when one of the people I was hunting with did such) and there was probably more brain on the ground than what was left in the head.

Also I get that smoking ("cold/cool smoking" from what I've seen) waterproofs the hides after tanning, but does it affect the color of the fur or skin at all? Also does the smoke smell linger after? Because if it does, I know what's going to happen, and it's going to involve my wife not liking the smoke smell, and spraying the living hell out of it with febreeze.

[Hawgrider]

Clearly you missed the joke. (Stupid people, small brains, probably not enough to tan their own hide)

Anyway, what I was wondering about was if you may have heard about using egg yolk if the head was too damaged (ie damn near blown completely off as in what happened this weekend when one of the people I was hunting with did such) and there was probably more brain on the ground than what was left in the head.

Also I get that smoking ("cold/cool smoking" from what I've seen) waterproofs the hides after tanning, but does it affect the color of the fur or skin at all? Also does the smoke smell linger after? Because if it does, I know what's going to happen, and it's going to involve my wife not liking the smoke smell, and spraying the living hell out of it with febreeze.
In your case then you would probably should go the modern route and use chemicals.