What does everyone do with coon hides that aren't planning to sell them? do you still stretch them? or pour salt all over the inside to dry them out? Im just looking to hang em up on the wall, for looks. Ruined one the other day when it rained, trying to make that my last.

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i wouldnt salt them. too much salt and you would have to open the hide up and use little nails to stretch the hide out on a piece of wood.

what has always worked for me with muskrats and beavers as well i stretched the hide and let it dry really good. then cut it open or leave it whatever you want and then take off or bug spray and spray the hide really good front and back. be generous. i do it even to some a the hides i do sell especially when i wait all winter until spring if they are just sitting in a feedbag stored somewhere it has worked for me my hide still sits out in the garage for four yrs now. just definately try to keep it out of a lot of moisture and watch for bugs. i would spray the hide at least 3-4 times a year or if you see any bugs on it but you can catch the bugs quicker if there is any they will be on the underside first around the tail or eyes. so just check it when you think about it. i hope this helps.

that did help. I guess I'm gonna have to invest in some skinning and stretching tools

Im not sure how many coon you are planning to hang up on a wall or how many coon you plan to kill around your area but some stuff can get expensive. if your looking for just one or to coon to hang i would go to the nearest person you know who deals in furs. ask them if they already flesh and stretch any hides. the guys around here charge a dollar to flesh and a dollar to stretch. and they can show you how to do stuff if youre not positive.

I tan them myself.

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Mt. Storm's Southern Belle

what is a quick way to tan hides? if there is even such a thing...

im not trying to make money on them i just want to hang them up without going through a whole huge ordeal.
Is stretching the only way im going to be able to do that?

If you want to sell hides what is the process you have to go through.

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Hunt more, Sleep less

There is a easy way to tan them but it still is not real quick. I will post some stuff here of what I did. This was my first year with my dog so we only got 4. I am a taxidermist so I use the same tan I use on my deer heads this is what I did. You can go to a taxidermy supply store or online and the name is W.A.S.C.O They have a tan called Krowtann and the oil called Krowoil. i thik it is $24.00 per bottle and I used 8 ounces and tanned 4 coons at once. the instructions come with the bottle and if you follow them it will work. The first step is to flesh the coons of course. same way you would if you were going to let them dry for the Fur company and then you wash them/ degrease them. I used dawn dish soap in very warm water and do a couple washes and rinse very well once you do that a few times and I mean very well. after that you mix the tan up...onthe bottle and put the skins in there for 3 to 4 days I usually go 5 you can let them sit for a looooong time the skin can only soak up so much tan it wont hurt it. after 3 to 4 days take them out of the tan and rinse them again.and then nuetralize them for 15 minutes. after nuetralizing let them hang to drip dry for a couple hours.
Since we were new to all of this we set a friday night aside and had us a coonfleshing/tanning day here they are before they went into the tan I had just degreased them. Im the long haired guy.


this 5 days later out of the tan nuetralized and hanging to dry for 2 hours


for 2 hours we hung out and chatted with friends more like BS and Lies



I will continue with another post

There is a easy way to tan them but it still is not real quick. I will post some stuff here of what I did. This was my first year with my dog so we only got 4. I am a taxidermist so I use the same tan I use on my deer heads this is what I did. You can go to a taxidermy supply store or online and the name is W.A.S.C.O They have a tan called Krowtann and the oil called Krowoil. i thik it is $24.00 per bottle and I used 8 ounces and tanned 4 coons at once. the instructions come with the bottle and if you follow them it will work. The first step is to flesh the coons of course. same way you would if you were going to let them dry for the Fur company and then you wash them/ degrease them. I used dawn dish soap in very warm water and do a couple washes and rinse very well you do that a few times and I mean very well. after that you mix the tan up... follow the instructions on the bottle and put the skins in there for 3 to 4 days I usually go 5, you can let them sit for a looooong time the skin can only soak up so much tan it wont hurt it. after 3 to 4 days take them out of the tan and rinse them again.and then nuetralize them for 15 minutes. after nuetralizing let them hang to drip dry for a couple hours.
Since we were new to all of this we set a friday night aside and had us a coonfleshing/tanning day here they are before they went into the tan I had just degreased them. Im the long haired guy.


this 5 days later out of the tan nuetralized and hanging to dry for 2 hours


for 2 hours we hung out and chatted with friends more like BS and Lies



I will continue with another post

O.k now that they have dripped dry for a couple hours FUR SIDE OUT they will still be damp and thats good. For me since I am a taxidermist I flesh them again in the face with a scalpel like Adam is doing in this picture.


After that is done we put them on the stretchers and then brushe the Krowoil on them. helps keep them soft when they dry.
here they are hanging to dry

another

Depending on where you live will determine how long they will take to dry.They will start geting hard when they are drying. But before they got to hard I took them off the stretcher and this is when the work begins. You have to work them everyday rub them over the back of a chair or just pull on them to stretch the fibers, and after a few days of that they will be ready to hang on the wall. Now if you sent them out to a pro tannery they would come out softer and cleaner on the skin side but this is a quick easy do it yourself cheap way to get them on your wall. I will try to get pics of the finished product tonight and post them on here in the morning. But thats all I got and thats how I do mine. Good luck if you are willing to try. Its a nice excuse to get back in the skinning shed with the buddies in the off season.

the way i said earlier about just fleshing and stretching i think would take a lot less work and less money but they wont be as soft. but i guess its all about what you want. i would just stretch and dry em and bug spray em real good and hang em on a wall. good luck and show us a pic of those hides when there done

Yes that is alot less work. But as you said they are not soft. But thesecould be used for a pillow..now as I said before a professional tannery would get them even softer but the tannery I use for by bigger stuff is about 40 to 50 to tan a coon skin. But any way here are the pics

the skin/tanned side


furside

hanging in my house

there it is Like I said its easy but not quick, but it is better than paying that 40 0r 50 dollars a tannery would charge and they are soft enough for me. Anotheer little tip the thinner you get the skin when fleshing after they are out of the tan the softer they will be and the more you stretch them and pull them while they are n the drying stage.

thanks for all the info. now first things first, gotta get another coon

no problem, hope it works out ans post some pics if you do it.

hey leepfrog if your just looking to get some money out of the hides you get with your dog i would talk to your nearest fur trader some would actually prefer that you dont stretch or do anything to the hides. but it would be wise to talk to them and see how you could make the most money off of them. usually i would skin the coon have my dad flesh them and stretch and dry them and sell them at the big fur auction i cant remember where though.