Ideas for deer hide.

[Bazoo]

I saved the hide off the deer I shot last year. I fleshed it, washed the blood out, and strung it in a frame to let it dry. I salted it with table salt on the back side. So now I have a hair on hide in my way. It's stiff of course because it wasn't tanned. I'm thinking on what to do with it.

We have dogs, or a rug might be an idea. Though it will lay somewhat flat, it wouldn't be rug flat.

I've thought of various things,
a hair on rifle scabbard
Throw pillow
Wall hanging, but it ain't the best shaped hide cause I'm green

Thought about saving a few more and using them for carpet when I go camping. How does raw deer hide handle dirt and moisture? I assume not well.

So if anyone has ideas, I'd love to hear them.


Bazoo

[hawkenhunter50]

Use it on your shooting bench like Hickok 45 on youtube?? I always thought that was cool in his videos.

[Winger Ed.]

I used to save mine, scrap 'em pretty well, soak them in lime water for about 10 days to turn the fur loose.
The fur scrapes right off, then cut 'em in into strips, tie a knot in them, pull it tight, and let it dry.
The knotted strips make great rawhide dog chewies.

For the whole hide, do a little youtube watching.
There's got to be a bunch of videos on home tanning.
Once its stretched & dry, you basically rub some sort of various types of lotion on it,
then pull it back & forth over a little surf board looking stick like polishing your shoes with a long rag until its soft.

I've recommended to a few guys to do it the old fashioned way like the Eskimos did, and have their wife chew it.
All any of them had to show for that idea was a black eye.
So you might want to be careful about trying to use that method.

[Bazoo]

I have considered tanning it also, but I dont really need buckskin. I went to the effort to dry it, so I'd like to keep it hair on.


I've considered using it for a shooting mat actually.

[smithnframe]

I'd have removed the hair and then use it to chamois line holsters and knife sheaths.

[CastingFool]

The issue with deer skin with hair on, is that the hair breaks easily. I had 4 deer skins professionaly tanned, with the idea of having a jacket made, but the dye lots were different, so the colors didn't match. The skins are still hanging in a closet.

[GhostHawk]

They sell 4 inch square chunks of hide like that to people who tie fly's and streamers for significant chunks of cash.

The white belly fur and the longer shoulder/back hair is the most desired. Tails go for 10 to 20$ depending on size.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

To get a rug that lays right the hide needs to be tanned and softened not just salted.

But there are a zillion uses for rawhide both with hair on and off.

[Winger Ed.]

I have considered tanning it also, but I dont really need buckskin. I went to the effort to dry it, so I'd like to keep it hair on.


I've considered using it for a shooting mat actually.

It'll work for that, just stretched and dried with a minimum amount of treatment on the back and flexing it
to soften it enough to fold or roll up..
But don't expect the hair to stay on as well as you'd want it to.

[trapper9260]

Deer hair will break down in time when not tanned. Hair is hollow and is not like fur that is not. it will not last for just salt it. Like stated you can tan it with the hair off and not make buck skin but just leather then you will have some on hand for what ever you need some or just use it like you thinking of as a shooting mat. If not tan it will not last long with the hair on. Put it in water and get it back that you can work it and like stated put it in lime I use also hard wood ashes to dehair a skin. then wash it in mild dish soap and also in borax solution to stop the acid from keep working in the hide. then after you can tan it the way you like.

[468]

I used a deer hide as a background on a wall mounted gun rack back when I was a teenager. It looked really good. Very “hunting lodgey” looking. Not sure what happened to it, but the rifle that was hanging on it was stolen off of it.

[Bazoo]

Not a bad idea there. I have a single gun rack I use occasionally.

Those folks in alaska on the tv show life below zero use caribou hides for floor mags when camping. Wonder what difference between that and the deer hide is? Or what they do to it?

[Adam20]

i had one tanned with hair on, looked great, had on on back of couch, wife got tired of hair coming off all the time.