Tanning groundhog hides for LEATHER? (And maybe snacking on 'em too?)

[Bert2368]

I have a plague of woodchucks this Summer. Dozens of the little (and some not so little) boogers, digging bunkers under every solid object on our business property. I hate to just waste an animal, have been hearing about people eating "whistle pigs" forever, also heard that their hides yield a very durable LEATHER, suitable for boot laces, mocassin soles & other hard use items...

Could someone point me towards good hide preparation and tanning information? I've looked at a few videos, most are geared towards keeping fur on, I'm interested in smooth, reasonably flexible leather. Would prefer vegetable tan, hexavalent chrome or finished leather that rusts steel on contact would not do for my uses-

Back in the 1940s, my father told me he used to earn money for practice ammo removing woodchucks for farmers in upstate NY... I'm starting to understand. And he left me the .22 Hornet rifle he used. Probably would go for that, although I've heard some use live catch traps baited with apples.

[hoodat]

One of the old school techniques was simply to use a solution of hydrated lime to remove the hair, (I don't know the mix/strength), then flush with water, stretch the hide out and tan with the critters own brain. We are all born with enough brain to tan our hide. jd

[36g]

Well, you could start the harvest now and complete the tanning when you are satisfied with a final process. Harvest the 'chucks , skin them, remove any fat layer and salt them down well. The salted raw hides will keep for quite a while as you research the actual tanning method desired.

[country gent]

I tanned a hide hair on to use for fly tying. Caught a lot of blue gills on a little chenille fly with a few hairs from the pelt. My version of a wolly booger.
Younger ones are good to eat. we would do on a rotisserie over hard wood coal long and slow all day with barbecue sauce added towards the end. When you clean them make sure to get all the scent glands. salt water soak over night. You can marinate if desired. Older ones get tougher and stronger. The long slow cook and younger ones goes a long ways to tenderize them.

[Outpost75]

We cut up the older ones into inch sized pieces and use them for cat and dog food.

[William Yanda]

My Mom, raised in central TN, near the KY border told me that my granddaddy used to use woodchucks to make rawhide which he used for shoe laces. No tanning involved.

[trapper9260]

I eat them ,it dose not matter the age of them . Here is the recipe I use . I got it out of The Trappers Cook book

Baked Groundhog

1 groundhog , cut into serving pieces 1/4 c. bacon grease or shortening flour 1 clove of garlic , sliced salt and pepper

Roll meat in flour , salt and pepper. Melt bacon grease or shortening in a baking pan , add meat , bake in a over a 350 F oven until meat is brown . Add garlic on top of meat , cover with water and simmer slow until water boils away .

This is the one I use all the time , the met falls off the bone .

As for the skin I sell to my fur buyer that is sold for fly tying. As for tan your own skin , you flesh the skin and then you salt it and let sit for 2 days then after you rinse the skin in clear water and remove any other member you miss .needs to be fat and meat free of . Then to take the hair off you use hard wood ashes and hydrated lime . 1 pint of each in a 5 gal pail. dissolved the lime. mix and then put your skin in and keep in till it is easy for the hair to come off with little effort . then scrap the hair off. Then soak the skin in clear water for 2 hours . Then take the skin out and and squeezing the water out to get as much the lime out . do that from time to time to get as much of the lime out then after you put it in 8 qts of cider vinger to every 24 qts of water to stop the lime to work the skin anymore. Soak for 1 hour . Then squeeze it out and put in clear water to rinse it out. You can use soap and water to wash it out , but need to do it use something to sleeking out the liquid with a wooden or metal sleek or something to be done vigorously and repeated several times . to get vey bit of lime out . After you wash the skin out in clear water. Then you can put it in the pickling solution , I use the alum and salt . if you just want to make leather or you can use the brain . Also can use use Murphy Oil soap in place of the brains. Use it the same way . If use the Alum and salt you mix 1 pound of each in 5 gals of water that luke warm to to melt all the alum and salt. Then put your skin in and have it complete under water . You weight it down with a board with a clean rock . You move it around every day for 3 days and then the flesh side should turn white . Then it is done. Then you rinse it out in clear water , then use about a cup of Borax that you can get in the store at the laundry part . It is use for that and you wash the skin in that to stop the alum and salt and clean it out . then drain and use Neatsfoot oil and heat a cup of that and water and brush on the flesh side of the leather and fold it up flesh side on each and let sit over night . Then the next day you stretch it out and use a round dull knife and scrap it out and then you repeat with the left over oil and water mix and repeat all the same up to 3 X . Then just scrap the leather till the skin is dry , DO NOT dry fast if so you will have to soap it in water and start over again. After the leather is dry you can if you like use medium sand paper and sand lightly on your knee . It will soften the leather more. Then use as you wish . If you like to keep the hair on just skip the lime and ashes. This is the old way to doing it .

[trapper9260]

Oh forgot to add ypu can use the liver of the groundhog for catfish bait . I had luck with it . I have not try yet the heart and kidneys and lungs yet .