Are you in need of tips on how to preserve a deer tail for your next project?
If you are looking to use it as a lure or any craft project, then our step by step guide will help you out. Discover this easy DIY guide to clean and preserve that precious deer tail. Beginning from the carcass and up to the slab, we’ll teach you everything you need to know.
Let’s get started!
How To Preserve A Deer Tail
Just a heads up – the tips on how to preserve a deer tail that you are about to read is focused more on the simple preservation of this material.
It does not involve tanning; instead, this is the step that you will start with before you tan the deer tail. By preserving the tail, you can get the fur perfectly set. Hence, you can prevent bugs from developing into the material.
Another reason why you would want to learn how to preserve a deer tail is to keep the material intact. Otherwise, it is most likely to get torn over time.
Are you all set to preserve that deer tail? Let’s get started with these tips:
1. Remove the tail.
Naturally you want to first remove the tail off the deer. Cut the tail off depending on the length that you prefer. Some folks snip it at the base of the deer’s buttocks but you can decide on how long you exactly want it to be.
For this step, you will need a pair of utility knife, pliers or razor. Be sure to get the bone out of the tail, or that hard portion. You can do this by slicing it right down the middle.
2. Start the cut.
Next step, you will now have to make your cut. With the tail no longer intact the bum of your deer, lay it flatly on a clean surface.
Keep the bottom portion up with the hairs separated. Then, cut precisely right along the entire length of the tail or over the bone.
You will want to make sure that the hair is parted while you cut to the top. This will help to prevent losing much of the fur or causing some damage to the tail’s overall appearance.
Once you have opened the tail, pick the bone out using your pliers. You need to be very careful with cutting the fat right from the bone’s base portion.
As you hold the hide down, gently pull the tail right off. In some cases, cutting the fat that sticks to the bone may be necessary. Do this as gently and as firmly as possible until the bone is completely out.
3. Clean the hide.
At this point, you are now ready to wash and clean the hide. You only need to use some dish soap diluted in warm water.
Fill up a basin with warm water and mild detergent. Next, submerge the tail carefully and rinse off blood or dirt that may be stuck in it.
Rub it gently with soap but be careful not to tear any piece. When you are done soaping it, you need to rinse it with lukewarm water until there is no more soap left on it.
4. Dry the tail thoroughly.
After you have cleaned the tail, it’s now time to dry it all off.
Lay it on a wax paper and grab your hair dryer to gently dry out the hair and skin. Be sure that it is completely dry.
You may also use some paper towels to further dry it. Sometimes, there’s some moisture left on the skin after using a hair dryer, so paper towels or some dry cloth would come in handy.
In case some fat remains intact, simply scrape this portion off with a serrated knife. But be very gentle and careful since you would not want to cut the skin.
6. Add borax to the tail.
You may be wondering why you need to use borax to the tail. Well, for the simple reason of protecting it from bacteria that might develop on the skin.
Since borax is antibacterial, it helps to apply it on the tail to fully preserve and protect it from damage.
With the tail laying flat and cut open, coat the inner portion with a thin layer of your borax. You may apply as much as necessary, which will coat the flesh that’s fully exposed.
But if you are preparing the deer tail for tanning, you may want to use non-iodized salt instead of borax. Apply a thick layer of non-iodized salt on the flesh until it is fully coated. Let it dry ad add a bit more salt as needed for this salt curing process.
An additional tip when preparing the material for tanning is by making sure all membrane and fat are removed. When you leave even the slightest hint of fat on the skin, this will give the tan an odd color while reducing pliability.
Let the tail coated with borax sit for a few days in a dry and cool place. You need to be certain that the skin is absolutely dry before you use it for your desired purpose.
Alternate Technique On How To Preserve A Deer Tail
Perhaps it doesn’t really matter as much without you if the tail is flexible or pliable. In this case, you may go for the dehydrator technique.
A food dehydrator is just what you need to really dry the material out. But at the same time, it will completely dry the flesh out, which may not be ideal for some people.
You can simply leave the tail in a food dehydrator for a few days. This will completely dry the material, yet you will no longer be able to reform it to the way you want without causing the hide to break.
What To Do With Preserved Deer Tail
Now that you have completed the process of preserving deer tail, you may be curious to find out what exactly you can do with it.
Well, if you are an angler, you can certainly use the deer tail on jigs. This is a fine material that is strong and durable, which is perfect for jigs to use on fishing.
But if you are not into angling, you can also use the hair of deer as a paintbrush. You will love the durability and steadiness of the tail and the brush works for your ceramic glaze.
And lastly, you can make small purses or dice bags for the tail. Just put the parts together and add a smooth lining or just leave it as is – leathery and all.
No matter what you decide to do with your preserved deer tail, it is sure to be a great project to work on with amazing results!
Final Thoughts
Preserving deer tail may initially seem to be a complex and intimidating process.
But by checking out our quick guide on how to preserve a deer tail, now you understand that it is actually quite simple and basic.
With only a few tools and some know-hows that we have just shared with you, the entire process should go as seamlessly as possible.
We hope this post has been helpful, and now, you are ready to start preserving deer tail for your next DIY project!
Coyotes,Canis latrans Say, are slender, dog-like carnivores, common throughout Texas. They have adapted easily to the expansion of human communities into their habitat and can occasionally be found in urban and suburban neighborhoods. Coyotes may live alone or in small “packs” of up to 6 individuals. Coyotes are well known for their calls. They howl (a high quavering cry) and emit a series of short, high-pitched yips. Howls are used to keep in touch with other coyotes in the area.
The mountain lion, Puma concolor, also known as cougar, puma and panther, has been an integral part of the Texas fauna for thousands of years, The Mountain Lion has the widest distribution of any wild cat, from Canada to South America. Formerly distributed throughout North America, the Mountain Lion is now found mostly in the remote areas of the western U.S., as well as western Canada and much of Mexico. A small population still exists in southern Florida, where the species is considered endangered. In Texas, the Mountain Lion is found throughout the Trans-Pecos, as well as the brush lands of south Texas and portions of the Hill Country. Sighting and kill reports indicate that Mountain Lions now occur in more counties than they did 10 years ago and appear to be expanding their range into central Texas.
Turtle, tortoise or terrapin? Many people get confused by these terms, often using them interchangeably. Texas has a single species of tortoise, the Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlanderi) and a single species of terrapin, the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin). All of the remaining 28 species of the order Testudines found in Texas are called “turtles.”
The weight and 26” barrels allow me to get on the birds quicker. My 20-gauge o/u is the same model as the 28, but with 30” barrels and I tend to use 1 oz. loads for pheasant and grouse species. I have, however, dumped quite a few pheasants with the 28 and 7.5 shot. I will use heavier shot for wild pheasants, especially in the late season when they have been hunted and don’t tend to hold tight once pointed. Let’s take a look at some of the developments in ammunition that have improved the entire upland hunting experience and how what load you use while bird hunting can have a major effect on the quality and quantity of table fare you have at the end of an upland hunting trip.
What is to follow is just my opinion based on actual hunting situations from a lifetime of wingshooting experience. I hunt over bird dogs, if the bird is not pointed, there is not going to be a shot. The cheapest shells, also called promotional loads, are inferior to top of the line shells by the same manufacturer. Cheap components are what make the promotional loads cheaper. Poor patterning due to soft shot and too much velocity will produce disappointing results under most circumstances. In promotional loads, velocity is boosted thereby raising chamber pressures to ensure that gas operated autoloaders will function reliably. Some hunters try to get by with one gun and use it for everything they might hunt. A 12 ga. goose gun is sorely lacking when hunting quail even if the loads and choke have been changed to be more appropriate. (Often times, a wife has a major impact on what equipment is allowed. They do not tend to understand the difference between tools and toys.) This being the case, promotional load patterns tend to spread quickly due to soft shot deforming as it leaves the barrel. Those trying to make due with one gun with a reasonably tight choke will get more open patterns with the cheapies, but not necessarily better performance and more birds in the bag.
Nontoxic shot was mandated by Federal law for waterfowl hunting and has infiltrated some State ran hunting areas for non-migrating species. Nontoxic loads have come a long way since the original mandate. Steel is cheapest and there are some loadings in other metals and combinations of metals that perform as well as or better than lead loads for upland game but are very expensive to say the least. Those loads bear looking into for nontoxic restriction areas. From experience, steel 3’s and 4’s in 12 or 20 gauges seem to do the job quite well on pheasants and steel 6’s or 7’s are good for quail and woodcock hunting. Extra speed in steel loads is generally necessary to impart greater striking force on the game being shot because steel is lighter than lead.
A second important shotgunning innovation, in my opinion, is the development of screw-in chokes. When I began my shotgunning career, fixed chokes were all that was available in production guns. The only versatility of choke came in doubles or over/unders. They commonly had two different chokes, one for close in and one for farther out. Single barreled guns that were choked for waterfowl or walking up on pheasants were sorely lacking for quail and bunny hunting. Some manufacturers listened to their customers’ complaints about versatility and began making extra interchangeable barrels in different barrel lengths and chokes, so hunters did not have to have two or three extra guns for hunting. This worked for most folks, but eventually became a nuisance. At one time I had a Remington 1100 with three different barrels. I even had a barrel outfitted with a PolyChoke device. The PolyChoke worked as advertised. But in the end, I could not stand to look at it on the end of my barrel. It was like looking at Sandra Bullock or Jennifer Anniston with walnut sized wart on the end of their noses.
It should be noted that I use a 12 ga. custom pump for deer, 12ga. autoloader for waterfowl, a 20 ga. o/u for pheasant and western grouse species, and a 28 ga. o/u for quail and woodcock. Sabot slugs for deer, Hevi Metal for waterfowl, copper plated 6’s and occasionally 5’s in the 20 ga., and copper plated 7 ½ shot in the 28 ga. I reload all of my 20 and 28 ga. hunting shells. Factory loads of copper plated shot at $18 to $25 a box gets expensive when you shoot 15 to 30 boxes a season for upland birds. In addition, 28 ga. copper plated and nontoxic factory shells do not exist to the best of my knowledge.
