So I don't think the quality of my first years (this years) fur is worth trying to sell, since it has been hung and dried is it possible to still tan it and use it as wearable fur? Full discloser I have never tanned either!

If you want something wearable, you'll be better off sending it off to get it tanned. Dried hides can be tanned, they just have to be rehydrated which can be tricky for home Tanner's.

can you point me to a good site?

Yea I just saw some of the price lists I'll try myself and screw them up it ain't worth that much to me. $75 for coons?

I hope that $75 is a typo. I have never paid anywhere close to that to get coon tanned. One raccoon at Moyles, one of the premiere tanneries is $20.

I was in the same situation last year. I tanned about ten coon hides and three skunks. They weren't nearly as soft as what I would expect from a tannery, but I am satisfied with them. I gave several away as wall hangers and made a couple of hats. I will probably do some of what I caught this year too. I used the method In the u tube videos by coon creek outdoors, and used the orange bottle tanning solution. It was a good deal of work, but a good learning experience.

What site were you looking at? That price is ridiculous!!!

Moyles in Idaho charges $20.00 for 1 Raccoon. Price drops if you send more than 1 skin at a time.

If you've never done any tanning before, there is a learning curve involved. It will take some practice to get pelts that are garment quality.

Yeah - $75 is way steep... I'll chew 'em soft before I spend $75 on a coon.

I looked at Rocky mountain tanners and a couple more that came up...idk. I'll look into Moyles Thanks!

I had never heard of Rocky Mountain .tanners, so I checked out their web site. Holy Cow on their prices. $99.00 for a beaver. $88.00 for a badger. The best one - $45.00 for a rabbit.

I'm surprised they get any business at all. But at those prices they don't need a lot of business to pay the bills!!!

Has any one on here used them? What is the quality like? Just curious.

One funny thing on their invoice is there is a $5 charge if you call asking where your skins are.




Looks like the only thing special they do is the color of the leather when tanned.

Check out the turn around time...9 to 14 months. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was a fake business.

9 isnt unreasonable in hot years for some tanneries but 14 months is insane unless your extremely backed up(given their prices its unlikely),

Not only is there a $5.00 charge when you call about your shipment. Your shipment is the moved to the end of the line.

REALLY??? What kind of business is this?? Do they actually get any business??

9-14 months turn around is a bit much, unless they are super, super busy and at those prices I can't see that happening.

When Moyles turn around time got to be 8 months a couple of years ago, it cost them a lot of business because people didn't want to,wait that long.

Very strange. Very, very strange.

Maybe I'll start a tannery!

Theoretically you may never get your stuff back if you keep phoning looking for it.

Here's another tannery I've heard some good things about but I haven't ever sent anything to them;



Sleepy Creek Tannery

If you're wanting to just tan the hide for display it's not too difficult for a beginner. But if you want something of garment quality it will take a lot more time thinning a raccoon hide before putting on the tanning oils and then a lot of time spent softening while it dries. I've tanned a lot of different things and coon are one of the more difficult to thin well. Actually, early caught coons that have nice fur but the skin hasn't thickened to prime are much easier to tan.

Andy

If it interests you then do it. Do one hide at a time until you get your process down. Ask me how I know how much it sucks to ruin a pile of hides! I am far from an expert but here is my process as of late.

-Hydrate in large tub of cold water until pliable enough to get into a 5 gallon bucket for pickling. Add dawn soap and degrease coon and beaver then rinse well before putting in the pickle.

-Pickle in salt and white vinegar for 24 hours or until soft monitoring PH every 8-10 hours and regulating with citric acid crystals

-Drain for 30 min and reflesh. Beaver and coon now get thinned with my right angle did grinder and 60 grit sanding disk. (The salt and vinegar are very corrosive to steel. Everything must be cleaned and oiled after. )

-Put back in the pickle for two more days min.

-Neutralize in water with baking soda

-Let dry until Skin does not look wet but is still damp and pliable. Then apply orange bottle and fold skin to skin for 12 hours.

- Unfold skin and stretch every 3 or 4 hours until dry.

-Once dry break skin over rope or eased board.

-Smoke hide over cold fire until light brown.

-Sprits fur side with mineral spirits and rub down with rag then tumble in a bag with cob grit.

There are likely better ways and products that can be used but I like this way because I can get everything locally and it you leave out the pickle you can substitute orange bottle with brains and do it the old school way.

Thanks for the replies guy! I really just hate to waste the hides. So figured I could try and wear them out of respect lol.

I think that it's cool that you want to try and tan your first season's hides. Makes it kind of like farm to table trapping. I tried tanning for the first time last year when a neighbor gave me a fox hide that had been in his freezer for three years! It's not hard, just time consuming. I tried a few different formulas and I have to say that I like Rittel's EZ-100. If you get the kit, it has instructions for start to finish.