Storing skins for tanning

[Biggie]

I know my pop-pop keeps all of his deer skins during hunting season and winter until April. He just lays them out in the barn in a neat pile with road salt on them. Then he sells them in spring to a tanner, they seem to keep well in the colder weather.

[Squeaky McMurdo]

I've had no problem salting hides and saving them until later to deal with. I've never used a fridge or freezer.

My general protocol if I need to dry a hide fast for storage or shipping is to use salt with no iodide in it, let that sit over night, and the next day sprinkle a generous layer of kitty litter crystals on it and fold it up.

When ready to use, you can rehydrate in the bathtub or a large bucket and use a hairdryer and/or some patience to dry it back out enough to work with.

I did an entire moose hide a couple years ago using this method. I prefer to do the fleshing and things outside when it's warm so I saved it from hunting season until late spring.


--Chelsea McMurdo--