I have a whole Caribou hide.. hm what to do what to do.

[dusty153 0]

Hi guys

I Have a whole Caribou hide from a friend, it is drying as we speak. I have tied a few hair bugs with it and that works ok. I have a lot of questions about what to do.

Can I dye it like deer hair? Is it used in place of Deer Hair? I am looking for other suggestions. If you use it in a different way please share.

Thanks

[rockworm 0]

Caribou makes wonderful wings on small caddis patterns. The hair is finer, softer and (usually) shorter than deer hair.

[LP ID 66 0]

Does great for spinning too I have used it some lots of good uses. I don't know about dying tho, I don't know y not.

[phg 0]

You could try making friends by giving away small patches....

 

Never tied with it, but I'm sure there are many uses.

[netabrookie 0]

Like LP ID 66 said, it's great for spinning. I have a hard time using it for wings because it flairs so easily, but that could just be me.

[Flyunder 0]

I don't believe I've ever tied with it either, but if you play with it enough doing different applications on patterns I'm sure nothing but good things can come of it. What's the color of the hide you have? Probably has several different tints to it. The buck I got in archery this year has a beautiful 10" wide swath down his back of black hair with mahogany tips the last 1/4" or so. It's drying as we speak as well. I'm thinking like said above send some out to us and everyone can play with it and then we can pool all of our ideas. We can all collectively work out some good uses for it. I'd do that If I had to. Perhaps a trade of hair would be in order?

[LP ID 66 0]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Flyunder" data-cid="568054" data-time="1383692071"><p>

I don't believe I've ever tied with it either, but if you play with it enough doing different applications on patterns I'm sure nothing but good things can come of it. What's the color of the hide you have? Probably has several different tints to it. The buck I got in archery this year has a beautiful 10" wide swath down his back of black hair with mahogany tips the last 1/4" or so. It's drying as we speak as well. I'm thinking like said above send some out to us and everyone can play with it and then we can pool all of our ideas. We can all collectively work out some good uses for it. I'd do that If I had to.<span rel='lightbox'><img src='http://d3nh6es96whrr8.cloudfront.net//public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_img' /></span> Perhaps a trade of hair would be in order?</p></blockquote>

 

Fly under are u drying/ tanning the hide your self? I am recently getting into keeping hair and feathers from hunting. I wish I would have kept the hide from my buck, but I just kept the tail, maybe if I get an elk I can do the whole thing....

[Flyunder 0]

Yes I am drying it myself. But small pieces though, on this one it's about 14"x 20" something, three pieces of that size. I could not do a whole hide, that I would take to taxidermist. All I do is scrape the hide and get as much of the fat/meat off as I can. Pin it to a board, stretching it as I go. then sprinkle borax on it. Let it sit until it starts to get stiff, scrape what will come off at this point, sprinkle more borax, let sit & repeat as necessary.

[LP ID 66 0]

I never thought about doing it that way.. I was told that for mammals you had to soft tan it but that makes sense. Hey though thanks for your help with my questions it's much appreciated. I think you've answered on all my posts.

[Flyunder 0]

You're quite welcome, glad to be of help.

[Rocco 0]

An old-timer's solution for your situation.

 

Got a snug winter cabin? Guy who delivers your groceries and favorite beer? Go there with the hide in the depths of winter leaving cell phone on off and w/o a puter or female companionship. (The chatting is distracting if not maddening.)

 

Experiment til ice-out.

 

Let us know.

 

Rocco

[phg 0]

Tanning a whole deer hide (or larger) requires larger amounts of tanning solutions and tanning vats than most of us have access to. Of course, you could try using the bath tub....

 

Raw hide is fine if done correctly, as outlined above. Salting the skin side will help draw out moisture. Borax will set the hair/fur so it doesn't fall off. If you scraped all the meat and fat off, once it's dried, it should be stable and odor free (well, almost.) If you want to try your had at tanning, cut off smaller pieces that you can submerge in a gallon container. It'll take a couple of weeks, because of the thickness of the hide, but it's not hard to do. Lots of instructions on the WEB.