Preserving the tail of a deer
 

How do you do it? I'd like to use the hair to tie some jigs. Thanks, KR

Keeperreaper..Try PM ING Jules aka fisherwoman....

Slice it down the bone on the white hair side with a razor. Pull out the bone. I mix some water and vinegar 3:1 add a little cascade dish soap. Boil the mixture, quickly wash the tail out good , rinse then dry with paper towels. Then I put them on a paper towel on top of the water heater for a couple of days till they get stiff and dry. Store the dry tail in a zip lok bag. Don't boil the tail long because it will shrink like crazy, just enough to get it nice and clean. try to scrape as much of the fat off before you wash it also. Good Luck

Thanks for the info. i'll give that a try.

dare i ask how you do the whole hide? i want deer pants.

i just pull the tail out with the rest of the hide. then pack it,the inside, with 40 mule team boraks. let it dry a day , shake it out , repack, do this a couple times till its dry. i guess if its dirty or has blood on it i would wash it with dawn first.
bass babe, www.braintan.com

Wow, That's some serious stuff, but I'll look into it further, definitely. Gotta have a deer something, even if it's just a pencil case.