cureing a deer hide
 

I found an entire hide on ballston beach today.it hasn't been there very long.i can't see wasting it.it was found on the high tide line and it's wet but not soaked.when i lay it flat does it have to be in a non-freeze area or can it be layed out in my shed?I'm going to use it for flytying.

u found the whole deer just washed up or just the hide? i think u mean the whole deer right? definetely interesting

That's a wicked lota hair for flys. Take a piece that is clean of meat wash the hair gently with soap and water then rub some borax on it(skin) and let it dry. The borax will cure it just fine for what your gonna use it for. If your going to do a bucktail its a must that you carefully slice down the center and remove the bone.

NO meat just the hide.someone just dumped the skin and i couldn't pass it up.I just got back from stop&shop and they didn't have any borax so I got some kosher salt.I went to the other market in orleans and they had the "good old twenty mule team" borax so i'll try both.I'm still open to all opinions.THANKS for the responses.oh NO TAIL,but that's ok i've got appx80 different tails.this is the 1st attempt at the curing process

I agree. Hide will be stiff when when cured . Very important too scrape off ALL flesh that is still attached to hide. I'm sure it's still on there if hide was being thrown out. :deer: