Obtaining and preparing Bucktail

Pop · December 18th, 2004

I think it is Veniard products that is mostly recommended for cleaning and dying bucktails. I want to give this a try as I live in an area where bucktails should be easily obtained. I have two questions. First, should the tail be harvested in a particular manner and second do you tan the tail and how is that done. I have searched on the net for the instructions, to no avail and can't find any books that explain the procedures.

I have been able to find instructions for the dying process.

Can anyone help. Thanks, Pop

mitcheal · December 19th, 2004

Whack off the tail of the deer as high as you can reach (make sure buck is dead first) then rinse the blood off all the hair in cold clear water, pop into a freezer bag and freeze until needed.

In order to dye them, you must first degrease the tails. Soak them in household detergent and hot water for about ten minutes, rinse and allow to drip dry for a few hours then put them into a pot of hot vegetable dye. Rit works OK in most basic colors. Allow to dry then throw back into freezer bag and refreeze.

To air dry, debone and salt the inside of the skin and and hang until dry then put into plastic bags. I personally don't like this as it tends to make them brittle. Just my opinion.

nova · December 19th, 2004

Instead of using salt to cure the hide try borax. It works quicker and dries better. Salt draws the moisture out of the hide and this takes time and can be quite messy if you don't get all the fat off of the hide.
You can find borax in the soap isle at your grocery store.

If you want to tan the hide look it up in an encycopedia or do a search on the net for "hide tanning".

Pop · December 19th, 2004

Mitcheal, I was figuring if the deer was still alive it would help stretch the tail a bit and make the hacking easier

Are the buck tails you purchase at the fly shop tanned? Pop

Gr8flyz · December 19th, 2004

Pop, most of the tails sold in fly shops are not tanned. The tanning process would make them rather expensive, and since the hair is cut from the hide for use, tanning is not necessary. Also, the commercial acid dyes used leave the hide stiff and brittle, even after tanning, so the tails would have to be tanned again.

If you decide you want to tan the tails, there are pre-mixed tanning powders & liquids available. I've seen them listed in trapping supply catalogs, and would guess that taxidermy suppliers may carry them.
However, I can't say how good they'll be, as I've never used any of them.

The advice already given is as good as you need, clean & dry, and store in a freezer is the way I've always done them.

badfish03 · January 7th, 2005

If you do want to tan the bucktails Feather-Craft carries material to do such. They also carry all kinds of interesting materials and have great service.
Link
http://www.feather-craft.com/

But I agree with the others that it is not absolutely necessary but tanned bucktails are nice and don't smell as bad as the cured ones.

Robert