How do I tan a Bobcat hide at home?

I want a bobcat hide to hang on the wall at my hunting cabin so I plan on taking one this year. I have never tanned anything before so I come here looking for the proper procedure and any tips you may have.

Thanks in advance.

gatrapper said:

You need to open skin it, not case skin it.

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Should I know what this means or am I just stupid?

case skinning is when you turn the animal inside out and take it in one piece. open skinning is when you split it to stretch it to dry.

I am having some serious reading comprehension issues, because I still don't clearly understand even after reading WalkerRunner's post.

Maybe its because I am clueless with the subject at hand and I mean really clueless. I'll do some more research when I am not at work to learn some more so you poor guys don't have to get frustrated with me, the newbie!

ok,lay him on his back,make a cut from the back leg ankle,all the way to the ankle on the opposite leg,then at the center of that cut,make a cut up to the sternum,right in between the front legs,make a cut across the chest,front leg ankle to ankle.then skin him out,if you want the feet on,youll have to split all up the pads and skin out the toes.after this,put him in the freezer,then buy EZ-100 tanning kit from wasco, www.taxidermy.com if you have any questions just pm me.

if it'll be your first send it to a professional tannery. you'll have a better tan and an over all better product. you will most likely mess it up trying it yourself.

Either case or open skin it, your choice. Then remove all flesh, fat, and the hypodermis. This is the shiny membrane on the meat side of the skin. If cased, put it on a stretcher, if opened, peg it, hairside in, to a piece of plywood. Let it dry for a few days. After it is dry, look at it closely, if there is any of the hypodermis left on it, you can see it good now, it will be shiny. CAREFULLY scrape any of it left on there off. Got to the meat market and buy one small container of pork brains. Put just enough warm (NOT HOT) water in a bucket with the brains. Use rubber gloves if your squemish. mash the brains up with the water to make a fairly thick consistancy. Smear the mix on the inside of the hide. Take it off the stretcher, or off the wood, and apply another coat or two, makin` sure it`s worked in good.

Now for the fun. Pull, stretch, and work the hide till it`s dry. This is gonna take a little while. If you get tired, put it in a trash bag and put in the refridgerator till your rested up-no more than 24 hours. It`s important to pull and work the hide till it`s dry. As you`re workin` it, you will see the hide start to turn white and start fluffin` up. When it`s totally dry, it willhave the consistancy of a beach towel and have no odor.

This is called brain-tanned fur, and it is superior to any commercial tan you can buy on the market today, plus, you`ve done it yourself.

You're serious....Brains? Will this work for deer and squirrel hides?

yes

Dr. Phil said:

You're serious....Brains? Will this work for deer and squirrel hides?

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an old "Indian"saying was,"Each animal has just enough brain to preserve it's hide"

or so I'm told..........

I wouldn`t plan on tryin` it no diller! Breakin` that hide would be a killer!!

I ain`t no pro, but any kind of brain will work on any kind of animal (cept for a diller!). I use pork brains more than anything for deer and furs.

The most important thing is to make sure you have all the hypodermis off, and make double sure that you have good brain solution penetration on the hide.

Note, don`t waste your time on a hair on braintanned deerskin for rug. It will be fine to hang on the wall, but the hair on a winter-coat deer is hollow. That means it is brittle, and the hair will break very easily. A summercoat deer will work a little better, since the hair is solid.

Nic, how do you get the hypodermis off? I've tried a few different ways and haven't found an easy one yet. Do you dry or wet scrape? What do you do the scraping with?

I use the dry scrape method. I have never tried wet scrape, but I`ve heard good results with it. It`s just my preference. I use a fleshin` beam, with a dull drawknife to "push" the meat, fat, and hypodermis off. After I get the hide in a rack, I put it in the sun for a few hours. Any hypodermis left will show up shiney and I can buff it off with fine sandpaper.

Thanks, I use a drawknife of sorts too, I guess I just need more practice.