Pneumothorax
Senior Member
I hate wasting venison of course. But the thought of just throwing away the hides doesn't sit well with me either. So instead I save them all to be tanned. I've used Sebring Custom Tanning in FL for the last couple years and they've done a nice job.
I roll the hides up and keep them in the freezer. At some point after season ends, I'll thaw, salt, and send them to Sebring in a batch. This last batch that arrived today (from the 2013 season) was 7 hides that I had done in natural color with the hair off. The cost was $191 plus my shipping cost to them.
It does take many months. This batch was shipped to them in May of 2014 and just arrived today. I have 2014's batch of hides in the freezer now waiting to be thawed, salted, and shipped.
Years ago (when I guess I had more patience) I brain tanned my own hides. The end result is the softest, fluffiest leather you've ever felt! But is sure is labor intensive. Takes lots of time and elbow grease to do the job right. Cheaper though for sure.
Anyway, just some info and pics I thought I'd share in case anyone was interested in an option for turning their deer hides into leather. I'm not associated with Sebring in any way other than being a regular customer. And I have found some others online that will turn your hide into gloves and lots of other things. More cost associated with those services of course.
I roll the hides up and keep them in the freezer. At some point after season ends, I'll thaw, salt, and send them to Sebring in a batch. This last batch that arrived today (from the 2013 season) was 7 hides that I had done in natural color with the hair off. The cost was $191 plus my shipping cost to them.
It does take many months. This batch was shipped to them in May of 2014 and just arrived today. I have 2014's batch of hides in the freezer now waiting to be thawed, salted, and shipped.
Years ago (when I guess I had more patience) I brain tanned my own hides. The end result is the softest, fluffiest leather you've ever felt! But is sure is labor intensive. Takes lots of time and elbow grease to do the job right. Cheaper though for sure.
Anyway, just some info and pics I thought I'd share in case anyone was interested in an option for turning their deer hides into leather. I'm not associated with Sebring in any way other than being a regular customer. And I have found some others online that will turn your hide into gloves and lots of other things. More cost associated with those services of course.