What do i do with this hide?

by Clary
(Alaska)

Moose after field dressing and before the hide was removed.

Moose after field dressing and before the hide was removed.

I couldn't hunt this year so when the group harvested a moose they called me up so I could see them field dress it. They were going to leave the hide and back bone. I just couldn't think of letting that stuff stay & rot.
So for 3 days now the hide has been laying in the wood shed on 4 pallets while the birds pick at the meat left on it. I cut the back bone up for stew & broth.

One of the group talked of using the brain tanning method but we'll see. I was going to nail it to the side of the wood shed but haven't done anything yet since the birds are still picking at it.

What can I really do with this hide to tan it and what can I make out of it. I thought of a jacket but it weighs a gazillion tons and it's probably too thick for gloves. It would be a shame to toss it in the trash. I thought maybe tan it w/o the fur and send it to my sons for craft work.

Thanks for any advise or ideas.



Clary, thanks for sharing and asking. My knowledge about tanning is limited.

I do know that if you wanted to keep the hair on the hide needs to be processed within a couple of days or frozen otherwise the hair falls out, other than that the hide is usually stretched and salted to preserve and dry.

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