Materials from 'hunted' animals

[pablo_85]

Hi All,

I was wondering if any of you have ever tried preparing the furs and feathers of animals you've shot or trapped, and if so what advice you can give on what you did.

For feathers I have experimented by 'cleaning' pheasant tail feathers, given to me by a colleague who shoots, by scraping the quill at the bottom to ensure there's nothing nasty there to rot them, then soaking them in white spirit before allowing them to dry. The theory behind this being the white spirit would be potent enough to kill any bacteria present but wouldn't bleach the feathers and hoping that by just submerging the feathers in the white spirit without any agitation, then removing them and allowing them to air dry this would preserve as much 'natural oils' or whatever else may be present. This seemed to work farely well, but was mainly based on talking things through with people in the pub over a few pints, so was it genius or overly complicated daftness?


I haven't tried doing anything with the furs that I've been offered, mainly because I anticipate them being more difficult.

Any thoughts, theories or advice appreciated.

P

[danielp]

Feathers are easy enough, all I do is scrape any **** off the bottom then microwave them for 30 seconds and then freeze them for a fortnight. Never had a problem with them rotting on me and hopefully get enough pheasant tails to last until next season. For sections of skins I scrape all the meat off and wash with soapy water. You can then put borax on it (I microwave before this step) and dry it it should keep perfectly well.

Dan

[arkle]

There's loads of info on here about it, just use the search tab at the top r/h side.

[guest30]

I've used Rabbit and Hares that I've shot, worked really well, also a lot cheaper than buying a Hare mask from a tackle shop. Want to try Fox fur, but I think that it is to hard.

[birdman6]

Originally Posted by hunter_gillard

I've used Rabbit and Hares that I've shot, worked really well, also a lot cheaper than buying a Hare mask from a tackle shop. Want to try Fox fur, but I think that it is to hard.

I have used fox tail for sculpin heads, i just spin it like deer hair.

[guest30]

I'll try that soon. birdman6 did you buy the Fox tail or did you shoot/trap it your self, If you shot/traped it did you cure it in meths or something??