I was fortunate enough to harvest a buck this year during rifle season here in Missouri. He had 8 points, weighed 153 pounds at the processor, and appeared to be 3 and 1/2 years old. While it isn't the biggest deer in the world, I got to share the hunt with one of my best friends and the meat went to a friend of mine that has been a huge influence on me both personally and professionally.
As an added bonus, I got some free fly tying materials. For the past few years, I have been trying to preserve a few tails and even a couple of hides from some bucks that I have shot as well as my friends. I got into this for three reasons. Also, I hope I don't come off as high and mighty or some sort of egotistical, self righteous jerk. If I come off that way, I apologize for missing the mark and in case I do sound like a self promoting loser any point, please don't quit reading without reading the last paragraph.
1. I had no idea how to skin a deer, tan a hide with the hair on, or preserve a tail when I first started. It was something that I was interested in and learned a lot about using another part of a harvested animal. I think this is a show of respect to the animal and just a good skill to possess. I have a lot of respect for how Native Americans treated their harvested animals and it is an honor to be able to emulate that even on a much smaller scale.
2. I'm cheap. It's true. I don't have a lot of money and I feel guilty spending my family's income on expensive fly tying materials and fly rods. If I can get some materials for almost no monetary cost, and a small cost in terms of time it takes to preserve the materials, I'm in. It's cheap and easy to preserve something like a deer tail, and doesn't take that much time either. Preserving an entire deer hide is more time consuming, but a lot more rewarding as a result. They are both just plain fun too!
3. I'm kind of sentimental guy. It means a lot to hunt deer that has been in my family since my great granddad owned it. It means a lot to me to take a bare hook, attach some thread and feathers to the hook, and go out to catch my own dinner. It means a great deal to me to harvest an animal (deer, squirrel, rabbit, or otherwise) that was a product of our family's farmland, and incorporate those materials into my fly tying. I get a huge smile on my face when I catch a bass on a clouser minnow that I tied with bucktail from a deer that I shot. Truth be told, I enjoy giving flies to my buddies and informing them about the fact that the deceiver or deer hair bug materials were home grown.
I write all of that, so that I can write this: if you are interested in finding out more about preserving a hide or a tail from a harvested animal, I would be happy to help. Feel free to email me at showmeflyguy@gmail.com. I would be happy to pass along any successes and/or failures I have experienced with some basic tanning and preserving. It really is rewarding as well as fun, and for those that are sentimental like me, you won't regret giving this process a shot.
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