Preserving a Buck Tail- Part 2- The Conclusion

The last post concluded with salting a scraping the buck tail.  To view that post, just click here.  After the hide was free of fat and muscle and completely dry, it was time for a salt bath.  I used one gall of water and one pound of salt.  I let the tail soak for about 10 hours while stirring occasionally.  After that, I gave it a good wash with warm water and Dawn dish soap.  I hung the tail to dry for about 24 hours.  I hung it in my garage where it dried really slowly.  If you have a warmer room, it will dry faster.  

After that, I applied some tanning solution.  I bought this stuff at Bass Pro a few years ago and it works really well!  I applied the solution with a foam brush and folded it in on itself.  I let it dry for about 24 hours and then unfolded it.  Next, I gave it some pulls and stretched it out as it dried.  Once it has dried, you're done and you have a preserved buck tail.  It can now be displayed or used to tie flies with!  I hope that helped and that you found the information useful.  On a side note, I tan almost all of the hides that I have ever preserved and had excellent success with this method.  It is not difficult at all and just takes a little time.