I killed a couple javelinas and would like to have them mounted some time in the future. The taxidermist advised that if I have them wet tanned and then freeze them and keep them frozen, they will be in good shape years later for mounting. Does anybody have experience with this?

Question:
I killed a couple javelinas and would like to have them mounted some time in the future. The taxidermist advised that if I have them wet tanned and then freeze them and keep them frozen, they will be in good shape years later for mounting. Does anybody have experience with this?

Choices:
Yes, that will work.
No, they will deterioate.

 

Yes wet tanned hides last for years in the freezer. It depends on how tanned but as long as they are double wrapped in plastic they will go a long time.
We mounted a lifesize Aoudad sheep that was tanned 7 years ago and stored like this with no problems.

Thank you. Great looking Aoudad BTW. Nice work.

RREESE,
The important factor here is to have the skins commercially tanned. Whether they be wet or dry tanned does not matter. A dry tanned skin can be hydrated prior to freezer storage. We prefer a dry tan over a wet tan because they are tumbled while a wet tanned skin is not, which is a personal preference and a necessity if you will be rugging any of the specimens. Either tanning method securely wrapped in plastic and stored in the freezer is perfectly acceptable for mounting years down the road.

This lion was dry tanned, hydrated and stored in the freezer for 11 years before Chris mounted it this summer:





and this state record sow had been dry tanned for over 2 years before she was mounted:





Hope this info helped.
Kind regards,
Mary

Krueger's Creations Taxidermy
Chris Krueger
Phoenix, Arizona
halflingrugger@cox.net

I agree with mary just do a normal tan and soak it put it in a plastic bag and freeze it. It will last a long time. I have a black buck and a pronghorn in my freezer now that have been there for years. I expect they'll be fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Mary Hilliard-Krueger:
RREESE,
The important factor here is to have the skins commercially tanned. Whether they be wet or dry tanned does not matter. A dry tanned skin can be hydrated prior to freezer storage. We prefer a dry tan over a wet tan because they are tumbled while a wet tanned skin is not, which is a personal preference and a necessity if you will be rugging any of the specimens. Either tanning method securely wrapped in plastic and stored in the freezer is perfectly acceptable for mounting years down the road.

This lion was dry tanned, hydrated and stored in the freezer for 11 years before Chris mounted it this summer:





and this state record sow had been dry tanned for over 2 years before she was mounted:





Hope this info helped.
Kind regards,
Mary

Krueger's Creations Taxidermy
Chris Krueger
Phoenix, Arizona
halflingrugger@cox.net

Thanks Mary and AK Shooter. Mary, that cat is gorgeous. For every great cat mount like that one, there must be a dozen not so good ones. Something about cat expressions that seem to be the litmus test on taxidermists.

Quality wet tanned capes ARE Drummed by the tanner so that the hair is dry and extra oils are removed so that the taxidermist has 0 clean up on the skin and no washing etc. But its only for minutes instead of hours. Wet tan hides need no breaking in the drum just clean and polish. I perfer wet tan as it never gets damaged by being drummed. Again Quality tanner is the key here.
Mary talks about the old days of wet tanning, that being said some tanners still do it the OLD way. I prefer the extreme workability of wet tans over dry tan skins and why have something dry tanned so that you can soak it up and make it wet again. If you do have it dry tanned make sure that your taxidermist soaks it up for you. Probably will cost you more money-- maybe .
Some dry tans have to be soaked up to exacting
specs or you could ruin the skin. Let your taxidermist do it.

quote:

Originally posted by RREESE:
Something about cat expressions that seem to be the litmus test on taxidermists.

You are a wise man and I could not agree more. I had worked for many years on a big cat farm, in my early 20's, and am very critical of cat taxidermy work due to that constant first hand experience. The first thing I look at is a taxidermists cat work and it surely prepares you for what is to follow.

Artistry Outwest,
This isn't taxidermy.net and I never want it to be...so I will keep this short and sweet.

quote:

Originally posted by Artistry Outwest:
Mary talks about the old days of wet tanning...some dry tans have to be soaked up to exacting specs or you could ruin the skin.

You sir, could not be more wrong! As a taxidermist and rugmaker for the taxidermy industry I deal with hundreds of skins, from tanneries all over the US (a year), for the past 21 years and I can assure you the quality and end results of a wet tanned skin have not changed in that time frame and each skin from any given tannery is hydrated the same way with no problems or ruining of any skins. As I stated it is a personal preference whether one dry or wet tans a skin. You should NEVER wet tan any skin that is going to be made into a rug or it will dry like a piece of cardboard.
Our experience with wet tans is they dry harder which leaves a higher chance of drumming, have more shrinkage, and have a higher possibility of cracking down the road.(The fact that we live in arid Arizona may be a slightly contributing factor). This being said, we just had a client bring in an already wet tanned buffalo for a shoulder mount. It mounted fine but the scrap hide, which we would have loved to have kept for future use, was indeed useless after it dried like a piece of cardboard. This would never happen with a nice dry tanned skin. So any life size wet tanned skin that would be shoulder mounted wastes the back hide for any future use as a rug or scrap/patch work. Darn waste of good animal!
Cannot agree with you more though...one should always use a quality, well known and proven, tannery for any tanning needs, wet or dry.

Kindest regards,
Mary

Mary I wasnt trying to get an argument going with you ! Wasnt talking about rugs either!
I was refering to the statement will a WET tanned hide store in freezer.
You can throw all the crap you want out about your 21 years I dont give @$#$$. Im in my 30th year now so it dosent mean diddly to me. 18 years of that my wife also did wholesale rugging, so yes we have seen it all also.

Some of your statements show that you have very little experience with wet tan of now days.
My POINT about the dry tan is that If not soaked properly will cause problems later.
Free formed acids are still active in dry tan skins that are undersoaked even in freezing conditions. So thats why my statement about have your taxidermist soak them up. Never had any waste of back skins wet tanned.
I could go on forever but wont !
So if this isnt taxidermy net and dont want it to be why did you?

Sorry you misread into my post. I am not trying to argue with you either just stating how we feel about wet tans at our businesses. Like I stated our arid climate may play into it. I speak frequently with owners of the larger tanneries regarding the different tanning processes and my husband has a full time studio and is very knowledgeable of tans also, so your comment of us being inexperienced with wet tans is unwarranted. I was merely expressing our personal feelings regarding wet tans.

I did look at your website and see you have a small tannery that I am assuming only prepares wet tans.

My POINT is that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to hydrate a dry tan for freezing. If a skin is basified, as it should be after the tanning process, the PH level will be proper for such handling and there should be no free formed acids present.

The computer cannot relay the intonations in one's words when typing which can easily lead to misinterpretations. I have no problem with you, PM me if you feel the need to discuss this further as to not clutter up this thread.

Kind regards,
Mary

Mary Im only part owner of a tannery and also a supply company.
If you consider a tannery that tans for over 200 taxidermist world wide and tanning for some studios that tan over 1000 piecies a year small,than yes its a small tannery. Both wet and dry tan elephant to small mink etc.
Again Mary, so if someone undersoaks a dry tanned hide and freezes it than thaws it in a couple years or more and its to dry to mount, and has to be soaked again You think no free formed acid are presant ? Free formed acid is presant in any tan in every state that its in to one degree or another. Basifaction has nothing to do with it.
I wont clutter this thread anymore thats for sure, because you seem to know more than me and the multimillion dollar tanning labs That weve paid thousands to over the last 10 years.
I apologize to you and your superior intellect, and will never offer anyone on your web site advice again. Sorry

quote:

Originally posted by Artistry Outwest:
Mary Im only part owner of a tannery and also a supply company.
If you consider a tannery that tans for over 200 taxidermist world wide and tanning for some studios that tan over 1000 piecies a year,than yes its a small tannery. Both wet and dry tan elephant to small mink etc.
Again Mary, so if someone undersoaks a dry tanned hide and freezes it than thaws it in a couple years or more and its to dry to mount, and has to be soaked again You think no free formed acid are presant ? Free formed acid is presant in any tan in every state that its in to one degree or another. Basifaction has nothing to do with it.
I wont clutter this thread anymore thats for sure, because you seem to know more than the me and the multimillion dollar tanning labs That weve paid thousands to over the last 10 years.
I apologize to you and your superior intellect, and will never offer anyone on your web site advice again. Sorry

Who pissed in your cornflakes?

RREESE,
Just freeze them , they'll be fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Artistry Outwest:
We mounted a lifesize Aoudad sheep that was tanned 7 years ago and stored like this with no problems.

Curious...

Did the hunter request that pose, i.e. the severe downhill rather than the opposite?

I like that pic of the audad(not saying that you dont), shows the chaps really nice. Just put it in my taxidermy picture file.
W.

Outdoor writer --- The aoudad is my own personal trophy,hence the 7 year delay in getting it done !!
I mounted it that way because I wanted a pose that I had not seen before and as woodside says it shows the chaps and mane very well. The top of his horns are about 6 feet high, it has a slight tilt to his head also,
For some unknown reason I prefer sheep going down hill.

Ok. As I said, I was just curious because it reminded me of when I screw up a photo and have the horizon so crooked that the subject appears to be heading off the face of the earth. I wanted to yell, "Quick, grab it before it falls over and breaks its nose.

But, what's that adage ... "to each his own?" If you like it, that's all that matters.