Continuing discussion from: What are your best tips for getting cheap/free animal fats?
1 Like
-
Ahead of the coming seasons, ask hunters if they keep their hides (and if you can pull them if they don’t). A lot of hunters do not keep the hides and will toss them unless spoken for. I have 10+ hides coming to me next deer season because I just asked hunters what they do with their hides.
-
Call big game butchers around the upcoming seasons. A lot have deals with tanneries so they won’t sell, but many don’t.
-
Ask big game butchers if you can pull hides for hides/$$$ during the heavy season/opening weekends. Pulling is the best way to get hides without score marks, as butchers don’t care about hides they care about speed.
-
Road kill.
-
Set up “free hide pulling” stations for common hunting grounds (doubt this would work for AK–maybe near the air force bases?).
-
Set up 55 gallon barrels on the side of the road with “HIDES AND HEADS” on it. (Photo by master tanner Melvin Beattie)1
-
Put up ads at hunting gear stores offering something like $10 for caribou, $40 for bear, and $60 for moose. Make sure the flyer includes instructions that the hide must be salted or frozen. No score marks. (Salted is better because then you can inspect the hide for score marks). Another common tactic is trading deerskin gloves for hides. I’d never do this, but hunters seem to go for it.
P.S. Pulling hides is no joke. “Rednecks” cheat with winches, and I have to admit that’s legit way of doing it if you’re doing a lot. (They also use air compressors, but let’s not talk about that).
2 Likes
Roadkill. You should learn how to skin anyways. If you get there in time you’ll get some great free fats and meat too.
1 Like