I have my first racoon to skin for a walking mount. I plan to do a dorsal skinning method. My question is do i need to split the tail all the way down to receive the tan properly or do i skin down aways and pull out the tail bone.
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Coons are tough critters and you'll find that most of the hide is going to have to be skinned out with a knife or scalpel. The tail will never come out without splitting.
i've skinned thousands this a-way. i split the tail 1/3 way on a young coon 3/4 way on an old timer. then pull the bone using a tail puller. finish splitting all the way down after bone is removed.
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If I have to split the tail out after I've split it 3/4 the way down to remove the tail bone, is that quarter of a tail worth swapping hands and tools over? I guess it STILL has to be split all the way.
well its just a matter of easy. i sometimes skin 20 coon an hour. its easier for me to pull. 1-2 seconds. then grab the chicago cuttlery tail knife and zip. another 2 seconds. rather than guide a knife over such a round small area as a coon tail tip. im sure everyone has their own favorit way. i was expressing mine.thanks
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then be sure you really pack the salt in it all the way down to the end of the tail after you pull the tail(if you salt before you pickle). And when you pickle and tan make sure the solution gets all the way down to the tip[ also as you won't be able to pull it inside out. I didn't do the salt all the way down to the end once and I lost half the tail. It just rotted off...bummer. All the other ones where I packed the salt down and made sure the pickle and then the tan got all the way down to the tip are fine. Personally, I like the looks of the tail unsplit better..even if it's sewn back up I think it just looks more natural.
I bought my tail puller at a trappers convention but I've also used two sticks and it worked just about as well. I usually only have to skin down the tail about an inch or two before I can use the tail puller to pull the bone out. I've seen tail pullers advertised in the taxadermy supply magazines too.
Just my opinion but I would split it all the way down...coon are so greasy that ya almost need to split it all the way just so you can remove some of the fat inside the tail...whats another 50 stitchess? :)