OK...I shook the wet salt off them and resalted. I now have them hanged over a rack where a fan has been blowing on them for 24 hours.
I checked the archives today, trying to find info on when they would be ready to send to the tannery. I found a lot of info...too much actually. There was some contradicting info.
From what I read, I'm guessing that they won't turn to "cardboard" like a deer hide would. So...what should I look for to know they are ready to ship? Should I fould them skin in...or skin out?
I'm thinking that since if I sent them tomorrow, they would just sit in a box over the weekend...so I might as well keep the fan on them. Am I thinking correctly?
Thanks
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I usually fold and ship them when they have lost a noticeable amount of weight.You didn't see them fresh,so that might be hard to to.Usually a week after their initial salting,they are good to go.If they are not dripping,would be a good indicator.They stay flexible for a lot longer than deer,but will get hard if left a long time.On fragile haired animals,like deer or antelope,fold hair in.Bear hair is durable and on a well salted hide,it doesn't matter.Fold them either way.With the initial salting that was done and your resalting and fan,the hides will be fine.It won't hurt at all to keep the fan on them,but they are probably cured enough that sitting over the weekend wouldn't hurt either.Bears are a lot less prone to slip than you may be lead to believe.I get bears every year that have been left over night in the woods with Spring temperatures and have never lost a bear or even had a bad slip spot yet after 40 years.Send them to a reputable tannery and you will be fine.
They'll be on their way to the Wildlife Gallery on Monday.
Good choice.
I hang em over a wood pole and run a fan on them about 2 days, and if the fur is wet I turn to the fur side for a good several hours to dry that too. Then I fold them and set them aside.