I have a mule deer cape that is said to have been wet tanned. Upon receipt of the cape I began to thaw it out and noticed some blood and meat on the ear butt areas which prompted me to question whether this cape has been tanned at all. My question is; Can I tan this hide using rittles ez-100?
Where did you get this cape at? Did you buy it from a dealer or a so called dealer. You need to get in touch with that person and find out what kind of tan they used and how they went about doing it. Find this out first before anything else is done. It's hard to say what can be done or if the hide was or was not tanned in any kind of matter when we can't see it.
But knowing that if your saying is true about blood then I would question it and send the cape back. Why should you tan a hide that you bought that was supposed to be tanned. And it's not uncommon to have meat left on the ear butts but it's usually tanned also.
Frank, Thanks for your quick response. This cape came from a friend who after becoming displeased with the services of his taxidermist on some other work he was doing, asked for this cape back. I am a beginner in taxidermy and my friend thought mounting this cape would be good experience for me. I am not certain that this taxidermist would be willing to answer any questions, but I'll give it a try.
If it was a cape sent back because your friend was displeased with other work - its a good chance it may not even have been tanned but merely pickled. Some Taxidermists do not tan. They merely pickle, neutralize and oil. It is like working with an oiled raw skin once the influence of the acid is killed. The fact that it has meat and blood around the ear butts seems to indicate that this is the case. As Frank pointed out - its not unusual to have meat around the ear butts, but its usually also tanned if an agent was used.