New Bag

[sooner]

I just finished this bag .I used the hide of my first black powder buck . Tom

 

[BrownBear]

Atsa dandy, wherever the mods move this thread! I've wondered about doing the same thing, but never followed through with the tanning, etc. You've given me great encouragement. Thanks!

 

[Zonie]

Looks good but I hope it lasts.

Several years ago, I bought a leather hunting shirt along with some other things.
Included was a deer skin shooting bag.

I have no idea how the deer skin was cured but it had, had something done to it as a look at the interior of the bag showed that it was not raw skin. I also don't know how old it was when I got it but I'm sure it was made in modern times.

Every time I wore it, it would shed some hair on me.
Folks here said that was the nature of deer hair. They said it is brittle and tends to break off and there's not much that I could do to improve things.

After a few years, large patches of hair would fall off of it if I looked at it hard.

I have other shooting bags so, just the other day, I tossed it into the trash.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Very nice! Very fuzzy too!

 

[sooner]

Brown Bear it is pretty simple .I flesh the hide as soon as possible ,then I stretch and nail it to a sheet of plywood. I then cover it with table salt that will set the hair (don't skimp on the salt)after it has dried well I then take it off and shake the excess salt off then rub it over the edge of a table or a piece of wood to remove more of the salt after that I take my belt sander to it and smooth it up .I then lay out my pattern so the tail will be one with the bag . I sew it inside out and then soak in water to make it easier to turn right side out , Let it dry usually a couple days will do the trick then you can brush it out . I have a bobcat hide that I done this way 40 years ago and it still has the hair on it . I walked on it for many a year and it is starting to look it's age . Tom :grin:

 

[BrownBear]

Thanks for the detail. Seems like I oughta dash right out and collect the raw materials, but I'll have to wait a few months for that. :thumbsup:

 

[sooner]

Yeah I am ready for a frost then some deer time in the woods . Tom :thumbsup:

 

[smo]

Gonna be awhile...... :surrender:

 

[MSW]

nice looking bag!

 

[bubba.50]

kinda neat lookin' I guess but wear it around here & some likkered-up redneck "hunter" would fill ya so full of holes yer wife could use you for a kitchen strainer. :surrender:

 

[Black Hand]

Bring a lint roller - you're gonna need it...