I want a coonskin hat

**JaySmith** · September 25th, 2023, 12:59 PM

I want a coonskin hat, but the problem is I do not know how to get from point A to point B. I have a raccoon, but he's still alive. I can kill him, but after that I'm pretty much at a loss.

Is there a local place I can take him to get prepared in the area, and eventually become a hat?

**Walleye Hunter** · September 25th, 2023, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by JaySmith

I want a coonskin hat, but the problem is I do not know how to get from point A to point B. I have a raccoon, but he's still alive. I can kill him, but after that I'm pretty much at a loss.

Is there a local place I can take him to get prepared in the area, and eventually become a hat?

I have a neighbor who's a hunter, he may be willing to get you to A+ but all the way to B is doubtful. You could probably watch The Last Alaskans and get some good ideas. I think they use some grey matter to help with the tanning of the hide.

**JaySmith** · September 25th, 2023, 01:22 PM

I've never done any tanning and I don't know any tanners anymore. I don't want to kill him before I'm ready and have a plan though, they don't come around often. But he's eyeing my chickens, so I'm not very happy with that.

**akley88** · September 25th, 2023, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by JaySmith

I want a coonskin hat, but the problem is I do not know how to get from point A to point B. I have a raccoon, but he's still alive. I can kill him, but after that I'm pretty much at a loss.

Is there a local place I can take him to get prepared in the area, and eventually become a hat?

i would check with a taxidermist. they should be able to point you to a tanner and someone that can make it into a hat. i got my son a coon skin hat at the outdoor show this year for like 8 bucks i believe.

**Walleye Hunter** · September 25th, 2023, 01:30 PM

Years ago when I had my sheep butchered, I brought the hides home, salted them and laid them out under the porch for a long time, maybe a year. I kept them salted so flies wouldn't lay there eggs on them. Then I cut what fat was still there off with a sharp knife and took them to a tanner in Quakertown. When the guy looked at them, he said that they looked good and he was glad to see they were already dried out. But like ackely said, a taxidermist should be able to do that for you.

**JaySmith** · September 25th, 2023, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by akley88

i would check with a taxidermist. they should be able to point you to a tanner and someone that can make it into a hat. i got my son a coon skin hat at the outdoor show this year for like 8 bucks i believe.

Good call, I didn't think of a taxidermist. I do have a contact for that.

I had a coonskin hat as a kid I got from an outdoor show. I would like my son to have one. But I haven't seen anything like that at shows for a while. And I have a racoon i need to get rid of. I just thought it would be a shame for him to go to waste.

**Emptymag** · September 25th, 2023, 01:38 PM

What's the legality of shooting them and someone else taking possession of a dead one?

Just sayin that there may be legal hurdles you need to look into beforehand.

**JaySmith** · September 25th, 2023, 01:49 PM

They're considered a nuisance animal and in accordance to PA state law I'm within my rights to protect my farm animals from any predators by means of trapping and/or execution. I'm almost certain. What happens with it after it's dead shouldn't be a problem.

**akley88** · September 25th, 2023, 02:00 PM

state says you can kill them since they prefer they are not relocated.
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/Page...eWildlife.aspx

**Delkal** · September 25th, 2023, 02:57 PM

Not sure if it is still around but I tanned some deer hides with a product Tandy used to sell called Tannit. It works and you do end up with buckskin but it was a fair amount of work scraping, tanning and repeatedly stretching the hide. I still have some skins I tanned 30 years ago. The most work for tanning and taxedermy is the prep work. You have to scrape and remove everything other than the skin or the leather will rot. I only did the hide but I can imagine skinning and scraping around the face and areas with thinner skin would be a PITA.

One thing I do remember is as soon as you skin an animal you have to preserve it with Non-iodized salt or the hair will fall of. Coat the flesh side with a half inch of kosher salt then in a few days try and get all of the meat / sinew off of the leather. I believe once you do this you can fully dry the skin with salt and it will be OK till you get around to tan it.

Another thing to consider is when to take the animal. The coats in the winter is much thicker with coarse hairs. This is not good for making hair on buckskin but I am not sure what is best for a racoon hat.