Hide tanning costs Alberta.

[LandlockedIslander]

Hey guys curious what you pay to have a deer skin tanned. Thinking of two white tails as rugs and one just turned to leather no hair. Anyone know this runs around Calgary? Ball park? Thanks. If there’s any taxidermists on here I’m also wondering if I could trade some time helping you out for the knowledge of how to tan my own hides. Thanks for any and all info on these few questions.


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[Prairiekid]

I paid $160 a hide last year


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[triguy]

I used western fur tanneries in Edmonton a couple years ago. Happy with fur on for a rug. Cannot remember price.

[nube]

Western is pricey and long wait times. Have had some product back with holes in it as well. I may give him another chance sometime but I am trying out new tanneries for now

[Full Curl Earl]

Halford has a web site with pricing I believe. They did a moose rug for me 15 years ago for $350 or so. Western as well but cant recall price.

[Abe89]

I’ve got a none-fleshed frozen hide in my freezer right now waiting for the time to tan it. I’m far from an expert but I have tanned two rabbit and two deer (though I didn’t break these so their essentially rawhide. Picture below) hides. If we’re able to connect on a time I’d be more than willing to share what little I know, show you whats involved with this hide I have in the freezer. I’m one hour north of Calgary. Pm if interested. IMG_2511.jpg


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[AB2506]

http://www.highcountrywildlife.ca/me...%20-%20pdf.pdf

[C&C Outdoors]

Have never got a deer hide tanned yet, but have had a bull moose & 2 bull elk hides tanned with the hair left on.
We went through western fur tannery & if I remember correctly they charge per sq/ft & would also charge additional fees for salting if needed along with extra fleshing depending on how clean the hide is on inside of course.
I believe we paid anywhere from $650-750 per hide & all were dressed clean.
Also, just as nube said the waiting period there does take some time & did seem a bit pricey.
All in all we were happy with the end result.
Tanned elk hides with the hair left on look great on the wall.
The 2 elk were unique to get done as I took mine in archery season with my wife at my side 6 months pregnant & then to return a week & a half later to pick up our meat from the butcher but make the trip back worth while & set up the wall tent for a few days. We set up camp, went for a walk up the line the next morning & managed to call a bull in for her. She sent the shot home with the 300wby mag & got her first bull elk.
We have the two hides side by side on the wall & the antlers over the fireplace.
Looks great & brings back memories in the field each time I look & think back.

All the best in your search

[ken1989]

Anyone ever tan their big game hides? I have couple bottles of "Tannit" made by Tandy Leather Factory. Bottle info says that each bottle will process two average deer hides. Very detailed instructions. Been meaning to try it, but have not got around to it yet.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by ken1989

Anyone ever tan their big game hides? I have couple bottles of "Tannit" made by Tandy Leather Factory. Bottle info says that each bottle will process two average deer hides. Very detailed instructions. Been meaning to try it, but have not got around to it yet.

I've used tannit on smaller hides. It worked okay but like all tanning by hand it is a lot of work to get a well tanned soft hide.

I see no reason it wouldn't work on any hide. And if all one wanted was a wall hanger it wouldn't be that much work.

Fleshing the hide prior to tanning and working the hide after tanning is the bulk of the work.

I cheated and let the birds flesh a hide for me. It worked like a charm, only the hide freeze dried and I haven't got around to tanning it yet.

But all I have to do is soak it for a few days and then proceed with the tanning process. I just haven't got around to doing it.

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by nube

Western is pricey and long wait times. Have had some product back with holes in it as well. I may give him another chance sometime but I am trying out new tanneries for now

I just had them do a wolf for me. It was completely fleshed, lips, ears, paws done.

They charged me $475 to soft tan it for a hanger.

I’ll never give them .10 cents of business again, what a rip off

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Torkdiesel

I just had them do a wolf for me. It was completely fleshed, lips, ears, paws done.

They charged me $475 to soft tan it for a hanger.

I’ll never give them .10 cents of business again, what a rip off

Did you ask them what it woild cost before you gave them the wolf?

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by JohnB

Did you ask them what it woild cost before you gave them the wolf?

No. I figured it would be $175-225 or so like the last 25 or so I’ve had done. I guess they cranked up their prices with Halfords out of the game. We’ll be looking for somewhere new out of province to have them done I guess

[C&C Outdoors]

$475 for a completely fleshed & dressed wolf...crazy.
I brought them a bear 2 yrs ago without the paws done & didn't cost near that much.
Would definitely be interested in another tannery myself hearing this.
Any good suggestions on where to consider?
I haven't tried anywhere else yet myself.

[pikeman06]

Yup that is crazy. I woulda left it there. Thanks for the warning bud. I won't give them a penny. Got a big stack of nice beavers that I refuse to send to auction. I'm looking for a good tannery too. That stuff for home tanning only works on thin skins and be carefull with those chemicals guys.

[Rackmastr]

Originally Posted by Torkdiesel

No. I figured it would be $175-225 or so like the last 25 or so I’ve had done. I guess they cranked up their prices with Halfords out of the game. We’ll be looking for somewhere new out of province to have them done I guess

Flint Fur in Cranbrook would be my recomendation, especially for wolves and furbearers.

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by Rackmastr

Flint Fur in Cranbrook would be my recomendation, especially for wolves and furbearers.

Thank you sir, I’ll check them out

[nube]

That is nutz Tork! I gave them crap for the $300 it cost me last time

[WesternFur]

Alright guys, enough with the nonsense. We haven't increase prices due to any neighboring tanneries closing, nor does it cost $475 to tan a wolf at our facility. The prices are under $300 and have been so for the last couple of years. Licensed taxidermists and those bringing in larger quantity receive even lower prices. I've been made aware of some of the people posting on these forums from other reputable business owners, and it seems as though this isn't anything new. No one forces you to continue doing business with anyone you've had a bad experience with. These posts typically say much more about the user than the business itself. If any of you would like to share with the rest of us on how you run your successful high volume/low cost operations with us, we would surely love to hear it gentleman.

-Stanley
Owner/operator
Western Fur Tannery

[Kurt505]

It’s been years since I had any capes tanned, but I had them done by Stanley from Western fur tannery before they moved. He did a good job and turned them over fast. From reading his post it seems he still takes pride in his work.

Merry Christmas Stanley.

[philintheblank]

I have sent stuff to International fur in Whinnipeg before, the prices used to be better and it made sense to pay for shipping and export permits. But they have raised prices and I can send my stuff local for the same or better price.
Wait times are very season dependent in my experience. I sent my Axis deer for tanning at Wesrern Fur and paid the extra few bucks for the faster turn around. I was very happy with the finished product

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by WesternFur

Alright guys, enough with the nonsense. We haven't increase prices due to any neighboring tanneries closing, nor does it cost $475 to tan a wolf at our facility. The prices are under $300 and have been so for the last couple of years. Licensed taxidermists and those bringing in larger quantity receive even lower prices. I've been made aware of some of the people posting on these forums from other reputable business owners, and it seems as though this isn't anything new. No one forces you to continue doing business with anyone you've had a bad experience with. These posts typically say much more about the user than the business itself. If any of you would like to share with the rest of us on how you run your successful high volume/low cost operations with us, we would surely love to hear it gentleman.

-Stanley
Owner/operator
Western Fur Tannery

I guess the hide was frozen and not salted, although at 5 pounds of hide total for a wolf that weighed 100 pounds on a scale there couldn’t have been too mush fleshing to do. So there was a salting and fleshing fee charged, which brought the cost up to $467.22

Since we're talking now I also had a bison done for a client. The cost for that seemed to fall in line with the outrageous wolf price but apparently that’s the cost of doing business. I guarantee none will ever go your way again

Shoulder mount cape tanning (it had to be fleshed and salted ) $1478
Back skin with tail (it had to be fleshed and salted ) $828

Just over $2300 to tan one bison that was off the skull with lips, ears, and nose done.

Hard to believe you can keep the lights on at those prices !

[WesternFur]

There is no reason for your wolf to be anywhere near those prices unless you brought it in here with the skull and paws still in. And even if there was a mistake made while logging in the order, all you have to do is mention it. There is no way you would have walked away with that price tag. We always work to maintain a good relationship with everyone we do business with. Thanks to all of you that offer positive feedback, we appreciate your support greatly!

-Stanley
Owner/Operator
Western Fur Tannery

[WesternFur]

Originally Posted by philintheblank

I have sent stuff to International fur in Whinnipeg before, the prices used to be better and it made sense to pay for shipping and export permits. But they have raised prices and I can send my stuff local for the same or better price.
Wait times are very season dependent in my experience. I sent my Axis deer for tanning at Wesrern Fur and paid the extra few bucks for the faster turn around. I was very happy with the finished product

-Thanks philintheblank -Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[WesternFur]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

It’s been years since I had any capes tanned, but I had them done by Stanley from Western fur tannery before they moved. He did a good job and turned them over fast. From reading his post it seems he still takes pride in his work.

Merry Christmas Stanley.

Thanks a lot Kurt! -Merry Christmas!!

[JohnB]

I've been using Western fur for 10 years and never had a problem. Stanley and his staff have always been freindly and great to deal with.

We will see you in the New Year Stanley, Merry Christmas to you, your family and staff.

Take care,
John.

[Kurt505]

Another thing I’ll add, Stanley was tanning capes for the taxidermy course put on by Harvey Sylvester, Stanley was only charging something like $60 and he had to turn the lips and knock out the ears. It’s great to see he’s still running the show.

[CritterCommander]

Yes dropped off a real big yotie with them this spring, it was clean, skinned out, and salted. Turn around was great and no complaints about anything, think it cost around 100 bucks. Pretty happy.

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by WesternFur

There is no reason for your wolf to be anywhere near those prices unless you brought it in here with the skull and paws still in. And even if there was a mistake made while logging in the order, all you have to do is mention it. There is no way you would have walked away with that price tag. We always work to maintain a good relationship with everyone we do business with. Thanks to all of you that offer positive feedback, we appreciate your support greatly!

-Stanley
Owner/Operator
Western Fur Tannery

There was definitely no skull or paws in that wolf, it went in through a buddy who’s a taxidermist. If I had sent it direct I guess I could have complained in person.

As for the bison that’s the same deal, I guess we should have double checked your process and paperwork for you to see if you guys made a mistake.

[yukon254]

Originally Posted by pikeman06

Yup that is crazy. I woulda left it there. Thanks for the warning bud. I won't give them a penny. Got a big stack of nice beavers that I refuse to send to auction. I'm looking for a good tannery too. That stuff for home tanning only works on thin skins and be carefull with those chemicals guys.

First thing you need to ask yourself is how much is YOUR time worth?? Hunters are always complaining about tanning and/or taxidermy prices yet think they are worth 50 bucks an hour! I tan a lot of hides for myself and other trappers and hunters. It's a LOT of work, and the equipment isn't cheap. Tanning hides properly takes a lot of manual labour, and a lot of dollars worth of equipment. Tanneries use professionals, as do taxidermists, they need to make a living too. Remember that next time you want something done cheap.....

If you want to tan those beaver yourself get some Trubond 1000B its the best there is. But be prepared to work, and you WONT get the quality that a commercial tannery can, I dont care what anyone tells you. The good news is that after trying it yourself you will never complain about tannery prices again....