how come bucktail STINKS so bad??? it really smells horrible.
hmm, is it a whole tail that was given to you by a hunter? Maybe it was not cleaned properly? I have bucktail that i bought at a fly shop, and it doesn’t smell bad at all,
WWFF
Spray it with Right Guard and be done with it. 
Ron
Sometimes they do stink to high heaven, and they can be greasy… The tail is quite close the the you-know-what!
I always wash them in handwarm water with shampoo, rinse them, and put them in clean water with some hair conditioner. That makes the hair much easier to handle. After washing I turn them over and cut them in three pieces (along the edges of the dark middle section).
Mart
Well… it is right next to their…
hmm is this the same with other tails? like squirrel, turkey etc.
Some dogs just love those stinky bucktails :?
seems dogs like a lot of materials, mine ate one of my orange grizzly necks
no this is a store bought tail. squirrel tails have a funky smell but its not the butt smell of bucktail lol. i suppose i could wash them…
my tails don’t smell bad at all, would storing them in a warm place cause them to smell maybe?
Sounds like you ought to question where you are buying your tails :roll:
All my squirrel tails are road kill and have no smell…bucktails are purchased and none smell…
There’s something rotten in Denmark!
Here is what to do with it. Check and see if it is oily or still hs raw meat on it. If so it will need to be scraped and dried out again. If not then a real good bath will do the trick. I would suggest soaking it for several hours in hot soapy water. Then rinse it out real well and peg it out and dry it. Then put it in a bag with some ceder chips and that should make it smell much better.
If it has greese and meat left on the skin it may not be worth the trouble of trying to save it. I have thrown out more than one in my day. People think they are doing you a favore and stick the tail or hide in a plastic bag and give it to you 2 months later. If that is the case just get ride on it. They just don’t cost that much to make it worth your while.But thank the person anyway. Ron
i was talking to my friend greg and even his tails stink!
As i am in the process of drying out a bucktail, i have to guess that the one you have was not dried properly. My brother in law was able to take a nice deer this Thanksgiving, and gave me the whole skin and tail. I had to split the tail to get out the meat and bone, scrapped everything off, and simply nailed it to a piece of plywood to airdry. When the tail was dried, i washed it with warm soap and water, rinsed it off really well, and then took it inside to really dry. It has been in my hobby room for a week now and does not smell at all. In fact, it smells like the soap i used! I have purchased bucktails that stunk to high heaven, and they seemed to have really stiff hairs that were dry and brittle. It will be interesting to see how my bucktail will do over the next few months of tying. I guess i took more time drying than the company that processed the tail that i purchased.
Have fun, Jeff
dsaavedra-Like I suggested get some ceder chips and put in with them and they will not stink and the bugs will stay away. Make sure they are clean to begin with. 1 Raw tail will make the rest stink. I bet I have over 100 and they do not stink. Ron
yeah. ill try to freshin them up. but its not just one, its all the bucktails that i have, and all the ones that my friend has. and we got them from totally different places. o well. ill wash them with soap.
yeah dave, mine do stink too, maybe it has something to do with the arse being right there!?!?!?!
Nope has nothing to do with it. It was the Arse that took care of them in the first place. Ron
most hairs and feathers are processed in a solution of formaldihyde, which keeps them from stinking. All that are dyed get a double treatment, the dye acts as a sealer. White or Natural is about the worst. Go to your nearest Janitorial supplier or carpet cleaning company and ask for a can of pet urine remover. This stuff is fantactic, it breaks up any crystalized body fluids and body oils, then simply wash with ivory soap and warm water, ivory is the only soap without alcohol and perfume, alcohol will destroy non living feathers and hairs. Good luck with your project.
Just Add Water