What is the best way to clean the smell out of buck tails? The smell is getting to me. Thanks.
Sounds as thoe you have some bad or half rotten ones…how were they treated?..tanned sometimes have odor probs…try a dunk in water then salt the hide side…this will pull all moisture out of the hide,in a day or two. And should end the prob…
A.K.'s Book Dying and Bleaching Natural Material’s is a great book to have lying around too…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
The smell you are referring to can come from many things, but it depends on the tail. Are they dyed and purchased or natural and given to you. They all have some smell to them, but it dpends on the source of the tail. Dyed ones that have been purchased will have not only the smell of the deer but also that of the dye. Tails that have been given to you may not have been cleaned correctly. If that is the case you may have a possible rotting problem on your hands or the smell of the body fat left on the skin. All of my natural tails that I aquire are de-boned, scraped clean of any fat, washed in 20 Mule team Borax, salted for a week, then washed again in Borax and air dried before storage. Even after all that I still have the smell of the deer. I keep all of mine in a rubbermaid tote with mothballs…then you have the smell of moth balls to contend with. I am not aware of anything else that will totally eliminate the smell of the natural deer. Perhaps one of the other members has other advise to offer.
HI guys,
I have heard bucktails do have a smell to them a lot of times, weather or not they were cleaned properly. I attended a session with a well known W. Coast tier and he washes all his bucktails (500+ year). He says they go into the washing machine on gentle cycle with detergent and most importantly a scented fabric softener (i.e downy). He says the fabric softener is exclusively used to mask or rid the tails of the smell.
Jeff
He says they go into the washing machine on gentle cycle with detergent and most importantly a scented fabric softener (i.e downy).
I wonder if the wife will give them back to me if she finds em?
RW here,’
Not just salt to dry the hide part… but a half and half mixture of salt and borax will do the trick. Borax is also a deoderizer.
Later, RW
I was going to go into a long, involved scenario about tacking the tails to a birch board and placing them at least 200 feet from the house and forgetting about them for five or six years. In the mean time, call Bob at Hook and Hackle and order the colors that you require.
Seriously, professionally cleaned and dyed tails are so inexpensive. They don’t smell. They colors are great. They don’t come with bugs. I’ve had too many “gifts” from hunters that were Trojan Horses for vermin. Do yourself a favor, toss the smelling stuff. I’m sure that many will disagree but that’s my 2 percent of a dollar. 
8T
You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it’s a real short camping season.
First you didn’t mention if the tails were deboned–bones should be removed from a deer tail. It will smell for some time if not removed. If you want it flexiable use salt and alum on it. Borax might be necessary in a climate that has lots of humidity. Deer tail and hides can be fleshed and just air dried out doors in cool areas when there are no bugs. Chris Helms hides are air dried.
Bill
I’ve recieved lots from hunters with no probs…mostly at my own request.
But I have them freeze the stuff and deliver it as such…so I can take care of things myself.
After a trip through a rather well known fly shop this past weekend, and picking through some material’s,That were dyed and handled by a member of the shop staff.
I will continue to aquire as many material’s in this manner as possible,Not to mention the prices…a matched pair of turkey wing quills…of the Hopper/Muddler variety were $7.50…I still can’t believe that…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
Hey Bill,
I agree. Feathers are a different story. I get all the duck breast feathers and quills that I can from my hunting friends. Lemon wood duck feather are a welcomed addition and certainly a major money saver.
I was talking about tails and hides that have been saved too long in a plastic bag. I know they can be cured and used but I would still go with the nice clean stuff. Most of my hunting friends are pretty laid back about protecting the hides from flies, heat and moisture—some of these free materials would make a billy goat vomit–honest. 8T