by assateague » Wed Jun 12, 2013 11:32 am 
			
			I used it this year for the first time, on two coons and a fox. You do still have to work them, and there's a little work, but far, far less than with the brains. The coons I had to soak overnight in salt water, but the foxes only take 15 minutes. Read the directions well, since there are slightly different steps for each animal. I also found that I used twice as much as they recommended, so plan ahead when ordering it. I got it from eBay for about 25% the price of other places. I think 4 bottles were about $15. I like it, and will probably keep using it on small stuff, but I'm too cheap to spring for a bottle each time I want to do a deer. It smells pretty good, too. I sanded mine after tanning them, and it got very soft. 
 If you do buckskin, make your own lye from wood ash- it's free and very easy to do. Mix with soft water (rainwater works best) into a "slurry", until you can float an egg and a quarter sized patch of egg floats above the surface. Soak the deer hide in that for about 2 days, and the hair just sloughs right off with a hose.