Fox Tail

[Welsh_red 4,630]

I got given a lovely Fox tail from a friend with the bone still in . We got the bone out with the help of a bench vice. I submerged it in meths from Thursday night till this Sunday night . The previous squirell tails I've done have dried nice but ended up twisting over time as they finally dry out . I didn't want this to happen to the Fox tail so got a plastic Dowell and put it in the tail and left to dry till tonight . I've taken the dowel out and put a bit of salt down the tail to try and aid drying .

 

Does this sound ok. Just didn't want to tail to dry and twist

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Fox tails don't usually twist when hung up but every single one I've had has seccumbed to moths ,larvae that eat the hair folickles causing it to fall out .Used to do every one I caught but stopped due to this .

[Welsh_red 4,630]

Fox tails don't usually twist when hung up but every single one I've had has seccumbed to moths ,larvae that eat the hair folickles causing it to fall out .Used to do every one I caught but stopped due to this .

 

So far so good with mine . The farm we keep the horse on has one in the living room which is really old and apart from dust seems in good knick . Hoping this one stays good

[Welsh_red 4,630]

[j j m 6,537]

that looks good

[northern lad 2,292]

I leave mine in meths for a fortnight,rinse with cold water,shampoo,rinse,conditioner,rinse then brush/hair dryer,never had one twist.Got one to do tonight funny enough,never had that problem with moths either,but Ive seen first hand the damage they can do to a box of fishing flies ,didn't go for a good while ,going through my gear one day and found my fly box now contained a couple of hundred bare hooks lol...atb Dave

[Quest 97]

There some products on the market that are designed to not let that happen. But for the life of me I can't remember there names. Mothballs might work cedar chess. I've hear people spraying a pesticide like Raid on the Item and then placing in a plastic bag?

[darrren 414]

How'd you get the bone out? I just cut off the tail and out salt on the end to dry it out, is this wrong? Hasn't rotted and been there a good three month.

[Welsh_red 4,630]

I trimmed back a inch of tail at the bottom to expose the tail and stuck it in a vice while the other guy used rope to pull the skin off tr bone . To be honest if wasn't the best way to do it . The tail kept slipping out the vice then we had to stick it in again and tighten harder. Doing it while the tail is still attached to the Fox is dwfinetly the way to go

[The one 8,469]

I think the fact you got the bone out will stop it from kinking , any pest problems dunk it back in methylated spirits and rinse off

[darrren 414]

Im wondering if mine will last then as I've just salted the end.

[king 11,972]

Get a piece of hazel about the thickness of your thumb.about 10" long.

Put a lengh ways split in it half way down.

Cut the skin around the tail at the Base.

Slide the split onto the cut.

And hold onto each end of the stick and pull.

Nice and easy way to remove the tail without the bone.

[Waz 4,252]

methylated spirit: alcohol for general use that has been made unfit for drinking by the addition of about 10 per cent methanol and typically also some pyridine and a violet dye.

 

Cant find meths around here, so got some alcohol for cleaning purposes from a hardware shop and currently have a nice charcoal hued tail in it, been probably a month so will hook it out in a day or 2. It was in the back of the car of the car for a week as id forgotten about it, but the temps didnt get above 0, so hoping itll be ok.

 

Reading about your methods for deboning the tail. Ive heard about the split in a stick but always used a bit of bailer twine and pulled like hell, well the tail I mention above I tried the same method but had a bit of inferior string which just snapped, so my mate said try a couple of sticks. He just sandwiched the sticks which were about thmb thickness around the cut and whipped the tail off. Easiest ive ever seen a tail come off.

[EDDIE B 3,162]

You can buy a proper tail stripper on ebay, or bushwear, for a few quid.

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Sticks are the way real countrymen do it lol.