There are many ways to honor and use harvested wildlife. Most hunters eat their quarry and some choose taxidermy, but mounts can be expensive and take up a lot of space.
I hate to discard a doe hide or the feathers of a beautiful duck, so I look for ways to turn them into treasured heirlooms. Fortunately, there are plenty of options.
Hides and furs can become blankets, rugs, pillows or koozies. They can also be draped over a chair at camp. Deer hides can be tanned and de-haired to create leather for moccasins, gloves and other items.
I carry a wallet made from a beaver tail. River De Chute Leathercraft in Easton creates custom leatherwork and can use your tanned deerskin to make bags, wallets, purses, belts, gun slings, sheaths and more.
Turkey and grouse feathers work well in decorative wreaths. I added the only matched set of shed antlers I’ve found to mine. Antlers can also make coat racks, chandeliers, knife handles or dog chews.
Rendered fat from bears and deer can be used for cooking or skin balm. Bear Hand Necessities in Penobscot County makes salves, lip balm and beard oil using bear fat.
Jewelry is an easy and meaningful way to showcase wildlife parts. I wear a bear claw necklace from the first bear I shot. My husband made me a jewelry holder from the first deer shed I found. I made a necklace from a spike buck I shot on my friend’s farm with a muzzleloader, and I craft earrings and bracelets from tanned beaver tails from the beavers I trap.
Parts of your harvest can also help with future hunts. Catching a brook trout on a fly tied with grouse feathers from a bird you shot is a full-circle moment. I have a turkey call made from the wing bone of a turkey I killed. Hunters can clean a moose scapula to rake trees while moose hunting or use real deer antlers to rattle in a buck.
Fur offers endless possibilities for clothing. Beyond hats, mittens and coats, you can make shawls, neck gaiters and earmuffs. Crafting garments from tanned furs takes skill and specialized tools, so I use Glacier Wear, a large fur dealer and furrier in Greenville, to make mine. They made me a raccoon hat from the first raccoon I trapped and a neck gaiter from beavers I trapped. They will make hats, mittens, scarves and blankets if you send them your tanned furs. I love telling friends what animal I am wearing and that I trapped it.
You shouldn’t feel guilty about wearing fur. Wild fur is environmentally friendly. It is biodegradable, comes from a renewable resource and is warmer than synthetic materials. My pieces are warm, soft and durable in all types of weather.
Synthetic fibers are made from nonrenewable resources like petroleum and do not biodegrade. Polyester and nylon are essentially plastic. They end up in landfills and break down into microplastics that harm wildlife and the environment.
Wild fur garments made in the United States are usually produced here. They don’t rely on complex supply chains where raw materials come from one country, then get processed and manufactured in another.
This season, get creative with the parts you might usually discard. Find meaningful ways to honor the life of the animal and enjoy showing off your pieces.
