With a de-boned, fleshed, and salted hide its time to play Walter White and get your chemistry on. To pickle the hide you will need several gallons (depending on the size of your bear) of distilled white vinegar and a large rubber tote.
For my bear, I used about six gallons of distilled white vinegar to six gallons of natural spring water. I mixed all twelve gallons of fluid in a rubber made bin and then placed my hide into it. Once the hide was thoroughly submerged I placed water-filled gallon jugs on top of the hide to keep it submerged. Your hide will sit here for five to six days so it’s best to “set it and forget it.”
After the sixth day you are going to take out your hide and take it through a series of “bathes”:
Let your hide sit briefly in a large tote with cold spring water and one cup of baking soda to neutralize the acid of your pickling solution. Then after soaking it for 15 minutes;
Take your hide and place it in a 15:1 solution of spring water and Clorox to kill any remaining bacteria. After a short 5 minute soak;
Rinse your hide in multiple bathes of dawn dish soap and cold spring water... do this as many times as necessary to ensure your hide is clean and smell-goody. You can then hang your hide and wash any remaining soap out with a garden hose if need be.
This process requires a lot of plastic bins and some space but the outcome should be a clean hide that is ready for the actual tanning process.
