Gobbler Nation

Years ago a taxidermist here in town gave me some dry preservative to rub on the meat end of turkey beards. Well last year I finally use the last little bit I had and the guy is out of business. Anyone have suggestions on where I could get some more of this or another alternative?

I would think borax would be good. if you cut it off with very little meat you shouldn't need anything. I leave em on the carcass.

20 Muleteam Borax is all you need. Pick it up at almost Wal-Mart, Publix etc.

X3 on the borax.

I put a little Borax on the skin end and let it dry good for a few days.

Are you cutting the beards off? I always twist it off at the base and there's no meat left on it...

guesswho wrote:20 Muleteam Borax is all you need. Pick it up at almost Wal-Mart, Publix etc.

What I use. I pull the beard off instead of cut. Leaves less meat.

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Even if you pull the beard off there is skin that holds the beard particles together. The bugs will eat that skin and all you will have is a bunch of turkey hairs. Dry the end of the beard with borax and once it's dry cover it with hotglue or wax. I hotglue my beards into a shotgun brass with the primer popped out and a piece of leather sticking out of the hole to hang the beard up.

Joe

TRKYHTR wrote:Even if you pull the beard off there is skin that holds the beard particles together. The bugs will eat that skin and all you will have is a bunch of turkey hairs. Dry the end of the beard with borax and once it's dry cover it with hotglue or wax. I hotglue my beards into a shotgun brass with the primer popped out and a piece of leather sticking out of the hole to hang the beard up.

Joe

I agree,....Joe's point about going beyond just the borax stage is important. Over time, the beard sheath will begin to deteriorate, or get bugs/bacteria and start to fall apart. Another quick and simple way to inhibit that process is to use superglue and apply it to the base of the beard hairs where they meet the beard sheath, making sure to saturate the beard so that all of the hairs are bonded together with the sheath.

If you have a beard that has decomposed to the point that many or all of the hairs have come loose, you can fix that, too, by taking all of the hairs, putting a rubber band around the base, and then super-gluing the base of the hair cluster. As an added bonus to this, if you do it right, you can add a couple of inches to the length of the beard,....kind of like Viagra!

GobbleNut wrote:

TRKYHTR wrote:Even if you pull the beard off there is skin that holds the beard particles together. The bugs will eat that skin and all you will have is a bunch of turkey hairs. Dry the end of the beard with borax and once it's dry cover it with hotglue or wax. I hotglue my beards into a shotgun brass with the primer popped out and a piece of leather sticking out of the hole to hang the beard up.

Joe

I agree,....Joe's point about going beyond just the borax stage is important. Over time, the beard sheath will begin to deteriorate, or get bugs/bacteria and start to fall apart. Another quick and simple way to inhibit that process is to use superglue and apply it to the base of the beard hairs where they meet the beard sheath, making sure to saturate the beard so that all of the hairs are bonded together with the sheath.

If you have a beard that has decomposed to the point that many or all of the hairs have come loose, you can fix that, too, by taking all of the hairs, putting a rubber band around the base, and then super-gluing the base of the hair cluster. As an added bonus to this, if you do it right, you can add a couple of inches to the length of the beard,....kind of like Viagra!

With Viagara for the beard we can all look like ZZ Topp.

I've used Borax on my beards for years, but after bugs got into them this summer I painted them with black liquid electrical tape after killing the bugs. I will use this method from now on. Hot glue would also do the job.

TRKYHTR wrote:Even if you pull the beard off there is skin that holds the beard particles together. The bugs will eat that skin and all you will have is a bunch of turkey hairs. Dry the end of the beard with borax and once it's dry cover it with hotglue or wax. I hotglue my beards into a shotgun brass with the primer popped out and a piece of leather sticking out of the hole to hang the beard up.

Joe

x2 that's way I do it

Also, mice will eat this skin if given the opportunity.

Great tips. The thing that will make them last longer after borax and the hot glue or epoxy is I store my beards in a Tupperware container. I keep them in doors away from the bug and mice.

I just finished fixing mine up from this past season. I pull the brass part of a 12 gauge shell and knock out the primer. I cut the spurs out and soak them in varnish, then run a strip of leather thru the hollow of the leg and run both ends into the primer hole. Then I hot glue the beard into the hull brass, put a tag on it with the stats of the turkey, and hang them all on a rope in my office.

I've got every turkey I've killed the past 18 years; all the beards from before then are ruined.

The commercial preparation Bess Made is the best preservative I've ever used. To keep the bugs away, you need to spray the beards w/ a water based permethrin solution. I've got a room full of waterfowl and turkey mounts which I brush off w/ a wide soft bristle drafters brush as needed to remove dust and spray @ once a year to keep the beetles off.

I submerge my beard bases in borax and leave them that way for 6+ months, even up to a year. So far, that's all they've needed.

I have done the shot shell brass and hot glue combo others have mentioned for many years. I throw all of my beards and feet in the freezer as soon as the bird is cleaned, then deal with them all after season. I soak all of my beards in warm water and dish soap to clean them thoroughly of any dried blood or whatever else. Then I trim the skin as much as possible before putting the ends in borax for a couple of weeks. Once cured, then I hot glue them into the brass.

This year I pulled all of my beards from displays and treated them with this commercial product based off several reviews I read.

http://www.mountmedix.com/index.php?mai ... ducts_id=6

I figured I've put too much into collecting them over the years to chance bugs getting at them, and the process was easy enough.

poorcountrypreacher wrote:I just finished fixing mine up from this past season. I pull the brass part of a 12 gauge shell and knock out the primer. I cut the spurs out and soak them in varnish, then run a strip of leather thru the hollow of the leg and run both ends into the primer hole. Then I hot glue the beard into the hull brass, put a tag on it with the stats of the turkey, and hang them all on a rope in my office.

I've got every turkey I've killed the past 18 years; all the beards from before then are ruined.

Preacher, I like the way it sounds like you have done your beards. Could you post a picture of what this looks like? I've got a giant tupperware container full I need to do something with. Thanks!

everyone I know that keeps beards uses borax only. one guy has beards from the first Tennessee season and has never had a problem with beetles. anything else is extra precaution I guess, but borax is all that is needed.

BeardBuster wrote:

poorcountrypreacher wrote:I just finished fixing mine up from this past season. I pull the brass part of a 12 gauge shell and knock out the primer. I cut the spurs out and soak them in varnish, then run a strip of leather thru the hollow of the leg and run both ends into the primer hole. Then I hot glue the beard into the hull brass, put a tag on it with the stats of the turkey, and hang them all on a rope in my office.

I've got every turkey I've killed the past 18 years; all the beards from before then are ruined.

Preacher, I like the way it sounds like you have done your beards. Could you post a picture of what this looks like? I've got a giant tupperware container full I need to do something with. Thanks!

I would be glad to, but all my pics are on PB and it won't let me post them. I haven't had time to set up an account with another site.

Maybe I should use borax on them before gluing them in, but I don't seem to have any problems after 18 years. I do take care to completely fill the hull with glue so that the individual hairs of the beard all are covered in the glue.

If you really need to see a pic, pm me a cell number and I will text a pic or 2.