Preserving Glands

[Woodsmoke]

I've got about a quart and a half of ground fox anals that I want to use to make some gland lure. I plan to rot the quart down completely, as has been discussed in other threads.

The remaining pint I want to age slightly and then preserve to have a fresher odor. What is the best way to do this?

Thanks

[bobwendt]

if they are clean, i.e. no EXCESS fat and meat and no chit or intestines, I`ve always rotted down and can`t imagine anything working any better for me. but I`d guess salt or sodium benzoate would work to keep them fresh. my opinion tho is you might be cutting yourself short on value by using them fresh vs broken down. kind of like what is crude oil worth vs after we get one refining it. if that makes sense

[k9]

woodsmoke check the misc archives on about page 5. There is an awesome glad lure thread there with lots of good info.

[k9]

Never mind here it is

coyotesrus.proboards35.com/index.cgi?board=misc&action=display&thread=1093189936

[Bob Jameson]

Several things can be used to preserved or stop ageing of glands or bait. Sodium benzoate as mentioned, borax, methyl paraben, zinc valerate are a few common materials that can be used for your purpose.

[Lone trapper]

Which of the listed works best for you Bob? I have heard that many presevatives can change smell and consistancy quite a bit is this true?
LT

[stickbowhntr]

Bob, does the methyl paraben act as a good urine preserver ? I understand[maybe incorectly] that it is somewhat of an enhancher [acts like a pheromone]....is that right ? may not be what you want for baits but good on urine or glands.

[Woodsmoke]

Good information. Thanks

I'd be interested to hear the answers to Lone Trapper and Stickbowhunters questions.

[Zagman]

So, in reading that old archive, its not 100% required to grind up the butts? With galls added and good urine, you can simply let it sit and break down?

MZ

[CoonDuke]

In my experience it does not break down to a nice creamy consistency like I would like. It is creamy with "chunks". You are much better off grinding.

The problem with grinding is that if I grind 50 fox anals, I lose about half of the volume in the grinder. I need to find a grinder that produces less waste...

[renny]

CD Isn't there anything you can use to "push" the butts through the grinder that wont contaminate? Frozen fat maybe.... then remove excess fat....?

[CoonDuke]

I saw fox bladders mentioned on here before...

[Woodsmoke]

I "ground" mine in an old food processor, so was able to keep it all. Several years ago I had tried to grind some in a meat grinder and had a heck of a time with it, and wasn't pleased with the end result. I am very happy with the consistency produced by the food processor. Now if I can just keep the wife from finding out

[Bob Jameson]

Sodium benzoate will do a good job in preserveing and it is consumer friendly in that you cant really over use and there is not any concern with odor effect. It is a volume adding material to a degree depending on the amount you are working with.

Methyl Paraben is more costly to use but less is required to do the same task as Na Benz. Plain borax will do a good job with no noticable odor change also. Zinc Valerate has an odor but not needed in large amounts so the odor is lost in the mix so to speak however it doesnt dissolve well unless premixed.

As far as consistency in product, grinding is necessary or your material will string out and clump to a degree and any remaining non trimmed hair will contribute to this. By not grinding you will also extend the aging time by not facilitating the tissue breakdown.

I too get residual non ground material left in my grinder head and attached to the blade and a little behind it. I simply pull this material out and clump and roll it together in my fingers. I then use a good sharp pair of scissors to thin cut the remaining material into small pieces. Then I wash the scissors and put them back in the wifes hair cutting case. NO, I have my own scissors that I get from the flea market here local. They run about $10.00 but a very good investment for the lure shop and this purpose.

This cutting process doesnt take very long and serves the purpose nicely by reducing the grid size to allow uniform break down consistency of this remaining material without waste. If you find the material is too moist or soft to work with chill it in the freezer while doing something else and take it out later and cut it. If you chill your glands prior to grinding you will have better feed into the head and less gum effect and twisting action of the soft material.

Gall brine helps but the connecting tissue and larger mass will take longer to break down if not ground. I would always recommend grinding as small a grind as you are capable as this will jump start and allow much less time on product breakdown. The addition of a little good sharp aged winter urine will also aide in gland breakdown. I dont do this with my large batches but works nicely on smaller amounts. Stir the material during the aging process so it will age uniformly.

[Zagman]

My mother in law just bought a new food processor and asked if I wanted the older, smaller one.

Now I know my answer.....

Thanks

MZ

[bobwendt]

I have a 5 gallon buckert in my shed that I take off the lid and wiff every year. its so good I get aroused just thinking about it. back in highschool, (early 60`s) I read in pa. game news a lure formula. here it is. gut 5 red fox and curl in a 5 gallon bucket, or maybe it was 3 or 4. in the middle put 2 livers and 10 gall bladders and 10 brains and a gallon of GOOD PEE and 100 anal glands and beat up with a ball bat, like big pestle. then bury for a year and pour off thergooodies for lure. well, mine is 44 years old now . maybe I forgot what the formula said and remembering what I thought it should say ,based on the knowledge I have now. maybe I just made it better. anyway, when I die you guys better beat it here and bust into the shed and get that bucket as I am here to tell you , no one on earth has or likely ever will have a lure as god as what is in that bucket. in fact I should save it to buy my way out of hell with it when comes time to deal with the devil. there are about 20 five gallon buckets ofd stuff like this, and astand up freezer chock full of froen fresh gallon jugs of CLEAN fox, mink, badger,. otter etc glands. and enopugh castor and oil sacs and skunk doo to decimate the united arab emirates. don`t let that freezer get away either.

[CoonDuke]

I tried a cheap food processer and it was a disaster. I think it depends on which model you have.

[Stef]

One thing with cheap food processer or blender etc.... one can work with fox glands but can burned out easily with coyote glands

[CoonDuke]

The problem with the food processor I had is that it didn't seal. The gland juice oozed out the top.

I used it to powder castor too. Let the castor air dry, then grind and spread out on a screen to dry harder. The food processor will turn the small chunks of ground castor to powder.

[Bob Jameson]

Actually Bob I have a few buckets of a similiar nature from the fox carcass formula at least 40yrs old with similiar ingredients that has been sitting around and gets that occasional refreshing brief smell when I feel a surge of nostalgia that overwhelms me.. Never used much of it after the first couple of years and now it just sits and waits for the next opening.It was my first experimentation with lure making as with you and look what happened to me.