RE: dry preserve vs. tan
Many of us started out with dry preservative. At that time the emphasis was on getting the deer put together, rather than skin preservation. Many of us went on to learn alternative methods and good old tanning. Guys like me who are very demanding of the skin and how it reacts in the mounting process as well as the end mount results seem to prefer tanning, done correctly, that is. I wont bad mouth dry preserve, as I know many taxidermists who still prefer it for many reasons. I kiddingly refer to them as "powder jockies" but thats a whole 'nother story. In the commercial end of taxidermy, both methods have their supporters.