.41 magnum man
Member
Hey Everyone,
Some of you might have seen that I am a taxidermist, and in another post I was asked for some tips. Since hunting season is in, or about to come in most places, I thought I'd make a new topic that will help you insure a nice mount if you so chose. This doesn't cover all bases, but are some guidelines for the average person who is not on a safari somewhere that can take get their animal home right away. If you are on a long hunt with a guide, he should know what to do in that circumstance.
1. Skinning and Gutting. This is where a lot of guys mess up. I mounted a deer today and not only was the cape short, but it had been hacked all to peices with a knife in the brisket, and part of that area was missing. This customer is going to get a lesson when he picks his deer up! I barely got it to work, and I spent 2 hours sewing up his hack job. Whether you get a deer, bear, elk or what ever that you want for a shoulder mount, DO NOT CUT PAST THE BRISKET when you gut your animal. Also, make sure you cut your cape at least 6 inches BEHIND THE SHOULDER. Not 6" from the front of the shoulder, but BEHIND THE SHOULDER. In case you don't get it the first time: Go to the BACK of the shouler, then go back FARTHER at least 6 inces, and then cut the hide off. On a big animal like an elk or bear it won't hurt to leave more.
To cape out a deer skin it down to the shoulders. Make a Y cut from the beginning of the brisket to the back of each front leg, and cut down the back of each front leg. Cut the hide around the legs a few inches down. Then skin the deer on down the neck as far as you can, then cut the neck off LEAVING THE HIDE INTACT WITH THE HEAD. Leave a few inches of the neck on the back of the head so your taxidermist can measure it to get the right size manniken. Cut the back half of the hide off behind the shoulders as I stated above. Let your taxidermist skin the head out. If you can, skin the deer so as not to leave a lot of meat on the hide. Your taxidermist will love you if you do these things.
2. You can't get to the taxidermist right away. Put your head in two plastic garbage bags and put it in the freezer until you can get there. If you have a bobcat, coyote, fox, etc., wrap it twice also and freeze it whole if possible. Let your taxidermist skin it out so he can get measurements from the carcass. If the temperature is above 40 degrees during the day DO NOT SPEND THE DAY SHOWING IT OFF TO EVERYBODY AND THEIR BROTHER. Bacteria will be eating away at your skin, and the hair will slip. Predators are the worst for slipping if not cooled down quickly.
I had a guy call me from town, said he killed a deer several days before and wanted to bring it down that evening. The temps had been very warm everyday and night. I asked him if he had frozen it, and he said, no, he had it in a cooler. I decided I better go and get it then, and told him I would come and get it. When I got there we went to his vehicle and he pulled a cooler out, and sure enough he had the deer in a plastic bag in the cooler--WITH NO ICE IN IT! I'm not kidding. The lid was open and it was just laying in there. Been like that for 3 days! I opened the bag and the smell almost knocked me down.
The hair was coming out in gobs. It is amazing that anyone would think they could treat a hide like that and expect to get it mounted. But there are people out there like that, and if it is you, then DON'T DO THAT! 
3. You want a half size or life size mount. As I said before about the smaller mammals like coyotes on down, freeze them whole. On big game animals, unless your family owns a grocery store with a walk in freezer, then you can't do that. (I wouldn't recommend that anyway.) If you can, take it to your taxidermist as soon as you can after the kill and let him skin it, if he does that. If you are planning to hunt particularly for that kind of a mount, talk to your taxidermist before hand so he can expect a possible call if you get something. I've had guys get with me before hand on game ranch hunts telling me the day they were going and what they were hunting for so I could be ready. I had one guy do that on an elk hunt. He killed his elk, put it in the back of his truck and drove from up around the great lakes down to Virginia so I could skin and quarter it so it would be done right. You can bet it will cost you something to have that done, but it is better than messing it up. Also, the taxidermist can measure the carcass ensuring a proper fit of the manniken. Yes, we can measure the hide, but it is best if we can measure the body. I charge $200.oo extra to skin out a whole black bear. And if it is cold, and you can get it to the man's shop asap, don't even gut it. Let him skin it whole and that will save a lot of sewing on the belly. But if you are going to skin it, then here is the best way for a mount:
If you can skin it before gutting it, great. Start at the tail and cut dead in line with the back bone all the way up to the neck. Peel the hide down each side and skin it down the legs. Don't skin out the feet, just cut them off and leave them attached to the hide. It is tedious work skinning out the feet and toes, and your taxidermist can do that better anyway. After the body is skinned-- cut off the head, leaving the entire hide whole with the feet and head attached. Then you can gut it and cut up the meat. Freeze the hide or take it to the taxidermist. If you have to gut it, go for it, but continue to skin it out as I said before. DO NOT CUT A SLIT DOWN EACH LEG. At least I wouldn't want you to. Any cuts other than the one down the back is just causing a whole bunch more work for your professional animal artist. And it will cost you more in labor.
Think about how a hide is going to be put on a manniken. I like them cut down the back (dorsal cut) so I can pull it onto the manniken like putting on a pair of britches. If you cut it up the belly and out each leg, all you are doing is making a mess. When that bear, or whatever is sewn up the back, you won't be able to tell it, so don't let that thought cause you to do something else.
If you have, or know the person who is going to be your taxidermist, it won't hurt to give him a call and ask him how he prefers your animals to be skinned, especially on half or full body mounts. A few like to have their hides cut from the one back foot, up to the butt hole, then back down the other leg and then peeled down the body whole. I have done a bobcat like that, but I personally don't like doing it that way. But some do, and if they feel they can give you a better job by doing it different, then by all means do that. If you don't know someone, or it seems too hard for you, then just do it as I said. It will be fine.
On a cape for a shoulder mount, do not cut the hide down the back. Only do what I said in #1 above. I personally make a short Y incision from the back of the antlers and make the cut only big enough to get the head out. That way there is less to sew, and the less there is to sew, the better it will look.
I tried to explain everything in detail, yet as simple as I could. If you don't understand how to cape a deer, then search on the internet. I'd say you can find some pictures on some of the hunting magazine web sites. I hope this helps, and I gave a little more information about it than just the care so you might get an idea of how things work somewhat, and what things your taxidermist has to go through with some customers. A good taxidermist enjoys his work, and though he is working to make a living, having the customer pleased with the outcome gives a great feeling. He wants your trophy to look the best it can, and YOU do have a part to play in making sure it works out for the better. We are not miracle workers, though at times I have felt like one! To take a fox that has been blasted to smithereens, and spend the time to figure out how the little shreds go together and then sew it up and put it together and it comes out looking great is pretty awesome. But it takes a long time and is tedious work. Getting a deer in after some guy cut its throat, and he expects it to look perfect when he gets it back is wishful thinking however. So is cutting the cape too short, or hacking it up. Of course, I try to see problems while the customer is there and explain what the outcome may be. If they want me to go on with it, I will, and I will do my best to make it look good, but some times it doesn't look the greatest. I have a bear to do that a little 12 year old boy killed. I was on the phone with his dad explaining how to skin it out for a half body mount, but his uncle mounted a squirrel one time, so he figures he is a taxidermist and knows better than I do. He cuts the bear right up the belly, all the way to the the top of the neck, and down each leg. Now the pose they want for this bear is going to show the underside. The hair on a bears underside is thinner than the rest of the body, and when I sew it up, it will inevitably show in places. There are a few tricks I can do to help hide it, but I can't make the stitches completely invisible. And as the years go by, it will probably become more noticable. If it had been done differently, then that would never have been a problem.
Oh, one last thing. If you freeze a large hide do this: Double wrap it in plastic, but spread it out as thin as you can in the freezer. If you put it in the freezer rolled up in a big ball, then the center may not freeze for several days, and it will rot.
Good luck to all you hunters. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable season.
Some of you might have seen that I am a taxidermist, and in another post I was asked for some tips. Since hunting season is in, or about to come in most places, I thought I'd make a new topic that will help you insure a nice mount if you so chose. This doesn't cover all bases, but are some guidelines for the average person who is not on a safari somewhere that can take get their animal home right away. If you are on a long hunt with a guide, he should know what to do in that circumstance.
1. Skinning and Gutting. This is where a lot of guys mess up. I mounted a deer today and not only was the cape short, but it had been hacked all to peices with a knife in the brisket, and part of that area was missing. This customer is going to get a lesson when he picks his deer up! I barely got it to work, and I spent 2 hours sewing up his hack job. Whether you get a deer, bear, elk or what ever that you want for a shoulder mount, DO NOT CUT PAST THE BRISKET when you gut your animal. Also, make sure you cut your cape at least 6 inches BEHIND THE SHOULDER. Not 6" from the front of the shoulder, but BEHIND THE SHOULDER. In case you don't get it the first time: Go to the BACK of the shouler, then go back FARTHER at least 6 inces, and then cut the hide off. On a big animal like an elk or bear it won't hurt to leave more.
To cape out a deer skin it down to the shoulders. Make a Y cut from the beginning of the brisket to the back of each front leg, and cut down the back of each front leg. Cut the hide around the legs a few inches down. Then skin the deer on down the neck as far as you can, then cut the neck off LEAVING THE HIDE INTACT WITH THE HEAD. Leave a few inches of the neck on the back of the head so your taxidermist can measure it to get the right size manniken. Cut the back half of the hide off behind the shoulders as I stated above. Let your taxidermist skin the head out. If you can, skin the deer so as not to leave a lot of meat on the hide. Your taxidermist will love you if you do these things.
2. You can't get to the taxidermist right away. Put your head in two plastic garbage bags and put it in the freezer until you can get there. If you have a bobcat, coyote, fox, etc., wrap it twice also and freeze it whole if possible. Let your taxidermist skin it out so he can get measurements from the carcass. If the temperature is above 40 degrees during the day DO NOT SPEND THE DAY SHOWING IT OFF TO EVERYBODY AND THEIR BROTHER. Bacteria will be eating away at your skin, and the hair will slip. Predators are the worst for slipping if not cooled down quickly.
I had a guy call me from town, said he killed a deer several days before and wanted to bring it down that evening. The temps had been very warm everyday and night. I asked him if he had frozen it, and he said, no, he had it in a cooler. I decided I better go and get it then, and told him I would come and get it. When I got there we went to his vehicle and he pulled a cooler out, and sure enough he had the deer in a plastic bag in the cooler--WITH NO ICE IN IT! I'm not kidding. The lid was open and it was just laying in there. Been like that for 3 days! I opened the bag and the smell almost knocked me down.
The hair was coming out in gobs. It is amazing that anyone would think they could treat a hide like that and expect to get it mounted. But there are people out there like that, and if it is you, then DON'T DO THAT! 3. You want a half size or life size mount. As I said before about the smaller mammals like coyotes on down, freeze them whole. On big game animals, unless your family owns a grocery store with a walk in freezer, then you can't do that. (I wouldn't recommend that anyway.) If you can, take it to your taxidermist as soon as you can after the kill and let him skin it, if he does that. If you are planning to hunt particularly for that kind of a mount, talk to your taxidermist before hand so he can expect a possible call if you get something. I've had guys get with me before hand on game ranch hunts telling me the day they were going and what they were hunting for so I could be ready. I had one guy do that on an elk hunt. He killed his elk, put it in the back of his truck and drove from up around the great lakes down to Virginia so I could skin and quarter it so it would be done right. You can bet it will cost you something to have that done, but it is better than messing it up. Also, the taxidermist can measure the carcass ensuring a proper fit of the manniken. Yes, we can measure the hide, but it is best if we can measure the body. I charge $200.oo extra to skin out a whole black bear. And if it is cold, and you can get it to the man's shop asap, don't even gut it. Let him skin it whole and that will save a lot of sewing on the belly. But if you are going to skin it, then here is the best way for a mount:
If you can skin it before gutting it, great. Start at the tail and cut dead in line with the back bone all the way up to the neck. Peel the hide down each side and skin it down the legs. Don't skin out the feet, just cut them off and leave them attached to the hide. It is tedious work skinning out the feet and toes, and your taxidermist can do that better anyway. After the body is skinned-- cut off the head, leaving the entire hide whole with the feet and head attached. Then you can gut it and cut up the meat. Freeze the hide or take it to the taxidermist. If you have to gut it, go for it, but continue to skin it out as I said before. DO NOT CUT A SLIT DOWN EACH LEG. At least I wouldn't want you to. Any cuts other than the one down the back is just causing a whole bunch more work for your professional animal artist. And it will cost you more in labor.
Think about how a hide is going to be put on a manniken. I like them cut down the back (dorsal cut) so I can pull it onto the manniken like putting on a pair of britches. If you cut it up the belly and out each leg, all you are doing is making a mess. When that bear, or whatever is sewn up the back, you won't be able to tell it, so don't let that thought cause you to do something else.
If you have, or know the person who is going to be your taxidermist, it won't hurt to give him a call and ask him how he prefers your animals to be skinned, especially on half or full body mounts. A few like to have their hides cut from the one back foot, up to the butt hole, then back down the other leg and then peeled down the body whole. I have done a bobcat like that, but I personally don't like doing it that way. But some do, and if they feel they can give you a better job by doing it different, then by all means do that. If you don't know someone, or it seems too hard for you, then just do it as I said. It will be fine.
On a cape for a shoulder mount, do not cut the hide down the back. Only do what I said in #1 above. I personally make a short Y incision from the back of the antlers and make the cut only big enough to get the head out. That way there is less to sew, and the less there is to sew, the better it will look.
I tried to explain everything in detail, yet as simple as I could. If you don't understand how to cape a deer, then search on the internet. I'd say you can find some pictures on some of the hunting magazine web sites. I hope this helps, and I gave a little more information about it than just the care so you might get an idea of how things work somewhat, and what things your taxidermist has to go through with some customers. A good taxidermist enjoys his work, and though he is working to make a living, having the customer pleased with the outcome gives a great feeling. He wants your trophy to look the best it can, and YOU do have a part to play in making sure it works out for the better. We are not miracle workers, though at times I have felt like one! To take a fox that has been blasted to smithereens, and spend the time to figure out how the little shreds go together and then sew it up and put it together and it comes out looking great is pretty awesome. But it takes a long time and is tedious work. Getting a deer in after some guy cut its throat, and he expects it to look perfect when he gets it back is wishful thinking however. So is cutting the cape too short, or hacking it up. Of course, I try to see problems while the customer is there and explain what the outcome may be. If they want me to go on with it, I will, and I will do my best to make it look good, but some times it doesn't look the greatest. I have a bear to do that a little 12 year old boy killed. I was on the phone with his dad explaining how to skin it out for a half body mount, but his uncle mounted a squirrel one time, so he figures he is a taxidermist and knows better than I do. He cuts the bear right up the belly, all the way to the the top of the neck, and down each leg. Now the pose they want for this bear is going to show the underside. The hair on a bears underside is thinner than the rest of the body, and when I sew it up, it will inevitably show in places. There are a few tricks I can do to help hide it, but I can't make the stitches completely invisible. And as the years go by, it will probably become more noticable. If it had been done differently, then that would never have been a problem.
Oh, one last thing. If you freeze a large hide do this: Double wrap it in plastic, but spread it out as thin as you can in the freezer. If you put it in the freezer rolled up in a big ball, then the center may not freeze for several days, and it will rot.
Good luck to all you hunters. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable season.
