Caring for your mount the proper way

LESSON ONE!

Correct care of your harvest is essential and it directly effects the final quality of your mount. If the head is to be mounted DO NOT cut the throat or brisket area.

If you are planning on mounting your harvest please follow these simple instructions.

Hang deer from hind legs
Make a circular cut on the front leg around each elbow joint.
Make the same circular cut around the hind legs. Pay attention not to cut the hind leg tendon.
You can basically remove the hide any way you wish until you get to the front leg area. When you get to about 3 inches from the front legs, follow these instructions.
Follow the line from #2 past #3 to stomach opening. Carefully follow the hair pattern where the white and brown hair meet on front leg.
See example #1 (CAUTION - VERY GRAPHIC PHOTO'S)
DO NOT CUT ACROSS OR THROUGH THE BRISKET (CHEST) AREA!
Make a circular cut around the chest area at least 3" behind the front legs.
See example #2 (CAUTION - VERY GRAPHIC PHOTO'S)
Roll the cape down the neck as far as possible toward the neck-head junction and cut the off head by sawing through the neck bone.

Do not make incisions past the front legs other than having to skin out the front legs. Give your Taxidermist all the cape you can. Let them cut the cape off. You only want to make incisions that can be hidden. Certainly an incision down the chest of a bear with a "skinner who uses a bush ax" will be hard, if not impossible, to conceal.

Every hunter likes to use his/her original cape if at all possible. And we will if possible. Bacteria growth causes the hair to turn loose. Remember, that comes from not cooling the cape down in a reasonable time?

Ever get your mount back and notice a scratch or two in the cape? Those aren't scratches. Remember you most likely harvested your deer during the rut. And what were they doing during the rut. They were out there fighting and chasing those girls.

Believe it or not during those bouts of fighting the guy's (bucks) were actually trying to kill each. Hence, they do get wounded and scared. However, many times the scars don't show up until we tan the cape.

Remember this. The next time you get a minor cut on one of your fingers remember what it looks like after it has a couple of hours or even a day to heal up. Now, go wash dishes and see what that cut looks like. It really opens up doesn't it? A cape does the same thing when it's tanned. Any battle scars become very evident.

LESSON TWO!

If you "cape out" your harvest (completely remove it from the skull) before bringing it to your taxidermist "you must" take it's measurements to ensure it's proper mounting size. If you DO NOT take the measurements from the edge of the eye at the tear duct to the tip of the nose and around the neck, snuggly, directly behind the ears, then your correct size can not be guaranteed.

Measure from the tip of the nose to the inside corner of the tear duct next to the eye ball. This is called measurement "A".

If at all possible use a cloth measuring tape to measure the neck directly behind against the back of the ears. Pull the tape snug. Don't leave it loose to do the measurement. This is called measurement "C".

That's all there is to getting workable measurements in order for your taxidermist to obtain the right form for your mount. REMEMBER the "A" and "C" measurements and cut the deer at least three inches behind the front leg .

Start to end. The harvest to the mount. VERY GRAPHIC!!!!