Your
Quality Mount Starts With Proper Fieldcare
Caping
The process of skinning
out a trophy animal is best left to me. My experience skinning,especially
the delicate
nose, mouth, eyes,
and ears is invaluable toward producing a quality mount.Damage
to a hide is costly to repair. Some types of damage simply
can not be “fixed” by a taxidermist.
Many
trophies are ruined in the first few hours after death.
As soon as the animal dies, bacteria begins to attack the
carcass. Warm, humid weather accelerates bacteria
growth. In remote
areas, or areas not near your taxidermist, a competentency
is required
to cape out the hide in order to preserve it.
I
have preferred method of caping a hide. For the best results,
contact me prior to your hunt in order to get
instructions
on my caping requirements. However, the following techniques
are
generally acceptable.
Caping
for a Shoulder Mount
1.
With a sharp knife slit the hide circling the body behind
the shoulder at approximately the midway point of
the
rib cage behind the front legs. Slit the skin around
the legs just above
the knees. An additional slit will be needed from
the back of the leg and joining the body cut behind the
legs
(Figure 2A and 2B).
2.
Peel the skin forward up to the ears and jaw exposing the
head/neck junction. Cut into the neck approximately
three inches
down from this junction (Fig 3). Circle the neck
cutting down to the spinal column. After this cut is
complete,
grasp the
antler bases and twist the head off the neck. This
should allow the
hide to be rolled up and put in a freezer until
transported to the taxidermist. These cuts should allow ample
hide for the taxidermist
to work with in mounting. Note: When field dressing
a trophy to be mounted, don’t cut into the
brisket (chest) or neck area. If blood gets on the
hide to
be mounted, wash it off
with water as soon as possible. Also, avoid dragging the
deer.Remember, I can cut off excess hide, but
cannot add what
I do not have to work with.
Small
Mammals
Small
ammmals should not be skinned unless by a professional.
Do not gut the animal.Small mammals, especially
carnivores, will spoil quickly because of their thin
hide
and
bacteria. If you
can’t take the small game animal immediately
to taxidermist, as soon as the carcass cools
completely, put it in a plastic
bag and freeze it.
Game
Birds
Do
not gut the bird. Rinse off any blood on the feathers with
water. Bring the bird
immediately to me or,
freeze it. Put
the bird into a plastic bag for freezing
being careful not to damage
the feathers, including the tail. If the
bird’s
tail feathers do not fit in the bag do
not bend them. Let the tail
stick out
of the bag and tie the bag loosely.
Fish
Do not gut your fish. If
you can not bring your fish immediately to me, wrap it
in a very wet towel
and put it in a plastic
bag, making sure all the fins are flat
against the fish’s
body (to prevent breakage), and freeze
it. A fish frozen with this
method can safely be kept in the freezer
for months. Note: A fish will loose its coloration
shortly,
after
being caught.
A
good colour photograph immediately after
the catch may enable me to duplicate the natural
colour tones
of that particular
fish.
Tips
For
situations where you are hunting with no available freezer,
ask me about
techniques to skin out the
entire cape (including
the head) and salting the hide.
This is the only method
in remote locations that can preserve your
hide for later.
|
