Taxidermy 101

[Grunter]

Since our community is growing fast and we have a number of members who are either professionally trained in Taxidermy or have successfully managed to perform their own taxidermy - Can we get a Top 10 list of things To Do and Not To Do for all the hunters out there?

I know that there are always questions about the right way or wrong way to skin an animal for taxidermy, storage and or transportation techniques, what to look for in a potential taxidermist, etc. which can all help everyone get their favorite big game, game bird, fish or varmint hanging on their walls or placed on a mantle somewhere.

[Dillershortbow]

that a grand idea Grunter hope we get some replies good thread.

[394-NTELK]

The main thing to remember is to remove the cape as soon as possible.The simplest way I can describe would be gut as you normally would but only split up to brisket do not cut brisket,spill out internals you will have to reach in to pull some stuff out due to the smaller incission. Approx 3"behind front legs cut all the way around animal,now approx 8" down on legs cut right around ,from where you just cut legs find where long hair and short hair join (back side of leg)split up threw armpit and out to main incission on back.Your front leg skin will now be separated .Now from the center of the back all the way up to the base of the skull make a cut,peel skin all the way up to base of skull or as close as you can ,cut neck to remove head( leave approx 6"of neck)Now all you should be holding is a head with cape remove as much blood and hunks of meat and fat as possible let cool if possible before rolling up and freezing. Get to the taxidermist as soon as you can,you would be surprised how fast a hide can spoil or hair can slip if not properly looked after. Take lots of pictures Hope this can help you out it's a little hard to explain in writing if it makes no sense to you feel free to E-mail me I'll see if I can help ya out. best of luck .Paul

[Canuck2]

Cast a very critical eye at any examples you can find of the type of animal you're getting mounted; live animals in zoos, close-up photographs, etc. Once you are comfortable with the features of a live animal, look to see if the taxidermist you may be contemplating duplicates the realistic look. It's a good idea to start this research way in advance of when you suddenly have an animal to be taken care of.

One of my pet peeves is the way ears often seem to get done. Deer (for example) have significant muscling at the base, which is needed for them to turn in all different directions. This muscling needs to be built in by such methods as using plastic ear butts or constructing them from bondo. The base should also be close to the antler (a good rule of thumb is one finger thickness from ear butt to antler). Way too often you see the ears set way too low on the head or simply bent forward with no muscle construction.

Getting too long winded. This is just a start - lots of other factors to consider too. You don't want a trophy of a lifetime screwed up by someone with, say, marginal skills.

[ganonymous]

i started talking to a guy who is taxidermist and spent some time in his studio helping out. He is awsome I tell you!! never salt a cape prior to freezing it!!!!! yuk!!!!

I had done 1 deer mount side by side while he did the other. What an awsome experience....what a mess!!!!....lol i thought gutting was bad...lol

I sure learnt that a non seratted pearing knife is in deed the best skining knife known to man..........anyone wanna buy my lakota hawk made by suzuki? it is useless to me.......

[A-1Tax]

The earbutts should be tight to the antlers as canuck mentioned. Very commonly set too far back b/c it is easy to do. When an ear is in the forward position there appears to be excess skin but this is a position where there should be extra skin. People often set the ears too far back on the head to avoid any wrinkles but they should still be tight to the antlers. The positioning of the ear bases don't change whether they are forward or back but they use more skin in the backward position than the forward. The ear MUSCLE however is NEVER bulit out of bondo. The ear can be built out of bondo INSTEAD of an earliner but you would still use clay for the muscle base. And it is also never a plastic built muscle base unless it is a plastic earliner and the whole earliner is used with the whole earbutt base still attached. But what it is built of doesn't matter....clay is the easiest to shape into the muscle for the proper muscle in the different positions, as long as it looks right and lasts the test of time that is all that matters.
Earbutts are commonly done sloppy as mentioned, also look for eyes. They need to be looking forward with a proper shape, tear ducts that aren't huge and noticable, a clean lip line and the hair should be neat looking.

As for proper field care. The problems I've most come across,
1.Don't make your gut line past the front legs.
2.Don't cut legs off where they meet the body, cut down lower on the leg 6 inches or so
3.Don't drag more than you have to.....especially not over barbed wire fences!
3.Don't leave it froze uncaped and unbagged for 3 months!!!!!!!! Just b/c it is frozen doesn't mean it doesn't dry out!