Field Care
Tips
Caping for a shoulder
mount, with 25 step-by-step photos
Skinning life-size big game with
the flat incision method
Skinning life-size big game
with the dorsal method
Small Mammals
Birds
Fish
Here are a few field care tips to help you preserve your trophy until you
can get it to Sportsman's Choice Taxidermy. If you are in the field and are
having problems understanding or remembering these tips you can reach me Scott
Steiner at 402-470-3880
and I will be happy to assist you with any questions
you may have, if no answer leave me a message and I will get back to you as soon
as possible. If necessary you can bring your trophy in to me, and I can either
assist you with the skinning process or do it all for you at no additional cost.
Tips: Always have appropriate licenses and tags with
your trophies when you take them to your taxidermist. Do not cut the ears for
attachment. Song birds, eagles, hawks and owls are protected by Federal law and
can not be mounted unless with a special federal permit.
Note: When field dressing a trophy to be
mounted, do not cut into the brisket, chest or neck area. If blood gets on the
hide to be mounted, wash it off with snow or cold water (never hot) as soon as
possible. This will help cut down on the bacteria that may infect the epidermal
layer of the skin. Also, avoid dragging your trophy out of the woods with a
rope. Place your trophy on a sled, rickshaw, or a 4-wheeler. The rope, rocks,
or a broken branch from a dead fall can easily damage the fur or puncture the
hide. If you do need to drag it out with a rope, attach the rope to the base of
the antlers and drag the animal slowly and carefully.
With a sharp knife (preferably a scalpel) slit the skin around the legs
just above the knees. Next slit the hide circling the body behind the shoulder at
approximately the mid-way point of the rib cage behind the front legs, about 6
to 10", the more cape left the better. An additional slit will be needed
from the back of the leg and joining the body cut behind the legs (figure 2A and
2B). Lay down the hair on the deers' back by running your hand over ther
hair as if you were petting it, you should be able to see a distinct
pattern of dark hair down the center of his back. By grooming the hair you
should be able to make a nice straight cut up the neck from the inside cutting
upwards to the head, first skin forward up to about the half way point on the
neck, second once you have gone as far as you can make that straight cut up the
back towards the head (refer to photo below) you will continue up
the back by holding both flaps of skin and rocking your blade back and forth
from the under side of the skin (this will reduce the hairs from being cut).
You will go up as far as the skull and stop just in between the ears, this will
expose the head/neck
junction. Cut into the neck approximately one and a half to three inches down from the
base of the skull. Circle the neck cutting down to the spinal column, you should be
able to see the spinal colum, move the head back and forth to determine where the
joint is you will be cutting through (look at the photos below and you will be
able to see this). If you have not disconnected the head from the neck
after this cut is
complete, grasp the antler bases and twist the head off of the neck. If you
can not get to Sportsman's Choice taxidermy immediately roll up head skin and
antlers into a ball and place into doubled plastic bags and freeze until it can be
transported to us. These cuts if done properly will give us an ample amount of
hide to work with. Remember, we can cut off the excess hide but we can't
add what we don't have. If you have already made mistakes and the cape is
ruined we can locate a replacement cape. If we have a cape on hand we will give
it to you at no additional charge, but if we are out of donated capes and
have none in stock,
we can stilll locate one for you at an additional cost, and still get your
prized trophy mounted, simply by using a different skin from another deer
comparable in size. This is also possible
for old mounts that need to be repaired or antlers you may wish you would have
got mounted from years past. If you are a hunter and have a cape, that you
would like to donate to a fellow hunter please bring it to us, and we will save
it for one of our customers who may need it for their special trophy. We
give away donated capes at no additional cost to the customer in need, if we
have had one donated to us and they are currently in stock. Last year
I, and customers just like you helped out five fellow hunters with their donated
capes. Thank you to those great sportsmen and women who helped out last
year with their much needed, and greatly appreciated capes that they donated to
us. Hopefully someday down the road we may be able to help those fine
people as well.
Illustrasted diagram, along with 25 step-by-step color photos below
A special thank you goes to Tyler Fountain for letting us
use his 2004 bow kill and taking the pictures for the step-by-step procedure of
the caping process featured below.
You may click on any of the 25 pictures below for a closer view
I hope these photos help you understand the caping process a little better. If
you have any questions or need assistance feel free to call us at
402-470-3880.
The flat incision is used for rug mounts and for a variety of purposes.
The areas to be cut are shown in Figure 1. Make these slits (cutting the feet
from the carcass) and pull the skin off the carcass. The head is detached as
with the shoulder mount (figure 3) as shown in the caping procedure above.
The dorsal method of skinning involves a long slit down the back (from the
base of the tail up to the base of the skull). The carcass is skinned as it is
pulled through this incision. The feet/ hooves and the head are cut off from
the carcass as with the shoulder mount (figure 3). Only use this method with
approval and detailed instructions from Sportsman's Choice Taxidermy. Use this
method only when the skin can't be frozen quickly after skinning.
Note: Never boil a Big Horn Sheep skull, boiling the skull
with horns in tact will result in the horns discoloring, let Sportsman's Choice
Taxidermy handle this for you.
You may click on any of the pictures below for a closer view
These pictures are of Dr. Klaus Hartmans' 31" full curl Big Horn
Sheep that he took in Wyoming in 2004
Animals, the size of a coyote or smaller, should not be skinned unless by
a professional. Do not gut the animal. Small mammals, especially carnivores,
will spoil quickly because of their thin skin and bacteria. If you can't bring
the small game to Sportsman's Choice Taxidermy immediately, as soon as the
carcass cools completely, place it in a plastic bag and freeze it whole.
Do not gut the bird. Rinse off any blood on the feathers with cold water
(do not use hot water). Bring your bird immediately to Sportsman's Choice
Taxidermy or freeze it. Put the bird head first into a womans leg nylon,
laying the head to the side of the bird (do not freeze the bird with the head
straight out, the head or neck may break off in the freezer) then in
doubled plastic bags for freezing being
careful not to damage the feathers, including the tail. If the birds tail does
not fit in the bag do not bend them. Let the tail stick out of the bag and tie
the bag loosely.
Do not gut your fish. If you can't bring your fish immediately to
Sportsman's Choice Taxidermy wrap it in a very wet towel, place it in a doubled plastic
bags, making sure all fins are flat against the fish's body (to prevent
breakage), and freeze it. a fish frozen with this method will be safely kept
in the freezer for several months. A fish will loose its coloration
shortly after being caught. A good color photograph will help us duplicate the
natural color tones of that particular fish, if taken immediately.
Note: These diagrams and skinning tips were
provided by McKenzie Taxidermy Supply Trophy Field Care Guide. These tips may
also be found on the Nebraska State Taxidermy Association web site, at
www.nebraskataxidermy.org.
If you would like a copy of the McKenzie Taxidermy Supply Trophy Field
Care Guide you may purchase them through McKenzie Taxidermy Supply
www.mckenziesp.com, or
you may pick one up at Sportsman's Choice Taxidermy free of charge, so give us a
call and stop on by 402-470-3880.
