FIELD CARE
We care about our craftsmanship and the quality of the mounts that we produce for our customers. Taxidermy work is not magic.
In some instances, damages can be so severe that we will recommend not putting your hard earned money into a substandard specimen. While it is possible to make some minor repairs, it only stands to reason that the better condition of the specimen, the better the finished mount will look.
The first step to a quality mount starts with you and how you care for your animal, bird, or fish. Regardless of what you are getting mounted, the sooner you get it to us the better off you will be. We have prepared the following guidelines on how to properly care for your trophy.
In some instances, damages can be so severe that we will recommend not putting your hard earned money into a substandard specimen. While it is possible to make some minor repairs, it only stands to reason that the better condition of the specimen, the better the finished mount will look.
The first step to a quality mount starts with you and how you care for your animal, bird, or fish. Regardless of what you are getting mounted, the sooner you get it to us the better off you will be. We have prepared the following guidelines on how to properly care for your trophy.
REMEMBER, THE FIRST STEP IN A QUALITY MOUNT IS IN YOUR HANDS AND WHAT YOU
DO IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS - THINK BEFORE YOU CUT.
DO IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS - THINK BEFORE YOU CUT.
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BIRDS
Birds are quite delicate. Care should be taken not to ruffle the
feathers. Keep the bird dry. Body fluids and blood should be cleaned by blotting with a paper towel or clean cloth. While there is nothing prettier than a beautiful retrieve from your canine hunting partner, birds usually sustain some form of damage from a dog, regardless of how soft a mouth he has. When examining your birds for a possible specimen to mount look for the following damage : Pin Feathers - Immature feathers that have not fully developed. The shaft of these feathers looks like it has a small plastic sheath around the base. Pin feathers will fall out and will result in patchy looking or even bare areas on a mount. This usually occurs in early season birds. Broken/Missing Feathers Usually resulting from the shot pattern. Broken Bones - Wing bones and leg bones and even skulls. Sometimes these can be repaired, depending on the amount of damage. Soiled Feathers - Blood, mud and other debris can stain feathers permanently, especially on birds with white plumage. Keep other birds separate from the one you want to mount. Place the bird in a cool, clean place as soon as possible. Try to select the absolute best specimen. It is possible to switch tails on long tail birds so if you have a good bird with a bad tail, pick out a good tail from another bird and save it to go with your mount. Sliding the bird head first into an old pair of pantyhose is perhaps the best way to carry it until you can get it back to your truck. Long tailed birds such as pheasants, turkeys, or grouse require extra care to keep from damaging the tail. “Sandwich” long tails between two stiff pieces of cardboard (like a splint) and use paper clips or tape to secure the cardboard in place. Leave the bird in the hose and place in a plastic garbage bag. If you are unable to bring your bird immediately to us, follow above instructions and then place bird in your freezer until you can, being careful to keep the tail flat and not bent while freezing. FISH
Try to keep fish alive, if possible, in a live well, or in a 5-Gallon bucket of water. If the fish is put on a stringer avoid damaging the gills, however, do not carry on a stringer.
Always keep the fish moist, but avoid soaking a dead fish for an extended period. If the fish dies, place it in a plastic bag in a cooler on top of the ice. When you get the fish home rinse off the slime with clean water. Lightly pat excess moisture off with a paper towel. Place the fish in a plastic garbage bag keeping it as straight as possible and squeeze out all the air and seal. Freeze on a flat surface. IMPORTANT ..... * NEVER gut a fish you intend to mount. * NEVER wrap fish in paper towels, newspaper or foil. (Foil will damage scales. Paper towels & newspaper are absorbent & will eventually dry out and stick to the scales). |
BIG GAME (Shoulder Mounts)
If you plan on going out west on a hunt you will most likely have to completely skin out the whole head.
We have a Caping video available on several western \ game species. Call us for details, before your trip. The most popular way of mounting a Big Game animal is a shoulder mount. Avoid shooting the animal in the head or neck - a well placed shot through the lungs dispatches an animal quickly and efficiently and makes a much larger target. IMPORTANT - Take care when field dressing and getting your animal out of the field. * Never cut an animal's throat - it is almost impossible to hide the incision and will spoil the look of your mount. * Gut the animal stopping at the sternum. You can reach up into the chest cavity to sever the lungs, windpipe and heart. * Never drag the animal, as it can result in drag marks that wears the hair off of the skin, or breaks the hair, particularly on the shoulder areas, leaving bald spots and will ruin the look of your mount. * Keep the animal clean and dry. If you wish to skin the animal yourself..... * Hang the animal from its hind legs and make a cut down the inside of each rear leg and join these to the incision you made to gut the animal. * Sever the tail and skin down to about 6-inches behind the front leg. * Take your knife and make a cut around the knee on each front leg. On deer there is a hair pattern that runs up the back side of the front leg. Make your cut from the knee up the backside hair pattern until you reach the body. Angle your cut back and join the gut incision where it stops near the sternum. Repeat this step with the other front leg. The biggest mistake we see is the brisket or arm pit area being too short. Do not make cuts in the skin FORWARD of the backside of the front leg . * The skin can now be taken on down the neck just like rolling a sock off of your foot. Stop about four to 6-inches behind the back of the skull and sever the neck meat. * The back half of the hide can now be cut off and discarded since it is not needed. DO NOT HOSE DOWN THE CAPE - it can cause hair slippage problems. * Keep the head in a cool, dry place until you can get it to us. Do not delay in bringing the head and front half of the hide to us. Depending on the temperature, the head can spoil in as little as one day. * If you absolutely can not get the head to us, freeze the whole thing. This is the least desirable but is better than letting your cape spoil. It sometimes takes several days for a head to thaw out enough for us to be able to skin it and it is possible that the cape could still be bad. Bringing the head to us while fresh is the best method. For Life Size mounts on Big Game...... Make the gut incision as short as possible and leave all sex organs intact. The best way is a cut down the back, called a dorsal cut. Please contact us before skinning, and we can guide you through the process. If you are hunting in close proximity to our studio, you can
bring the whole animal to us and we will skin it for you. |
SMALL GAME (Life Size)
Small Game animals make for beautiful mounts, but several things are crucial in getting the very best mount possible.
The first rule for getting a nice mount is to obtain an animal that is in prime condition. A squirrel taken in October is not nearly as furred up well as one taken in early January. This alone makes a dramatic difference in the outcome of the mount.
Avoid shooting an animal in the head. This is an extremely hard area to repair and some times the damage can be so severe that it cannot be fixed. On most small game a well placed .22 round through the lungs kills quickly and humanely. This also makes for an easy repair that will usually not be visible. Shotgun kills are fine if they are within a reasonable range. 20 to 30 yard shots usually result in very little damage. Any closer usually causes major damage.
Keep the animal clean. Absorb all body fluid and blood by patting down with a paper towel. Do not gut the animal.
Place in a garbage bag, squeeze all of the air out, and then freeze.
The first rule for getting a nice mount is to obtain an animal that is in prime condition. A squirrel taken in October is not nearly as furred up well as one taken in early January. This alone makes a dramatic difference in the outcome of the mount.
Avoid shooting an animal in the head. This is an extremely hard area to repair and some times the damage can be so severe that it cannot be fixed. On most small game a well placed .22 round through the lungs kills quickly and humanely. This also makes for an easy repair that will usually not be visible. Shotgun kills are fine if they are within a reasonable range. 20 to 30 yard shots usually result in very little damage. Any closer usually causes major damage.
Keep the animal clean. Absorb all body fluid and blood by patting down with a paper towel. Do not gut the animal.
Place in a garbage bag, squeeze all of the air out, and then freeze.