As the hunting season approaches, it\u2019s important to refresh yourself on how to prep your deer for taxidermy.<\/p>\n
The goal is to end your season with an exciting trophy animal, and proper field care is necessary so that you can admire your harvest for years to come. What you do in the field just after your harvest is crucial when preserving your trophy for mounting.<\/p>\n
Scroll on for more information on prepping your animal for this process.<\/p>\n
Every season, taxidermists are given capes that are unusable. Whether they are cut too short, or the harvested animal has been left above freezing for too long and the hair begins to slip, the cape is unusable. It\u2019s essential not to make mistakes in the field that will ruin your mount. Here are a few pro tips for prepping your deer for this process:<\/p>\n
\u2014 It\u2019s important to field dress your trophy as soon as it\u2019s down. As you finish the belly incision, make sure you don\u2019t cut into the chest or brisket area. You\u2019ll need to reach into the chest cavity to retrieve the heart, but it\u2019s crucial to stop as soon as you reach the rib cage. Do your best to keep blood, dirt, and debris off of your animal\u2019s fur.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Make sure to pack out your trophy carefully. Deer fur can easily become damaged and is prone to breakage because it\u2019s hollow. While this is ideal for insulating the animal, it\u2019s not ideal when removing it from the woods or mountainside. Use a tarp to wrap up the deer to keep from damaging the fur with dirt, rocks, and brush. Cautiously removing the deer will protect the hide and keep it in mounting-worthy shape.<\/p>\n
\u2014 The sooner you can cool your deer, the better. Rapidly cooling your harvest will prevent the meat from spoiling and the fur from slipping. Drop off your deer to your meat processor promptly and let them know you have caped it for taxidermy. If you plan to do it yourself, remove the hide and cape it as soon as possible to avoid trapping heat.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Once you remove the cape, get it in a freezer or cooler, but don\u2019t let it get damp. Wet fur can grow bacteria and is then susceptible to slippage. Try double bagging the cape with trash bags to ensure it stays dry.<\/p>\n
\u2014 There are many videos and diagrams available online on how to remove hide and capes. However, if you\u2019re unsure or don\u2019t feel comfortable doing it yourself, call your taxidermist. They can talk you through the process or can be hired to do it for you.<\/p>\n
The best looking mounts and taxidermy start with the best-looking animals. Find your trophy animal with the expert guides at R & K Hunting Company. Our professionals have years of experience and are Utah and Wyoming\u2019s trusted guide experts. Book your Rocky Mountain hunting adventure today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As the hunting season approaches, it\u2019s important to refresh yourself on how to prep your deer for taxidermy. The goal is to end your season with an exciting trophy animal, and proper field care is necessary so that you can admire your harvest for years to come. What you do in the field just after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152,11],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deer-hunting","category-hunting-tips","tag-prep-your-deer-for-taxidermy"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":824,"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions\/824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev2.therevity.com\/hunting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}