Field Dressing
Skinning Your Mount for Taxidermy
Skinning Your Mount for Taxidermy
1. With deer on its back make a shallow cut through the skin just below the breastbone. Make sure that you start your cut well away from the brisket allowing plenty of uncut skin for your shoulder mount. Insert two fingers of your free hand, cradling the blade, to hold the skin up and away from the entrails (figure A).
2.
Cut straight down the belly and around the genitals, separating but not
severing them from the abdominal wall. Slit the belly skin all the way to
pelvic bone (Figure B).
4. If you want to make a full shoulder mount, do not cut open the chest cavity. Cut the diaphragm away from the ribs all the way to the backbone area. Reach into the forward chest cavity, find the esophagus and windpipe, cut them off as far up as possible (Figure C), and pull them down through the chest.
5.
Roll the deer onto its side, grab the esophagus with one hand and the
rectum/intestine with the other. Pull hard. The deer's internal organs
will come out in one big package with a minimum of mess.
Caping , the process of skinning out a trophy animal, is best left to the taxidermist. Their experience skinning, especially their 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 simple can not be "fixed" by the 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 competent person may be required to cape out the hide in order to preserve it.
Every taxidermist has a preferred method of caping a hide. Contact your taxidermist prior to your hunt in order to get instructions on their caping requirements. However, the following techniques are generally acceptable.
Note:
When skinning 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
snow or water as soon as possible.
Avoid dragging the deer out of the woods with a rope. Place it on a sled, a rickshaw, or a four-wheeler. The rope, rocks, or a broken branch from a deadfall can easily damage the fur or puncture the hide. If you do need to drag it our with a rope, attach the rope to the base of the antlers and drag your trophy carefully.
Note: If you Can't take your hide immediately to a taxidermist, freeze it to your taxidermist's specifications.
The flat incision is used for rug mounts and for a variety of poses. The areas to be cut are shown in Figure D. Make these slits (cutting the feet free from the carcass) and pull the skin off the carcass. The head is detached as with the shoulder mount.
The dorsal
method of skinning involves a long slit down the back (from the tail base
up into the neck) 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 shoulder mount explained earlier. Only use this method with approval
and detailed instruction from your taxidermist. Use this method only when
the skin can be frozen quickly after skinning.
Animals, coyote sized or smaller, should not be skinned unless by a professional. Don't 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 a taxidermist, as soon as the carcass cools completely, put it in a plastic bag and freeze it. With the epidemic of rabies evident in many areas of the country take every safety measure necessary when handling your game.
Do not gut the bird. Rinse off any blood on the feathers with water. Take the bird immediately to your taxidermist 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.
§
Always
have appropriate tags with your trophies when you take them to your
taxidermist.
§
Do
not cut the ears to attach your hunting tag.
§ Songbirds, Eagles, Hawks and Owls are protected by Federal Law and can not be mounted unless with special Federal permit.
§ For situations where you are hunting with no available freezer, contact your taxidermist first.