What you do in the first hour after the shot decides what’s possible at the bench. Read the full guide below or download the printable manual for the field.
Download Printable PDFMany 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.
Damage to a trophy is costly to repair. Some types of damage simply can not be “fixed” by the taxidermist. Every taxidermist has a preferred method of caping a hide - contact us prior to your hunt for instructions on our caping requirements. The techniques below are generally acceptable.
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 the free hand, cradling the blade, to hold the skin up and away from the entrails (Figure A).
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).
Cut deeply around the rectum, being careful not to cut off or puncture the intestine. Pull to make sure the rectum is separated from tissue connecting it to the pelvic canal. Pull the rectum out and tie string tightly around it to prevent droppings from touching the meat. Lift the animal’s back quarter up a bit, reach into the pelvic canal, and pull the intestine and connected rectum into the stomach area.
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 as possible (Figure C), and pull them down through the chest.
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.
Note
Start your incision below the caping line. Caping itself is best left to the taxidermist - their experience with the delicate nose, mouth, eyes, and ears is invaluable toward producing a quality mount.
For a large life-size mount such as deer, elk, or bear, there are two major methods of skinning: the flat incision and the dorsal method.
The flat incision is used for rug mounts and for a variety of poses. The areas to be cut are shown in Figure 1. 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 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 a shoulder mount. Only use this method with approval and detailed instruction from your taxidermist, and only when the skin can be frozen quickly after skinning.
If You Can’t Get to a Taxidermist
Freeze the hide to your taxidermist’s specifications. Call ahead so we can walk you through it for your specific animal.
Handling Tips
When field dressing a trophy to be mounted, don’t cut into the brisket (chest) or neck area. If blood gets on the hide, 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, rickshaw, or 4-wheeler. Rope, rocks, or a broken branch from a deadfall can easily damage the fur or puncture the hide. If you must drag with a rope, attach it to the base of the antlers and drag carefully.
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.
Do not gut your fish. If you can not take your fish immediately to a taxidermist, wrap it in a very wet towel and put it in a plastic bag, making sure all the fins are flat against the fish’s body (to prevent breakage), and freeze it. A fish frozen with this method can safely be kept in the freezer for months.
A fish will lose its coloration shortly after being caught. A good color photograph immediately after the catch may enable the taxidermist to duplicate the natural color tones of that particular fish.
Because of the various diseases that wild game can transmit to humans, always use extreme caution when handling the carcass. Use rubber or latex gloves and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water after handling.
Call John Louw before you cut anything you’re unsure about - a two-minute conversation can save a once-in-a-lifetime trophy.
