The key to a
great mount is proper cape preparation-this begins as soon as the animal hits
the ground!
The first
thing you should do when caping out a head for a shoulder mount is to make sure
you leave enough skin. As a rule, if you leave 
at least 6 inches of skin behind
the front legs, you will have plenty to work with. When you have a lot of
repair work, such as bullet holes, drag marks or fighting scars, it is a good
idea to leave about 12 inches. You can always trim off the extra, but it is
almost impossible to put skin back and have a quality mount. When you have
figured out how far back you need to cut the skin, simply cut a ring around the
animal and make two cuts up the back of the front legs following where the hair
colour/pattern various, from above the 
knee to the cut around the body. Now
make a cut through the back of the neck, close to antler burrs. At this point
make a Y cut to each pedicels, under the antler burrs.
When skinning the head, the first step is to cut the skin
around the gum line. It is best to use a scalpel for this task, (number 22 or
24 blade works exceptionally good). It
is important to cut as close to the gum as possible, leaving plenty of lip skin.
Next, carefully cut the skin away from the gums and peel it back. When you get
to the nose, cut as close as possible, around the pallet and cut through the
septum back to the bridge of the nose and peel it back.
At this time, cut around under the antler burrs with a small sharp knife or
a scalpel and start freeing the skin and the ear. As you skin or free the ears, be careful. Try to cut the ear canal loose, as close to the
skull as possible. Cutting it too high can cause results that are hard to
repair and greatly affect the mounting process.
When you are free of the antlers, continue to skin the head down to the back
of the eye socket. This is the one spot that gets damaged the most, but if you
follow a few basic procedures and take your time, it is not hard at all. The
first step is to insert your index or middle finger into the back of the eye
socket, then start skinning the eye down, keeping the cutting edge of your knife
or scalpel behind your finger. This way, you can feel your cutting action,
which will keep you from cutting the eyelids.
When you reach the front of the
eye, get your blade right down on the skull and continue peeling the skin loose
of the tear duct.
Once you have made it through the eye and tear duct, continue
to skin down until you reach the already skinned area on the muzzle, now you
should be able to remove the cape from the skull. The cape is now ready to be freezed
or to be prepared for salting.
Deciding to ship the cape, it can be sent frozen, as
long as shipping time is 2 to 4 days (depanding on animal and air temperature).
You can always ship the hide in a cooler, if longer shipping time is required.
If you need to salt the cape, it should first be prepared for salting:
The first step of
cape preparation is splitting the lips. This process is splitting the meat of
the lips to their outer most edges. A
sharp knife or a scalpel is a must to complete this process. This must be done,
in order for the salt to penetrate. If you do not get the lips open slippage (hair loss)
can and will occur. Start in the corner of the mouth and work your way around
the upper and lower lips. Place your middle finger under where you’re cutting
to feel the depth of your cut.
To split the
nose, saparate the two nostrils by cutting
through the middle of the cartilage. Than, skin carefully till the outer
edges of the nose.
To split the eyes
start fleshing some meat off around the eye, taking special care around the
tear duct or pre-orbital gland. Be careful not to cut the roots of eye brows
hair.
Now
skin and flesh around the ear butt removing all the flesh. Carefully start
opening the ear from the back. In most cases the ear will open easily for the
first 1/3rd of the ear. Slowly turn the ear inside out like a sock, with the
help of a scalpel. A wooden dowel or old paint brush handle can be inserted
into the ear, to help you with this task. Gently apply pressure and use your
thumbnail to finish opening the ear to the tip.
At
the end try to remove any extra flash remaining on the cape (brisket, chin,
etc., be carefull not to cut the roots of the whiskers).
The
cape is now ready to be salted. Apply a generous amount of non-iodized salt to all
skin surface, rubbing it in. Now fold the cape hair side out for about 24 hrs.
At this time skin will release water and blood. After, shake the old salt off
and apply some fresh amount. Now lay the cape flat skin side out for drying. You
can than hang the cape for better drying.
The
cape is now ready for shipping. If you aren’t comfortable with cape preparation
procedure, use the service of a taxidermist in your area and he will prepare
your trophy for shipping.
Here are directions for life size mount skinning. For a life size mount it is better to skin the animal through the back (dorsal cut).
Use ventral cut for a rug mount.
FIELD PREP 
