Savage Taxidermy Studio certified taxidermists
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field care tips |
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| How to Field Dress Your Deer for Life Sized Mounting | ![]() |
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1. With the 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). 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.) |
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3. Cut deeply around the rectum, being careful not to cut off or puncture the intestine. Pull to make sure the rectum is separated from the 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 a bit reach into the front of the pelvic canal, and pull the intestine and connected rectum into the stomach area. 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.
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| How to Cape Your Animal for a Trophy Mount | ||||||||||||
Caping, the process of skinning out a trophy animal, is best left to a certified taxidermist. Their experience skinning, especially the 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 simply cannot be "fixed" by the taxidermist. Many trophies are ruined in the first few hours after death. As soon as the animal dies, bacteria begin to attack the carcass. Warm, humid weather accelerates bacteria growth. In remote areas, or an area 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. |
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| Skinning Life-Size Big Game
There are two major methods of skinning for large life size mount such as deer, elk or bear. These methods are the flat incision and the dorsal method.
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| How to Cape Your Animal for a Shoulder Mount | ||||||||||||
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1. With a sharp knife slit the hide circling the body behind the shoulder at approximately the mid-way point of the rib cage behind the front legs. 2. Slit the skin around the legs just above the knees. 3. An additional slit will be needed from the back of the legs. (Figure 2A and 2B.) 4. Peel the skin forward up to the ears and jaw, exposing the head/neck junction. 5. Cut into the neck approximately three inches down from this junction and circle the neck, cutting down to the spinal column. (Figure 3.) 6. After this cut is complete, grasp the antler bases and twist the head off the neck. This should allow the hide to be rolled up and put in a freezer until transported to the taxidermist. These cuts should allow ample hide for the taxidermist to work. Remember, the taxidermist can cut off excess hide but can't add what you have already removed. |
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Small Mammals
Birds
Fish
Tips
NOTE:
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