Jason Brunell's Taxidermy

Field Care Tips

 

Caping a Big Game Animal for a Shoulder Mount:

 
 
  1. When gutting the animal DO NOT cut through the ribs, stop there, and reach into the body cavity to finish gutting. This saves you from cutting into the brisket area which is needed for your mount.
  2. To cape the animal you need 3 circle cuts. First cut should be behind front legs 12 inches, completely around the animal. The second and third circle cuts should be around each front leg 12 inches down from body, (Just below knee area) Or you can tube the legs. (preferred) This is done by cutting the leg off above the knee. (Use a meat saw or hack saw)
  3. Next, start cutting up the center of the back all the way to the base of the skull or inbetween the ears. This cut is important the make straight and smooth along the center of the back.
  4. After this, start removing the hide towards the head and legs.
  5. When the lower parts of the legs are removed, it should be easy to slide the hide off the legs.
  6. When cutting around the legs, (Not Tubing the legs) cut down the back side of the hide on the legs where the white/brown hair patterns meet (White-tailed deer). follow this to the base of the deer then pull knife straight back towards the your circle cut around the center of the animal.
  7. Next, cut through the neck meat below the base of the skull. The cape should be off the aminal at this time.
  8. Even if it is cold outside, it is best to put the cape into a freezer as soon as poosible. If you have no accsess to a freezer, place cape in a cooler or on ice. The quick cool down of your animal is essential in minimizing bacteria build up that can cause hair slipage and/or spoiling. This also helps your cape from drying out.
  9. In summary, thank you for taking the time to properly cape your animal. Following these steps gives you a higher quality mount for you to enjoy on your wall.

Remember: Avoid cutting the cape too short, cutting the cape long is always better. This allows me to have all the nesassary hide for mounting your animal and will provid you with options for your mount. Example: Pedestal and/or wall pedestal mounts require a longer cut cape. (I have seen a lot of different situations of miss-cut capes; I can fix most by sewing the miss cuts together and recutting the cape correctly.)

I cape deer shoulder mounts free of charge when doing a mount. This will save you the trouble of doing it yourself.

 

Jason Brunell
State and Federally Licensed Taxidermist
(763) 354-4538