Information

Terms and Conditions

Field Care

Factors such as illness, injuries, seasonal primeness and the weather can all affect the final outcome of any mount. Along with these, the proper field care it receives prior to being delivered to a taxidermist is of the utmost importance to the final outcome. Unfortunately we have seen otherwise nice trophies degraded or found to be unfit for mounting due to a lack of proper care. These general tips will help ensure that trophy reaches it’s full potential.

Game animals

Before you take out your skinning knife, decide how you want your finished trophy. Is it going to be a rug? Life-size or a shoulder mount? As an example, we have had bears brought in with their paws cut off or trapper skinned from the anus to the lower chin, when the hunter wanted a life-size mount. If you’re going on a hunt, please give us a call and discuss your options and avoid disappointment.

As a rule all blood should be wiped off and shot wounds plugged with papertowling. This is especially important on light colored specimens such as Dall sheep etc. Skinning and field dressing cuts should be made straight, not meandering or off to the side. Want a life-size mount of that trophy ram? Then we need everything the ram possesses to recreate a natural specimen. That means leaving the scrotum, anus etc intact. Finding a replacement scrotum for some species is almost impossible.

Keep the animal dry; avoid allowing it to lie on the ground. Keep it out of the rain. Try to keep it out of direct sunlight, dark hair absorbs heat. Heat accelerates bacterial growth. Water on fur or hair for an extended time can cause rapid irreversible slippage. Never slit or cut the throat. When you field dress the animal and remove the heart and internal organs any other blood loss would be minimal at best from cutting the throat. It only leaves a disfiguring reminder on your finished mount. Use care when dragging an animal from the field.

We have seen countless deer ruined, from being dragged out of the woods behind an ATV. Capes with the hair dragged off the neck and shoulders are essentially unfit for mounting. Avoid hanging an animal by the neck. A rope or chain can cut into and break the hair shafts.

Don’t pack your unprocessed cape in a tight plastic bag. Natural decomposition creates heat and can accelerate damage.

Game birds and Waterfowl

I have seen otherwise nice pheasants ruined due to being stuffed with other birds in a game pouch and carried around for a day. Birds intended for mounting should be hand retrieved if possible and carried separately.

Check the bird for pinfeathers, immature or seasonal molting characteristics may make your bird be unsuitable for mounting.

Blood should be gently wiped from the plumage. If the specimen isn’t going to go to the taxidermist the same day, it should be laid out straight in a freezer. Once frozen it can be placed in a plastic bag and sealed, until delivered to the taxidermist.

Fish and Reptiles

If your specimen has an unusual or regional coloration or patterns, be sure and take a few photos for later reference. Don’t place a fish to be mounted in a wire fish basket or allow it to thrash around on a stringer all day, tearing fins and losing scales. Fish should be delivered to the taxidermist ASAP or measured and rolled in a damp towel, taped flat to a board and placed in the freezer. After it’s frozen it should then be placed in a plastic bag and sealed to prevent freezer burn. Bass and most panfish can remain in a freezer for several months; providing they are wrapped and sealed properly. Trout, salmon and some saltwater species can suffer from “grease burn” i.e. free lipids or fat deposits can degrade the skin if kept in the freezer too long. The end result renders the skin unstable and unfit for mounting.

Snakes should be coiled and given the same care as fish.

Post Script:

It is a common practice for sportsmen to wrap their specimens in newspaper before freezing. Unfortunately the newsprint acts as a desiccant and draws moisture from the animal or bird and hastens freezer burn. Severe freezer burn makes it difficult if not impossible to skin and prepare properly.

No we cannot:

Mount that Owl/Hawk or Songbird you found dead along the road for your personal mount. We have performed work on these and other protected species after an institution obtained the proper permits. They can only be mounted with a state and federal issued permit. The finished mounts can then be donated to a School/ Museum or scientific institution holding said permits. Personal possession is illegal, even though their death was accidental. 

Mount considerations

There are several factors to consider when selecting a style or pose for your mount. Since WT deer are the most commonly mounted game animal, we will use it as an example.

Does your specimen have any rubs or damage that you want to hide from the show side? Although generally repairable, shot wounds, scars, torn ears, drag marks or rubs might dictate that the mount be turned one way or the either to make them less noticeable to the viewer.

The same might hold true if one side or the other has extra points or characteristics you might want to show off.

Normally unless the client specifies, most deer are mounted with an alert eye expression. A browsing pose usually dictates a lowered eyelid indicating a contented animal. An aggressive or startled pose would usually dictate a wide eye alert expression. We try to mount and use an expression consistent with the overall pose.

The ear position is dictated by the size and confirmation of the rack, consistent with what restrictions they present in real life. An aggressive deer will usually lay its ears back, an inquisitive one may bring its ears forward. Deer are fully capable of rotating their ears independently within the boundaries of their anatomy. Unless you specify we will use a position characteristic to their overall pose and expression.

Where do you intend to display or hang your mount? Room size, doors, windows, ceiling height all play a crucial role in its pose and ultimate placement. Imagine your back against the wall where you intend to hang it. Turn your head left. Will it be looking into a corner or where an opening door will slam into its nose? Look right, are the results better?

Rooms that receive a large amount of sunlight should be avoided. The sun UV rays will eventually fade the coloration, the same as it does to upholstery or carpets.

Will your ceiling have enough height to allow you to hang your mount high enough from pets or hanging where it won’t be an obstruction? If your deer has a tall rack and the room has low ceilings then an option might be a sneak or semi-sneak pose. Such a pose allows you to hang the mount higher and still have it clear the ceiling. In some cases the addition of a panel will give you several more inches in latitude.

Speaking of pets earlier, it’s imperative that pets, especially cats, cannot reach up from the back of a chair or couch and claw the mount. Unless you want an expensive scratching post.

Unless you have an occasional use or recreational fireplace, it’s best to avoid mount placement over these. Soot, smoke and rising heat can all degrade your mount over time.

Care is relatively simple, occasional dusting or vacuuming with a brush attachment (going with the lay of the hair) will help keep your mount clean. The eyes can be cleaned with a cotton swab and a glass cleaner. Nothing detracts from a mount more than dull dusty eyes.

All of our mounts are mothproofed as part of our process. Nevertheless, we advise our clients to follow inspection procedure used by major museums and check their mounts at least annually for signs of moth or dermestid infestation. Moths or dermestids can enter the cleanest of homes undetected and damage mounts. Signs to look for are cobwebbing in the ears or small sawdust like deposits around the mount. Larvae shells around the mount. They appear like small dried up mealworms. Look for loose or ruffled feathers in birds. Loose or falling hair in animals Fish although not exempt from damage, are sealed with a 2-part clear urethane topcoat that effectively seals the mount from damage. As a service to our clients we offer free inspection and re application of mothproofing to their mounts.