Field Dressing
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| With the Caribou or 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. |
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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 the pelvic bone.
Note: Start the incision below the caping line. |
| 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 a bit, reach
into the front of the pelvic canal, and pull the intestine and
connected rectum into the stomach area.
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| 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 wind pipe, cut them off as far up as possible
and pull them down through the chest. |
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| Roll the Caribou or 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. |
| Caping, the process of skinning out a trophy animal,
is best left to the 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 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. |
| Every taxidermist has a preferred method of capping
a hide. Contact your taxidermist prior to your hunt in order to get
instructions on their capping 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 a large life-size
mount such as Caribou, deer, elk, or bear. These methods are the
flat incision and the dorsal method.
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The Flat Incision
The flat incision is used for rug mounts and for a variety of
poses. Make these slits (cutting the feet free from the carcass) and
pull the skin off the carcass. The head is detached from the carcass as with the
shoulder mount.
Note:
If you can't take your hide immediately to a taxidermist, freeze
it to your taxidermist's specifications.
Never bring a bear to the taxidermist with
the carcass still in it, skin it out, the bear body will stay to
warm and will ruin the hide in as little as 6 hours, Leaving the
feet and head in is ok. |
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The Dorsal Method
The dorsal method of skinning 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 from the carcass as with a shoulder mount explained later. Only
use this method with approval and detailed instructions from your
taxidermist. Use this method only when the skin can be frozen
quickly after skinning. |
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Caping for a Shoulder
Mount
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| With a sharp knife, slit the hide circling the body
behind the shoulder at approximately the midway point of the rib
cage behind the front legs. Slit the skin around the legs just above
the knees. An additional slit will be needed from the back of the
leg and joining the body cut behind the legs. |
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Peel the skin forward up to the ears and jaw
exposing the head/neck junction. Cut into the neck approximately
three inches down from this junction. Circle the neck, cutting down
to the spinal column. 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
with in mounting. Remember, the taxidermist can cut off excess hide,
but he can't add what he doesn't have. |
Note:
When field dressing a trophy to be mounted, don't cut into the
brisket (chest) or neck area.
If blood gets on the hide to be mounted, 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, a rickshaw, or a four-wheeler. The rope, rocks, or a broken
branch from a deadfall can easily damage the fur or puncture the
hide. If you do need to drag it our with a rope, attach the rope to
the base of the antlers and drag your trophy carefully. |
Small Mammals
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. |
Birds
Do not gut the bird. Rinse any blood from 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. |
Fish
Do not gut your fish.
If you cannot 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 in this manner can safely be kept in the
freezer for months.
Note: 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.
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Tips
- Always have appropriate tags with your trophies when you take
them to your taxidermist.
- Do not cut off the ears for attachment.
- Songbirds, Eagles, Hawks and Owls are protected by Federal Law
and can not be mounted unless with special Federal permit.
- For situations where you are hunting with no available
taxidermist or freezer, ask your taxidermist about techniques to
skin out the entire cape (including the head) and salting the
hide. This is the only method in remote locations that can
preserve your hide for later mounting.
- Do your best to avoid maggots and the
laying of eggs on any part of the hide or meat.
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