Ensuring the Best Hide Condition Right After the Shot
For taxidermists and hunters alike, properly handling a deer hide from the moment of harvest is crucial for achieving a high-quality mount. The condition of the hide when it reaches the taxidermist can make the difference between a seamless, natural-looking final product and one plagued with hair slippage, bald spots, or poor fit. Understanding the right steps—cooling, skinning, tagging, salting, and storing—ensures that the hide remains in the best possible condition for tanning and mounting. Whether you’re a taxidermist looking to streamline your process or a hunter wanting to give your taxidermist the best starting material, these essential techniques will set the foundation for a lasting trophy.
Cooling Matters
- Warm-Weather Urgency: Bacteria multiply quickly in higher temperatures, risking hair slippage and foul odors. If the deer is harvested on a mild or hot day, encourage your clients to get the cape cooled as soon as possible—either on ice, in a refrigerator, or delivered directly to the shop. Make sure to keep the cape cool and dry.
- Using Natural Chill: In late-fall or winter conditions, the ambient cold buys you time. Letting a deer hang in almost freezing temperatures can slow decomposition until you’re ready to cape or until the client brings it in.
Skinning for a Solid Mount
- Smart Cut Placement: Instruct clients or your own field staff to place incisions well behind the front legs and along the backbone for a standard shoulder or wall-pedestal. Additional cape length gives you the flexibility to create a seamless and accurate fit on your chosen deer form.
- Preventing Extra Repairs: Keep knives razor sharp and proceed carefully. Jagged edges along the cape’s edges mean more seam work and potential trouble spots during mounting.
Transporting with Care
- Limit Exposure: If possible, tell your clients the damage that dragging the deer across coarse ground can do. Rough terrain like gravel or rocky ground can loosen hair and scuff up the skin. A protective game bag or sled ensures minimal hide damage.
Guarding Against Slippage
Hair slippage is every taxidermist’s headache. If the hair starts pulling out in clumps, even the most perfect rack won’t save the cape. Here’s how to avoid it:
Mind the Heat and Moisture
- The Hair-Pull Test: When the deer arrives, gently pull on various areas of the hide. If the hair slides out smoothly, bacterial action is already advanced. Make sure to note this immediately on intake.
Speedy Transfer to Your Bench
- Same-Day Prep: The best-case scenario is having a fresh cape arrive and immediately moving it through your fleshing, turning, and salting stages.
- Freezing as a Backup: If you can’t get to the cape, freeze it in a sealed bag. A well-frozen hide can remain stable for weeks or even months.
Better Quality Results
- Firm Hair: A well-chilled or thoroughly salted hide drastically lowers the chance of slippage, and stands the best chance of preserving that dense winter coat your client expects in the final mount.
- Stronger Leather: Minimizing early-stage decomposition ensures a stronger cape after tanning, which in turn drapes cleanly on the form.
Efficient Labeling and Tracking
Busy taxidermy seasons mean multiple deer being worked on simultaneously. Clear labeling helps you avoid mix-ups and keep your workflow stress-free.
Antler Tagging
- Immediate Identification: Encourage clients to keep state tags firmly attached upon delivery. Then, add your own durable shop tag to the antlers for a foolproof match to the invoice or work ticket.
- Choose Durable Materials: Laminate or use waterproof tags with permanent marker, so humidity or accidental soaks don’t wash away the details you need.
Cape Identification
- Punch Codes: Many taxidermists punch small hole patterns in the hide as a physical signature. If a paper label is lost, these hole codes remain clear.
- Extra Measurements: Recording basic nose-to-eye or behind-the-ears circumference on your intake form not only helps confirm that the right form is ordered, and potentially it also acts as a secondary ID method.
Foundations for a Successful Tanning Process
After fleshing off excess meat, the next stage is crucial: a thorough salting that sets up an ideal tanning outcome.
Rub In The Salt
- Rub It In: Fine, non-iodized salt works best. Massage it into the hide, especially inside ears and the muzzle’s edges. Dumping lots of salt is no substitute for really working it into the hide. Active rubbing draws fluids out and deters bacteria.
- Inside-Out Ears: Turning ears fully ensures salt and tanning solutions can do their job. If parts remain folded, pockets of moisture invite bacteria, leading to potential slipping.
- Splitting and Trimming: Butterfly the lips and hollow out around fleshy nose tissue. This removes the possibility of damp, decay-prone pockets.
- Drain the Liquids: Hang or place the salted cape on a sloped surface so fluid can drip away.
Mounting and Display Considerations
Once the hide is fully tanned and meticulously mounted on a quality form—like our Ohio Taxidermy Supply lines of whitetail forms—the final touches come into play. Crisp ear edges, symmetrical eyes, and detailed nose textures all shine because of the solid prep you (and your client) did up front.
For hunters: A well-prepared hide is the cornerstone of every premium mount. For fellow taxidermists: Streamlining your intake, prep, and finishing helps you consistently deliver showpiece results. Whether you’re customizing form poses or fine-tuning finishing colors, that initial hide quality—from cooling to fleshing and salting—remains the biggest factor in a mount’s success.
Stay Equipped with Ohio Taxidermy Supply
At Ohio Taxidermy Supply, we know that top-notch materials make your job smoother. From anatomically accurate deer forms to essential prep tools, we’re here to support your best work. With careful field prep and proven techniques, every mount can reflect the artistry and precision your clients expect—start to finish.