“I just harvested the biggest buck of my life! Now what!?” – Possibly you, one day

A high-quality mount begins with proper field care. Please take into consideration the following information to ensure your trophy is in pristine condition when you bring it in. The better condition your trophy, the better the finished product!

Keeping a few simple things in mind while field dressing your trophy and removing it from the field will assist you in keeping it in top notch condition. 

• Ensure your trophy is never exposed to water for long periods of time. Extended exposure to water can lead to, among other things, hair slipping (falling out). 

• When hauling your trophy from the field, drag it as little as possible. If you can use a cart, buggy, or ATV, that would be ideal. Dragging can lead to loss of feather or fur. 

• Skinning your trophy: If you prefer to skin your trophy, rather than having a butcher do it, please click on the video link provided below. Allowing a meat processor to skin your trophy or doing it yourself, as this video shows, will result in a perfectly skinned cape, ready for the taxidermist. 

• Once your trophy has been skinned, be sure to store it in a freezer. This will keep the cape perfectly preserved until you can bring it to the taxidermist. 

• Turkey hunters: When you harvest a turkey, they are known for “the flop”. This flop can lead to major feather loss. So, once you’ve made the shot, if your turkey is a flopper, quickly retrieve the bird and hold or hang it off the ground. Replacing missing feathers can be extremely difficult and, in some instances, impossible. 

• Anglers: It is important to wrap your trophy fish in an air-tight bag and place it in a freezer as soon as possible, until ready for the taxidermist. Neglecting to do so will lead to a rotting fish, impossible to mount. 

• Full body mount: If you’re looking to have a full body mount completed on your trophy, it is best to take it directly to the taxidermist. There are precision cuts involved and doing so will ensure your trophies cape is cut exactly as the taxidermist would like. 

• Bird hunters: Do not field dress birds you intend on mounting. Once home from the hunt, place birds in an air tight bag and directly in the freezer, until ready for the taxidermist. The taxidermist will then skin the bird as needed once you drop it off.