1. When you are hunting, be aware of wind direction. I use one of a variety of the fine powders in a squeeze bottle, and check the wind about every 5 minutes. Big game animals number one sense for detecting danger is smell. Always hunt into the wind or into a cross wind. If stalking toward an animal that you have spotted down wind of you, make a large arc around the animal to approach it from the down wind side, and hope that the wind does not change when you get over there. The more distance you can keep between you and the animal you are up wind of the better.
2. If there is a remote possibility that there are animals within 400 yards of you, be as quiet as possible. This is particularly important when going through bands of thicker vegetation between more open areas, especially if you are stocking toward an animal you want to get within range of. It is very likely if you are in moderately high density game country that you will spook peripheral animals and risk spooking the object of your stock. When I am in thicker terrain I sneak quietly, looking at the ground to make sure I am not stepping on any noisy objects such as sticks or the like. I then stop every few feet to glass everything within sight in a 270 degree arc, looking at everything except what is directly behind me.
3. Never skyline yourself. If possible work from glassing point to glassing point using available cover to mask your movements. Walk slowly, the faster you move, the easier it is for animals to see you. If an animal is looking in your direction, but has not bolted. Stop, and slowly get out of sight. Sit down and wait, if the alarm bells have not rung too loudly for the animal, it may go back to eating or whatever it was doing before it noticed you. If after several minutes it is still staring at you, then it is pretty sure that you mean harm. If you continue to move any closer to it, it will likely bolt. If this is undesirable due to potential damage to an ongoing stalk, it would be most wise to back off and approach from a different direction.
4. When glassing, make sure you cover all areas in your search area. The best method is to glass in a methodical grid pattern. Glassing with binoculars off of a tripod is most effective. If glassing is done with hand held binoculars, less than 10% of the field of view through the optics is in focus at any one time. This is due to your eye constantly re-focusing due to subtle movements of your hands. The way we found most effective is to do general glassing with binoculars. When an interesting object warranting further evaluation is found, we would have a spotting scope set up to investigate the object closer.
Taxidermy Field Care
Courtesy of Bennett Taxidermy:
As a full time professional taxidermist, every year I see many trophy animals that are compromised due to poor planning and improper field care. I also spend a great deal of time making repairs that are preventable, replacing capes that could have been saved, and unfortunately in some cases explaining to an individual that I can’t mount their animal because it was not properly cared for or was not a quality specimen to begin with. In this series of articles I will try to explain the basics of proper field care of your furred, feathered, or finned trophies.
The most important step in caring for your hard earned trophies begins long before you pull the trigger or release an arrow. My best advice is to make an appointment with a reputable taxidermist long before the season opener. Have them explain proper field care as well as the correct skinning procedures that you may have to use while in the field. Most taxidermist are more than willing to spend a few minutes explaining the basics, because they know that proper field care will make their job easier in the long run.
Mammals
Ok you finally shot that trophy of a lifetime, now what?
First things first, make sure to tag the animal properly according to state law, also through out the process make sure that you comply with the rules regarding proof of sex, you don’t want to have your animal confiscated for not complying with the law. Next, you need to decide what type of mount that you want to do. The type of mount that you choose, the pose, and the species will determine how you need to skin and field dress the animal.
I will cover the three most common skinning techniques and how they apply, but first I want to help you avoid the most common mistakes.
Do not cut the throat on any mammal that you are going to have mounted.
Do not drag the animal, especially antelope, unless you want a mount with no hair.
Do not put the skin in a plastic bag.
Do not drive around with the animal in the back of your truck all weekend.
Do not hang the animal in your garage for a week in warm weather.
Last but not least do not put the animal in a plastic bag or any other non-breathable container until it is completely cooled out.
The basics that you will need to properly skin any game animal in the world, possibly with the exception of an elephant, are a sharp knife and a bone saw. I only use the bone saw for splitting the brisket or pelvis when field dressing, or to remove the antlers, or horns from large mammals. For the rest of the field care I use a $6 victorinox knife, or sometimes my $12 double bladed Old-timer. It’s not a bad idea to carry a good quality sharpening steel if you know how to use it. If you don’t know how to sharpen a knife (don’t feel left out, your one of many) then I would suggest that you carry at least two and maybe three pre-sharpened knives. One knife will not cut it, forgive the pun, on a large mammal.
Skinning gameheads.
Shoulder mount gameheads are the most commonly mounted mammals in the world so this is a good place to begin. The animal can be field dressed as you normally would with the exception that the belly cut should stop at the rib cage. When skinning an animal for a shoulder mount (ex. Deer) I start by making an incision around the midsection of the animal approximately 6” to 8” behind the shoulder. I then make an incision from the base of the skull down the center of the back of the neck to the first incision. I then make an incision around each leg at or just above the knee joint. This facilitates tubing of the legs during the skinning process. The cape is then skinned off of the carcass up to the base of the neck. At this point I recommend that you leave the skull in the cape and sever the skull at the axis joint. Get it cold, keep it cold, and get it to the taxidermist.
Skinning via the ventral incision.
A ventral incision in laymen’s terms is a belly cut. This is how most mammals are skinned for rugs and is also very common for lifesize mounts. Start by making an incision from the vent to just between the front legs. Then make an incision starting from each foot or paw down the back of each leg to the belly incision. Try to make the leg incisions meet the belly incision at the same point. Carefully remove the skin from the carcass trying not to cut any holes in the hide. You can leave the skull in the skin and sever the skull from the carcass at the axis joint. Leave the feet or paws in the skin also and severe them from the carcass at the wrist or knee joints. Cool it down and get it to the taxidermist as soon as possible. Standard field dressing procedure is used when doing the ventral incision.
Dorsal Incision.
In some cases a taxidermist may prefer to have a dorsal incision when mounting lifesize animals. Mounts that are in a standing position are well suited to the dorsal incision. Animals that have short belly hair and leg hair, such as pronghorn, sheep, and some of the African mammals are also good candidates for a dorsal incision. If there is any doubt about what skinning method to use, talk to your taxidermist before the hunt.
Start by making an incision from the base of the skull to the base of the tail straight down the middle of the back. Carefully remove the skin from the carcass. Sever the skull at the axis joint, and the legs at the knee joints. You should also cut the tail from the carcass and leave it in the skin. If needed you can make a short incision from the base of each foot on the back of the leg up to the knee joint. Sever the feet/paws at the wrist joint and skin up to the knee, and then cut the joint at the knee to separate it from the rest of the carcass. Cool it down, keep it cold, and get it to the taxidermist. When using a dorsal incision I normally field dress the animal after it has been skinned.
After skinning the animal it is very important get the skin cooled down and keep it cool. This will arrest the growth of bacteria and prevent the hair from “slipping”. Long story short “slipping is when bacteria attacks the epidermis of the skin and causes the hair to fall out. This is not conducive to a good mount, so get it cold and keep it cold. Put the skin in a cloth game bag (never plastic). If the ambient air temperature is low enough you can simply hang it outside to cool it down, but if the temperature is warm (40 degrees f +) you will have to resort to other means. Put the skin in a cooler with ice, take it to town and put it in a meat locker, put it in a refrigerator, freeze it, use dry ice, whatever just try to keep it dry if at all possible and get it cold. Keep it cold and get it in to the taxidermist. On a side note it is just as important to cool down the meat and keep it cold to prevent bone sour and spoilage. In my opinion most complaints related to gamey taste in wild animals is due to improper field care.
Salting the hide
For extended trips in the field, especially during warm weather it may be necessary to salt a hide in order to preserve it. I do not normally suggest this unless you are proficient in properly skinning the cape from the skull, splitting the lips, nose, eyelids, and ears, and completely removing all of the flesh and fat from the skin. Consult with your taxidermist on how to complete these tasks and then you can properly salt a skin.
I buy my salt at the local feed store in 50# bags. They usually call it hay & stock salt, or milled solar salt. Be sure that it is non-iodized. You can also use pickling salt from the grocery store, but expect to pay a lot more. Do not use rock salt.
Lay the skin out flat and apply the salt liberally. On a deer cape I usually use about 1/3 to ½ a 50# bag, on an average bear hide I will use a whole bag. There is no such thing as too much salt. Let the salt stand on the skin for 24 hours, then shake it off and salt it again. You shouldn’t have to use as much salt the second time, but be sure that the entire skin is covered. Let it stand for another day and then shake the skin off and let it air dry. Large hides should be rolled before they are completely dry otherwise they are difficult to transport.
Other considerations. .
Velvet Antlers, if you shoot an animal that is still in velvet get it to the taxidermist as soon as possible. If you can’t get it to the taxidermists freeze it. If you are planning a hunt where it is likely that you will kill and animal in velvet talk to the taxidermist before you go.
Out of state or out of country hunts.
If you are traveling out of state to hunt familiarize yourself with the regulations pertaining to interstate movement of animal parts. With the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), Bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE), and other diseases affecting cervids many states have implemented restrictions on what animal parts can come across state lines, and how those parts must be handled. If you are traveling out of country it is best to contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture to see what you must do to legally import the species that you are hunting.
Outfitters and Guides
Just because you are on a guided hunt, DO NOT assume that the guide or outfitter know how to properly care for you trophy. A little vigilance can prevent an inexperienced skinner from ruining a priceless trophy.
Once again I cannot stress enough the importance of visiting with a taxidermist to learn the proper field care and skinning techniques before you go a field. As the saying goes “ There is more than one way to skin a cat”.
