Mounting Your Own Whitetail Deer Shoulder Mount

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What could give someone more satisfaction than proudly displaying a trophy animal? How

about creating that quality trophy mount yourself. That is exactly what I thought to myself when I harvested a very nice whitetail buck a few years back. I had always been interested in the hobby of taxidermy and I finally had something worth the time and effort to give it a try, not to mention it was a lot cheaper than paying someone else to do it.

The first thing you will need to do is take measurements of your deer cape. Each supplier will have a reference guide detailing where and how to measure your deer cape so it fits the form. Once the reference measurements are taken there are still a couple of decisions that have to be made in order to start the mount. One, the pose of the mount, which is a personal preference but, keep in mind that the form must meet the reference measurements. Also, forms can come almost completely ready for mounting with eyes preset and positive placement ears. This makes it easier and can save time, but it is more costly. When ordering the form, it is good practice to order the other supplies needed at the same time to cut down on shipping cost. There are also kits available with everything needed to do a shoulder mount, which could also be an option to the first timer. The last thing to consider is the tanning of the cape. I use a wet tan rather than send it out to a tannery. There are a couple of reasons for this, which is cost and turn around time. It costs ten dollars for me to do the wet tan and around 10 dollars just to ship the cape to the tannery. Another is turnaround time, it takes no longer than five days to flesh, salt, and tan a hide if I do it myself. It will take anywhere f...

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...ches with the form. Check the reference pictures and do not guess at this. Here is where drumming can become a major problem. Although the skin is thin in this particular area it still dries and shrinks and without proper pinning it will more than likely drum. So once in place, pin the brisket area with as may pins as needed because they can always be removed after the mount has dried. Rotate the form once again to the upright position and staple the cape to the back of the form about one to two inches from the edge. Cut the excess cape away and tie off the thread from sewing the cape.

Let the mount dry for at least a week or two and keep a close eye out for drumming or any movement from shrinkage. Complete the finishing work after the drying time. The mount is now ready to be displayed as not only a trophy, but as a piece of art that one can be proud of.

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