First Deer Mount

[Penny_Plinker]

Here is my first deer mount. Lots of mistakes but i'm still happy with it because it's the first one i stuck with and finished. i find taxidermy very taxing. Some things come easy for me but taxidermy isn't one of them. I spent a lot of time drinking coffee and staring at the darn thing and reading the instructions and taking frequent breaks to give my brain a rest. Just glad it's done.


http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-7/1047863/Pennys1stMount.jpg

[chickenfried]

Nice. I tried my hand at taxidermy about 15 years ago. I've still got the deer form I ordered. I tanned the cape (can't remember what kind of tan I used) and it shrank so much I couldn't get it to reach around the form. ::) Also tried a bobcat rug and it looked so terrible that I boxed it up and keep it hid so I don't scare small chilren. LOL

[Penny_Plinker]

That's what happened when i tried to do a squirrel, the form was too big for the hide. So that has been sitting in the garage for over a year. Glad you kept your deer form, you can always do it if you get another cape. I bet that bobcat rug didn't look that bad. Bobcats are very fascinating, would love to catch one.

[woodzman]

Nice job, I think it looks good. I see you have a helper there in the background too.

[johnjmw]

Nice job PennyPlinkier.

[Penny_Plinker]

Thank you Woodzman an thank you John! Yah, that helper one nosey kitty..

Penny

[flatwater]

Penny how did you get those horns on that old mule head, :o just joshin ;D looks pretty darn nice

[Penny_Plinker]

ha ha Flatwater, what do you think? I just dangle a carrot in front of it and give it a push. ;)

Penny

[TNDadx4]

It looks good! I'd love to try something like that. We are going to take our first shot at tanning a deer hide.

I'd really like to eventually do a mount like yours. Very nice!

[Penny_Plinker]

Thanks for the kind words, TNDadx4. I learned a lot from it, and hope next one is better. If you order a deer mount kit, it will have a form, tanning formula eyes, needle and thread, and fairly good instructions. You can also get the breakthrough whitetail taxidermy book for about 25.00, pretty good instructions there. U-tube has some free videos you can look at that tell how to do around the eyes, etc.

Have you tanned the deerhide yet, or do you still have it in the freezer? There is a bactericide you can get from Van Dykes that you can spray on the hide to give you longer working time. What you have to worry about is hair slippage. If you keep it in the refrigerator, you can take it out and work on it a few hours every day, not have to do it all at once, because it takes a lot of time to scrape all the fat and excess tissue off to get a thin hide. There are several tannig methods, but all will require a lot of breaking of the hide. What i do with coons after the hide is tanned, is fold the hide flesh side out and hit the edge with a hammer. You keep doing that to all different areas till you've hammered the whole thing. I do it that way, because i don't have enough strength or stamina to pull the hide enough by hand. It actually will work pretty good, BUT since deer hair is hollow and brittle, that method would probably break the hair off. You'll just have to get the skin very thin to begin with and then pull and stretch it after the tan. I was told by an expert that cheap hand lotion does as good a job at softening the hide as the special oils they sell. So you could apply hand lotion between stretching sessions. I know this hide has special meaning as your son's first deer and so just read all you can and good luck with it.

Penny