Not in summer coat yet

Rob Mac

Well-Known Member
Evening

Here's a picture of the buck I shot last night. He's certainly the finest buck I've ever shot and I am thinking about a full 'cape mount'. As you can see, he's still in his winter coat, although he's started to lose it in patches, although there aren't too many of these on the neck. Do you think it would be worth going for a full cape or go for a skull mount?

I don't mind him looking a bit 'woolly' as I think it can often add character and individuality.

Cheers,

Rob

RedLodgeBuck.jpg
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Well done Rob cracking looking buck.

l would suggest a full mount for an animal like that, one thing that may be worth concidering is to wait untill you shoot a buck that is in full sumer coat and use the cape from that.
 
nice one rob
he looks a cracker
from what i remember these capes are are hard to do as the animal is in malt and may not tan very well at all possibly losing most of the hair if not all , if you were not to bothered and wanted to a full neck mount to show the head off better you could leave it with your taxidermist to prepare and wait till you get a cape that is out of malt and put that on it as a replacement
just a thought
 
Early Buck

Hi Rob

Congratulations, a very nice Buck. Interesting formation too on his left antler. His cape does`nt
look too patchy in the photo, so he should be Ok. That said though, early Bucks like this chap can
be very "hair loose" and once he has been skinned and the process of fully tanning the cape has begun
they can loose a lot and then become a little patchy. There are a couple of options:

You can go ahead and have him done irrespective of the cape, he is an early buck, and if you
are happy to have him "as he is" then its part of his character, so to speak.
Or, as Monynut and stone both rightly suggest, you could opt to replace the cape later in
June/July with a fully summer Cape from a similar sized Buck.
Lastly if neither option suits you can just clean up his Skull and put him on a shield.
The thing to remember is that you have to look at him once he is done, not the taxidermist, so better
to consider things than hurry the decision, he will be just fine in the freezer.

Just couple of points here too in terms of terminology.. :eek: ..zzzzzzzzzzz

FULL MOUNT ... this refers to having the whole animal mounted.
SHOULDER MOUNT (sometimes refered to as a full shoulder mount) The head, neck and the front of
the chest/brisket
NECK MOUNT...head and neck stopping short of the base of the neck. Usually necessary when the head
has been taken off too short.
CAPE.... This refers to the skin of the deer when it has been cut from the deer for the purpose
of taxidermy.

I get a few capes every year which have been cut too short or need extra work due to cuts or holes
being made. If anyone might be interested I would be happy to put up some detailed instuctions/diagrams
on how to "cape" a deer properly for taxidermy.

Cheers

Phil.
:D
 
Hi Phil,

It's a number of years now since I shot my one and only roe medal head - a bronze - but I never give up hope that I might shoot a gold one day :)

I've always said that if I did, I would want it shoulder mounted so any tips and photos would be gratefully received.

Nick
 
Thanks to everyone for the feedback. Sorry about the photo - he was hanging in my wood shed.

Each of the antlers measures about 28-29cm - way bigger than anything I normally get.

He was taken on a different farm to my usual outings, just inside the Wiltshire border with Gloucestershire. I feel a bit of a fraud because it was the easiest stalk I've ever had. The farmer told me where they usually come out - right on cue out they came. Within an hour of arriving on the farm, I was on my way with him in the trunk. I like to work a little harder!

Phil - Any additional info you can post would be greatly appreciated by myself and many other visitors I'm sure.

Cheers,

Rob
 
hi nick
what i do is just gralloch the beast and bleed it back so you do not hav to touch the neck or throat in any way and nor do i open the chest cavity up, then i skin down to the back of the shoulders then cut the beast off leaving the the chest, front shoulders head and neck as one piece , with skin on and intact and give that to my taxidermist leaving him to skin it as he wants and also leaving him a bit of meat , my taxidermist always goes with this as he has some venison to put in his smoker leaving me with the saddles and the haunches to enjoy at my leisure
 
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