Preserving my first head

[nicowilson]

Early this morning I shot my first ever deer. Very pleased with the shot - straight through the heart.

It's a young roe buck. The carcass had to go to the estate but I was able to keep the head.

I'd like to keep the fur on the head and mount the head on a wooden plaque. I don't want to boil the head back to the bare skull.

I've vacuum packed the head and popped it in the fridge.

I'm looking for a recommendation of a taxidermist and advice on what to do next.

 

[bogtrotter]

Afraid you have kind of wasted it, if you want a head mounted you really need to skin the neck and you need to leave plenty skin, skin from behind the shoulders as you have cut the head off without any neck skin,the only thing you can really do is boil out the head, or alternatively
keep it until you shoot another that you can pinch the skin off.

Sorry know that's not what you want to hear, next time you should try to find someone to show you the correct way to cape a beast.

 

[nicowilson]

Thanks bogtrotter. Sadly I thought this might be the answer.

 

[sikamalc]

Yep, not the right way to cape off for mounting. You can always boil out the skull and mount on a nice wood shield to keep. Next time cape it off well behind the shoulders. Or as Boggy has replied get someone to show you.

Either way well done on your first deer.

ATB

Sikamalc

 

[merlin]

...or ask the taxidermist for a donor cape so that you end up with 'your' skull wearing a 'different' cape; at least that way you end up with the shoulder mount that you would like.

 

[morena]

Be gentle with your boiling, more simmer as the antler tips will probably still be cartilage as they are the last part to calcify

 

[nicowilson]

Yep, not the right way to cape off for mounting. You can always boil out the skull and mount on a nice wood shield to keep. Next time cape it off well behind the shoulders. Or as Boggy has replied get someone to show you.

Either way well done on your first deer.

ATB

Sikamalc

Thanks Malcolm. The frustration is that I did have someone showing me what to do, and I told him too late that I wanted to keep the head.

Completely my fault!

 

[nicowilson]

I collected the head from the taxidermist yesterday. Here is how he looks:

 

[I. Farticus]

Well done Nico. Nice to get that first one on the wall

 

[sikamalc]

Taxidermist has made a good job of it, and you have a memory to keep forever.

 

[Cris]

Looks good.