Koch Taxidermy
Deer - Shoulder Mounts
1) When gutting the game, stop incisions behind the front legs. Draw an imaginary line behind the
front legs; that is where you want to stop your incisions.
2) Always hang the deer by the hind legs NOT by the head or horns. Hanging a deer by the head or horns causes the neck to stretch lengthwise, making it hard to recover the full neck girth when mounting the deer.
3) While the deer is hanging upside down, start incisions at the elbows of the front legs. Following where the brown and white hair meets, cut towards the belly incision. Do NOT cut straight across from one leg to the other – this will cause the brisket to be cut too short for the mount. The leg incisions should join with the belly incision to form a “Y” shape.
4) Skin down from the hind legs completely until reaching the neck.
5) Cut the neck off, leaving at least 6 inches of meat attached to the back of the head; this allows for the gathering of measurements of the neck girth for the mount.
6) Leave the entire hide attached to the head and neck. Bring the whole hide to Koch Taxidermy. If the hide must be removed from the head and neck, make sure to leave plenty of cape by cutting the hide off at the back of the rib cage NOT at the shoulders.
7) For a wall pedestal or full pedestal mount, make sure to tube the front legs out, leaving the full brisket, hide, and front leg skin attached together.
8) Wrap cape in 3-4 trash bags and store in the freezer until able to bring to Koch Taxidermy. Do not store hide in the freezer for long periods of time.
1) When gutting the game, stop incisions behind the front legs. Draw an imaginary line behind the
front legs; that is where you want to stop your incisions.
2) Always hang the deer by the hind legs NOT by the head or horns. Hanging a deer by the head or horns causes the neck to stretch lengthwise, making it hard to recover the full neck girth when mounting the deer.
3) While the deer is hanging upside down, start incisions at the elbows of the front legs. Following where the brown and white hair meets, cut towards the belly incision. Do NOT cut straight across from one leg to the other – this will cause the brisket to be cut too short for the mount. The leg incisions should join with the belly incision to form a “Y” shape.
4) Skin down from the hind legs completely until reaching the neck.
5) Cut the neck off, leaving at least 6 inches of meat attached to the back of the head; this allows for the gathering of measurements of the neck girth for the mount.
6) Leave the entire hide attached to the head and neck. Bring the whole hide to Koch Taxidermy. If the hide must be removed from the head and neck, make sure to leave plenty of cape by cutting the hide off at the back of the rib cage NOT at the shoulders.
7) For a wall pedestal or full pedestal mount, make sure to tube the front legs out, leaving the full brisket, hide, and front leg skin attached together.
8) Wrap cape in 3-4 trash bags and store in the freezer until able to bring to Koch Taxidermy. Do not store hide in the freezer for long periods of time.
| deer_shoulder_mount_field_care_guide.docx |