How to Cape a whitetail deer or Antelope

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

• IF YOU ARE WANTING A PEDESTAL MOUNT, YOU WILL NEED TO CUT EVEN FARTHER BACK ON THE RIBS THAN WHAT THE IMAGE SHOWS. ALMOST ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BELLY BUTTON.

• NEVER CUT THE BREASTBONE OF A TROPHY!! STOP ONCE YOU REACH THE STERNUM OR EVEN FARTHER BACK.

• IF YOU CUT THE BREAST BONE, WE WILL NOT TAKE THE HIDE.

• NEVER LEAVE YOUR DEER HEAD AT A MEAT PROCESSORS. YOUR HEAD MAY SPOIL AND COULD BE CLASSIFIED A DEADHEAD ($30 FEE) AND MOST OF THE TIME THE CAPE IS RUINED BY THE TIME IT IS SKINNED.  (MEAT/FAT IS GREEN)

• DO NOT LET YOUR PROCESSOR CHARGE YOU FOR A CAPING SERVICE IF YOU NOTICE THEY ARE CUTTING YOUR CAPE ACCORDING TO THE IMAGE ON THIS PAGE. MOST PROCESSORS KNOW THEY CAN SELL YOUR CAPE TO A LOCAL TAXIDERMIST. PLEASE ASK YOUR PROCESSOR HOW MUCH THEY ARE GIVING YOU FOR YOUR CAPE.

• IF YOU BRING YOUR CAPE TO OUR SHOP, WE WILL NOT CHARGE YOU TO CAPE YOUR ANIMAL, WE WILL GIVE YOU A DISCOUNT.

How To Properly Cape your Whitetail:

1. Sharpen your caping or skinning knife regularly. 

2. Make an incision around the elbows of the Deer legs (Fig 2A)

   • Most taxidermists like the knee incisions lower than the picture shows.

3. Make an incision 10 inches back for an upright or a sneak form, cut almost back to the belly button for a pedestal mount. Give more for hide for the taxidermist to use, I will thank you! (fig 2A)

4. Cut your incision in the armpits of the deer following where the white fur meets the brown until you reach your (Fig 2B)

5. You can cut the neck further than 3 inches down. I recommend not using a bone saw. Please separate the neck from the body by cutting through the tendons and cutting the spinal column apart with a knife. You should not see any bone fragments from a knife as you are only cutting meat, tendons, and the spinal column.

6. The more neck you provide RED EYE, the less likely you are to damage your european mount. If you want to cut at the base of the neck that is okay too. Our beetles will get really hungry In the off-season.

7. We reserve the right to turn down any mount that has severe damage to the skull, hide, or baseplate. If you are serious about mounting a damaged or sawed skull, the skull fixing process may come at a cost. If you have damaged the cape, I will make measurements and I will order a cape for your deer. This will be at your cost.