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May 2009
Big Game Mounts
by Deb "Huntress" Ackeret
Planning a hunt for big game
should also include planning
ahead for the mount. Deciding
what type of mount you want and
then learning the proper way to
care for your trophy in the
field will help ensure that the
mount will look good and last a
lifetime.
Next
to whitetail deer, bears seem to
be one of the most popular big
game animals in the US so I’ll
use them as most of the examples
here but remember that the
examples can be used for any big
game animal from wolf to
elephant. Approximate sizes are
in parenthesis. |
Lifesize
Mounts
These can be
exciting mounts as they can freeze a
second in the life of the subject and
can tell a story or show interaction
with other animals. More mounts can be
added to the base as time goes on
creating a tableau or you can leave the
main subject to stand alone.
The owner of
this mount is planning to add a caribou
‘dead mount’ to this base in the
future….it will then show the snarling
bear protecting it’s food.
(Base 3’x6’
5’H) Prices for bear mount run from
$1200-$3500.
Half
Lifesize Mounts
These can be
made to hang from a wall or stand on the
floor. Wall mounts can have habitat
attached directly to the mount so there
is no need for a base.
(4’Hx1/˝’W)
Prices for bear half mount run from
$550-$950.
Rugs
Rugs can be
made from any animal. Typically
predators (wolves, bears, lions) have
the head mounted on a rug shell and prey
animals (deer, caribou, zebra) are done
as flat skins. Either one can be
displayed on the floor or wall. When
choosing a taxidermist to mount your rug
decide whether you want the felt border
to be flat or pleated and be sure that
the taxidermist SEWS your rug and
doesn’t just glue it together.
(4’Wx5’-7’L)
Prices for bear rug run from $150-$250
per linear foot.
Field Care
For Big Game
If you are
going on a guided hunt be sure to ask
the outfitter if ‘game care’ is
included. Some places require their
guides to field dress and cape the
animals, others don’t. Either way you
can’t go wrong by learning how to do it
yourself.
-
When
field dressing make the shortest,
straightest cut that you can. Do not
cut past the breast bone/sternum.
-
Skin the
animal from the rear legs forward.
Cut from heel to heel, through the
anus. Separate tail bone from body
then separate the feet at the ankle
joint, leaving the foot bones in the
skin. Pull hide down to the front
legs.
-
Make a
cut from the inside of the ‘elbow’
down to the ‘wrist’. Separate the
front feet at the wrist joint,
leaving the foot bones in the skin.
Do NOT make any cuts in the chest or
armpit areas. Pull the hide down
over the head working the front legs
out as you go…they will look like
tubes of skin with the whole foot
attached. When you get the hide
worked down over the neck cut off
the head leaving the skull in the
skin.
-
Lay the
hide open, flesh side up, and remove
all large pieces of meat and fat. Be
sure to let the hide cool before
folding.
-
Fold the
hide loosely and freeze in a plastic
bag. Large thick hides like bear,
moose and caribou can start to spoil
before they fully freeze if folded
too tight.
-
If you
do not have access to a freezer be
sure to contact your taxidermist,
before you go hunting, to learn how
to salt preserve a hide. Do not salt
a hide without consulting a
taxidermist first or damage could
result from doing it improperly.
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