Field Care

Decomposition starts right after the death of your trophy. The more time bacteria is given to break down the skin cells of your specimen, the less structure there will be left to hold in the base of your trophies hair, fur, scales, or feathers. Here are some tips to assist you in preparing your trophy for the taxidermist.

- Never drag or hang with a rope around the neck
- Never slit the throat to bleed
- Do not leave your animal in the sun or laying on wet ground or truck bed. Hang inside or in the shade
- Rinse off blood around face or wound and blot dry. Leaving blood on the skin will increase decomposition
- Clean off any dirt, leaves, gravel, etc. from specimen
- Place in a plastic bag and tie shut
- Keep in a cooler or refrigerator, but only if you can deliver it to a taxidermist within 1-2 days
- If it can't be delivered to a taxidermist within 2 days, tie shut within 1 or 2 plastic bags and keep in a freezer
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GAME HEADS:
When field dressing your animal, do not split rib cage. Just to the sternum and reach up inside to remove the heart and lungs

Caping for a Shoulder Mount:
With a sharp knife, slit the hide circling the body behind the shoulder at approximately the midway point of the rib cage behind the front legs. Slit the skin around the legs just above the knees. An additional slit will be needed from the back of the leg and joining the body cut behind the legs (Figure 2A and 2B).