FIELD CARE GUIDE

• A sharp, thin-blade knife for caping — a dull knife tears hair follicles and causes slip later.
• Game bags or cheesecloth to keep the cape clean and let it breathe. Avoid sealed plastic.
• Latex or nitrile gloves for hygiene, especially with any animal that could carry disease.
• A cooler with ice, or access to a walk-in cooler within a few hours of the harvest.
• Zip ties and a permanent marker to tag the cape with species, date, and tag number.
• Your phone camera — reference photos are free and they matter more than people think.

• Pack a game bag. A breathable cotton or cheesecloth bag keeps dirt and flies off the cape without trapping heat and moisture the way plastic does.
• Know your taxidermist’s hours. Call ahead so you know whether you can drop off same-day or need to plan for cold storage overnight.
• Bring a cooler with ice if you’re more than a few hours from a walk-in cooler or your taxidermist’s shop.

How you cut depends on the mount: a shoulder mount needs cape starting well behind the front legs; a European skull mount just needs the skull and antlers, no cape required; a full body mount needs the entire hide handled like a cape, including legs.

• Avoid cutting up the neck and shoulders if you plan to mount the animal. Field dress through the belly only, and leave extra cape rather than trimming close — we can always trim more, we can’t add it back.
• Don’t slit the throat on an animal you’re mounting. It’s unnecessary for field dressing and it damages the cape right where it needs to look best.
• Photograph the animal in the field before you move it. Reference photos of ear position, mouth, and posture help us match the pose you actually saw.

Hair slip — when hair separates from the hide — happens because bacteria multiply in the follicle layer once the animal warms up. It’s the number one reason mounts get ruined, and it’s completely preventable with speed and cold.

• Get the cape cooled within a few hours, sooner in warm weather. Bacteria that cause hair slip work fast above 40°F.
• Don’t leave the animal in direct sun or in the bed of a truck for a long drive. Prop the cape open to let heat escape, or bag it and get it on ice.
• If you can’t drop off within a day, skin the cape yourself (or have it caped) and freeze it flat in a plastic bag — freezing is fine once it’s off the animal, it’s warmth on the carcass that causes damage.

• Birds: Don’t gut them. Keep feathers dry, tuck the head under a wing, and freeze whole in a bag as soon as possible — wet feathers mat and are very hard to fix.
• Fish: Colors fade within minutes of death. Photograph it immediately in good light, then wrap it in a wet towel and get it on ice or in a freezer — don’t lay it in loose ice water, which bloats the skin.
• Small mammals: Handle like a cape — keep dry, keep cool, and get them to us or in the freezer the same day.

Hunting out of state and using us as your taxidermist? Freeze the caped hide flat, double-bag it, and pack it in an insulated cooler with dry ice or gel packs for overnight shipping. Label it clearly and let us know it’s coming so we can plan cold storage on arrival.

Quick reference by species

Species	Cool within	Notes
Whitetail / Mule Deer	4–6 hrs	Cape well past the shoulders
Elk / Moose	3–4 hrs	Large cape, cools slower — prioritize shade and airflow
Black Bear	2–3 hrs	Thick fat layer holds heat — skin promptly if warm
Turkey	1–2 hrs	Keep dry, freeze whole
Fish	Immediately	Photograph first, colors fade fast

• Cape or whole animal, cooled or frozen
• Field photos of the animal as taken
• Species, sex, and where/when it was taken
• Your preferred pose or reference mount, if you have one