Might have made a mistake.....

P

pyscodog

Active member
I shot a pretty nice 9 point off public land Saturday morning. After a long drag to the truck and a real PITA getting it checked in thanks to Oklahoma changing the e-check system, I just cut the horns off and now its just a skull cap. I know I can just mount it on a nice board but after getting a good nights sleep, I started looking at the horns this morning and realized that this is a darn good buck and maybe I should have had him mounted. Any suggestions? Could a taxidermist get me a cape that was similar and do a shoulder mount or should I just mount the horns on a board and call it good enough? I'm open for suggestions. Thanks!
 
It's not hard to find a replacement cape.

Call your taxidermist. It's likely he has one now. If not, try an ad in your local classifieds.
 
You have great pic's of the 9 so your Taxidermist should be able to match a cape for you-----Before I retired I had to do many cape replacements that were shot up real bad-Let your Taxidermist know how old your buck was and he should be good to go-------------skip
 
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I ended up just mounting the horns on an old weathered board I found digging around at the gun club. It turned out pretty nice and saved me some money. Still have some pictures and memories so it worked out fine.
 
90% of any "Horns" we save to mount are just the skull.
We do however never drag out deer or elk, that will destroy a cape fast. We cape any good looking animals on the spot and sell them to a 'durmist get some darned good money if it's done right. Even the big does and cows bring some $$$
 
Wasn't any "WE" on my hunt. Just a "me" and dragging a 130-150 pound deer out of the woods at 70 years old was a chore to say the least. No helper, no ATV, just back and legs. By the time I got it out of the woods and in the truck, mounting it or worrying about the hide was not really on my mind. Was the next day when I could walk straight up did I realize I should have had it caped out or at least save the skull. It turned out OK as I mounted the horns on a rustic looking board and I save several hundred bucks to. I'm happy with the way it all turned out and I got pictures and memories that will last.

 
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Originally Posted By: pyscodogWasn't any "WE" on my hunt. Just a "me" and dragging a 130-150 pound deer out of the woods at 70 years old was a chore to say the least. No helper, no ATV, just back and legs. By the time I got it out of the woods and in the truck, mounting it or worrying about the hide was not really on my mind. Was the next day when I could walk straight up did I realize I should have had it caped out or at least save the skull. It turned out OK as I mounted the horns on a rustic looking board and I save several hundred bucks to. I'm happy with the way it all turned out and I got pictures and memories that will last.




A nice light Otter sled is your friend.

Hef-A
 
I’ve been doing the ‘European’ mounts lately, lower cost & easier to keep clean. My son has a 9 ptr that will be done soon. I have two shoulder mounts. If I get one markedly better, I’d do the same.

The next lower level is the board or plaque. I pay for beetles & the professional bleach job with the skull mounts, still much cheaper than a full mount.
 
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