Very nice walk-through Canuck.

Fine gesture and offer there GMMAT, and very good advice .

Helping someone is a good deed! Wasn't that long ago that I helped a elderly gentleman with a deer.The ironic part of it was he builds knives and is long time hunter and he was sitting on the ground with a razor knife and didn't remeber his glasses!Poor old soul would have had a hard time filling out his tag if it weren't for me.But I was more than glad to help him to keep him from a violation or possible jail...at his age he woulda been easy prey in there! Ask the Rev about this whole hunt Greg!Really and truelly if I come across someone that needed help I would be glad to assist them,the care of game when you get it down is as important as the rest of the hunt.

My offer goes (for those close) for tracking, dragging, etc..., too. Shoot me a PM if you're close.....and I'll get you my contact information.

I was fortunate enough, my first year, to be able to go to a friend's farm for the opener of ML season. We field dressed and butchered 14, that day....and it helped me, tremendously.

Call your friends. Tell them to caall you when THEY have one down (if that happens before you get one down).

Good luck to all!

jeff - hope you know it goes both ways.

If anyone has any questions about skinning for taxidermy or advise in general, PM me or call me - #'s on website below . Please keep in mind what you do in the field is directly related to what you get back from the taxidermist. Do yourself a favor, as Jeff stated, find your taxidermist before you need him/ her.

nc....

Do everyone a favor and make a post on field care for your "trophy". It would be greatly appreciated....and it may save someone a lot of heartache. I "almost" messed up my first, due to poor advice.

I wish you'd do that.

How bout a link to my site with field care? Way too much typing and all the gutting and field care is there.


http://nctaxidermist.com/NC-Taxidermy-FIELD-CARE.html

Greg:

One thing I did differently (and thanks for the link) on my last one.....was I didn't make the "Y" incisions down the legs. I cut them off above the knee and pulled everything inside out. I never had to cut the cape, other than the one I made WAY far back on the thorax and part way up the stomach.

I did this at the suggestion of someone, and it was appreciated (he told me). WOuld you suggest this method? It's tricky.....and time consuming....but it's also a "better safe than sorry" approach.

Jeff, I think you are talking about leaving the legs as a tube of skin...for lack of better words. I was told this was unneccesary by the taxi doing my pronghorn out in SD. He says taxis make that incision anyway....so as long as you follow the back/inside of the leg with that incision then all is well....follow the armpit back to the end of the cape back halfway up the body.
We made that cut ourselves for time purposes, and asked him when we dropped it off it was better to turn the legs inside out leaving no cuts on the legs and just the skin....but he said it really isnt neccesary because when they show up the first thing he does is make that cut.

Maybe nctaxi could verify or disprove what this guy told me.

I suppose you may be correct.....but if I'm the taxi....I'd as soon make that incision, myself. Know what you're getting, that way. He's gonna remove the antlers, too.....but I don't do that for him, either. There's likely a good reason why.