Aquakeeper

Title soppost to read "Scenerio....u just shot a nice deer...NOW what do u do?"


Newbie to hunting and pretty much cluesless on what to do after u shot your trophy deer. In my state after u take the animal u can field dress it in the woods but have to bring the entire deer in to be checked at a station.

Ok...u have gutted your deer and had it checked into your local check in station. What do u do now? U take it home and clean it or would u take it to a butcher to have them take care of all that. What if u want to get the head mounted?

Sure it sounds like dumb questions but its just somthing I am not familiar with....



THanks

extreme1

Welcome to the board aqua.
I will immediately gut out the deer after it is harvested or as soon as possible.Taging the animal is first sorry as its the law.After I get the animal out of the woods I will hang it for 2-3 days min in sub freezing temperatures to bleed out.The animal will usually taste better as well the longer it hangs.Now I skin and butcher my own deer,but in your case you can skin it out or sometimes the meat house will do this for an extra fee.If the deer is very special to you or a big one and you want to get a head mount then it will be caped out.This is something done by someone who knows what they are doing.Get a friend to help who has done this before and watch him and make some cuts yourself,best way to learn is to get dirty.Just be sure not to cut into hide or nick it.And be sure to leave enough hide for the taxidermist to work with.Sometimes the taxidermist will come to your house and cape it himself.Of course for and added fee.
Best thing I can reccomend is to get a friend,family member to come over,skin,cape,and butcher the deer yourself,very easy and rewarding.

Just remember to have fun and no question is dumb-----thats how we all learn,ask questions.Maybe someone will be able to explain this a little easier

cardeer

Pray and give thanks,then holler whoppeeee. Tag it ,gut it. If it is a wallhanger , take pics . Then I take it to the taxidermist and ask the proper way HE would like it taken care of.Then to the butchers and give him the taxidrmist orders.

nubo

If you decide to cape it yourself so that you can have the shoulder mount done ,be sure to cut the cape from the shoulders down around the belly and across the top of the front leg's .Since your not sure of what your doing just tell the butcher that you want to have a shoulder mount done and they will cape it for you ,but as Extreme1 has said an extra charge will be added usually 25.00 be sure to bring your head home with you imediately do NOT leave it at the butcher's or it just might dissappear. Extreme 1 has directed you correctly but just be sure to ask them to cape the mount behind the front shoulder's and then bring it home and put it into the freezer until you take it to the taxidermist. Also be sure to salt the cape before you freeze it .Regular table salt is fine and spread it liberally on the back of the cape.

nubo

Aquakeeper

What is a rough estimate of what it would cost to have a nice size deer shoulder mounted?

A rough estimate of what it would cost for me to have a butcher do everything for me?

Im sure my 1st one will probably be done by a butcher since i have no experience yet. I am hoping to have one of my friends let me in on when he kills his deer this yr. I am hoping to learn tracking, field dressing, and all that from him.

One last question....what does salt do to the deer while in the freezer?

Two Beards

My taxidermist charges $350 for a whitetail shoulder mount and then $65 for a wood plaque if I choose to have one (which I usually do).

I caped my first 3 bucks myself and enjoyed the experience, but now have the locker do it. They charge $30. It only takes them a few minutes to cape out and they do a great job.

I usually spend around $200 on a processed deer. However, we get large percentage made into summer sausage, bologna, deer sticks, and jerky. Kind of pricey, but we sure enjoy the meat. The locker I take my mule deer to in Arizona charges $50-$75 for the same thing??? Guess it kind of depends on where you are hunting/living.

Cardeer gave some great advice...take pics!! I recommend taking a entire roll of pics (24) for every trophy taken. Pictures last a lifetime and it's unfortunate the number of avid hunters I know who take 2-3 pictures and wish later they'd taken the time to take more[].

Best of luck to you and remember all of us had to ask these questions at one time or another! Hope some of this helps.

TB

Two Beards

I forgot to mention, here in Iowa, we do not have check stations. So, as soon as we get the deer loaded in the truck we are off to the meat locker.
After the head is caped out at the locker I head directly to my taxidermist.
I usually call him the night before to make sure he will be home when I stop by.

This is all done the same day.

Aquakeeper

If the deer is a good size and everything then I will def want to have it mounted since it will be my first ever deer hunting.

$200! THat seems like alot of money to have a deer processed. Would make me think again on shooting just an old deer if I have to pay that much to have one single deer butchered.

I live in a townhouse with a small backyard so I really don't have the room to have a deer hanging and all that, and theres probably somthing in the home owners asso. that says somthing about that..LOL

I guess in my situation, all I can do is field dress it in the woods and then once its checked in, head to the butcher shop.

livbucks

We will take the buck to the butcher, cape it right there and bring the cape back home. Standard butchering without special stuff is about $55. They add if you cape it because the butchers sell the hides. To get a nice mount runs in the range of $350-$500. You could hang it in your garage and debone the meat yourself and save a couple bucks. I don't care for that myself though.

Aquakeeper

U are saying $55 for standard butchering? That includes cutting of all the meat, packaging it and returning it, and discloseing of the remains?


How come Two Beards is paying $200?

Do they cost more if its a larger animal?