I recently killed a nice 8 point and when i took the cape to get mounted we found that the cape was a mess large cuts from fighting but what was really bad was the the bare spots from ticks!! He said he has seen this before . Suggested i use a another cape from another buck! Because these spots will show . Has anyone done this ?

I am no expert but I think it is quite common, maybe one of the Taxidermists will answer, Den

Its a VERY common practice... ive had to get replacement capes for more than a few customers this year. dont be afraid to get another local taxidermist opinion on your cape.

Unless the mount would look very bad, that is the deer you shot. It adds character to the mount. But I have customers that want a perfect looking cape, so they pay extra for a new cape. Different strokes for different folks. My though is the customer is always right, sometimes.

rgswilldlife: Your comment makes me think that I may have got caught up in having the perfect mount when the deer wasnt! Maybe I should have mounted the cape as it was ;because it is the deer I shot! The cape was pretty bad and noticable, the scars on the neck not bad but the bare spots from ticks were numerous! It reminded me of a dog allergic to fleas he had a lot of bare spots on neck and around ears! I have killed alot of deer first time I have seen this! Thanks for the perspective makes me think ... no one put it that way to me " that is the deer you killed"

It's your choice. A cape with a lot of bare spots will not look good. Split ears and scars give your mount flare but bald spots will make it look ratty in my opinion.

One of my first that I had mounted was a 14 pt.Nose was split had a couple of holes in his ear.I felt like it added to the character of the deer.Mounted as is. Got a 10 pt.That I left in the freezer for a couple of years before I decided( untill my buds kept saying " you should really mount that deer"...LOL)I guess the cape was freezer burned rather badly,So my taxidermist put another cape on him.Mount looks great but not the deer I shot.Lesson learned mount as soon as you can or at least make up your mind if are going to.JMHO

Big difference between scars and bald spots. Bald spots do not look good on the wall. However, none of us have actually seen them, so we're all guessing.