Field Care

Caping Instructions

We provide you with step-by-step directions with pictures included on how to properly cape a deer. It is invaluable information for trophy care and making sure your final product is of the highest quality!

Guide Pamphlet

Here is a .pdf of McKenzie's Trophy Field Care Guide that outlines all the techniques needed to properly take care of your prized trophy.

Field Dressing

3. Cut deeply around the rectum, being careful not to cut off or puncture the intestine. Pull to make sure the rectum is separated from tissue connecting it to the pelvic canal. Pull the rectum out and tie string tightly around it to prevent drippings from touching the meat. Lift the animal's back quarter a bit, reach into the front of the pelvic canal, and pull the intestine and connected rectum into the stomach area.

4. If you want to make a full shoulder mount, do not cut open the chest cavity. Cut the diaphragm away from the ribs all the way to the backbone area. Reach into the forward chest cavity, find the esophagus and windpipe, cut them off as far up as possible (Figure C), and pull them down through the chest.

5. Roll the deer onto its side, grab the esophagus with one hand and the rectum/intestine with the other. Pull hard. The deer's internal organs will come out in one big package with a minimum of mess.

Skinning Life-Size Big Game

There are two major methods of skinning for a large life-size mount such as deer, elk, or bear. These methods are the flat incision and the dorsal method.

The Dorsal Method
The dorsal method of skinnng involves a long slit down the back (From the tail base up into the neck). The carcass is skinned as it is pulled through this incision. The feet/hooves and the head are cut off from the carcass as with a should mount explained later. Only use this method with approval and detailed instruction from your taxidermist. Use this method only when the skin can be frozen quickly after skinning.

Caping for a Shoulder Mount

1. With a sharp knife, slit the hide, circling the body behind the shoulder at approximately the mid-way point of the rib cage behind the front legs. Slit the skin around the legs, just above the knees. An additional slit will be needed from the back of the leg and joining the body cut behind the legs (Figure 2A and 2B).

2. Peel the skin forward up to the ears and jaw, exposing the head/neck junction. Circle the nect, cutting down to the spinal column. After this cut is complete, grasp the antler bases and twist the head off the neck. This ahould allow the hide to be rolled up and put in a freezer until transported to the taxidermist. These cucts should allow ample hide for the taxidermist to work with in mounting. Remember, the taxidermist can cut off excess hide but he can't add what he doesn't have.

Note: When field dressing a trophy to be mounted, do not cut into the brisket (chest) or neck area. If blood gets on the hide to be mounted, wash it off with snow or water as soon as possible. Also, avoid dragging the deer out of the woods with a rope. Place it on a sled, rickshaw, or 4-wheeler. The rope, rocks, or a broken branch from a deadfall can easily damage the fur or puncture the hide. If you do need to drag it out with a rope, attach the rope to the base of the antlers and drag your trophy carefully.