Post Harvest Care of your Capes: A Comprehensive Guide

The key to a mount of any sort starts with the care of the skin from the very beginning. This means from the second your trophy dies. This is why it is so critical to take the necessary steps in preserving your capes. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through the steps to effectively maintain your cape after the harvest is complete.

Why Post-Harvest Care is Essential

After the harvest season, your cape deserves some extra attention to keep it in its optimal condition. The biggest reason that a cape will be ruined is if it gets attacked by bacteria. Once the bacteria is in, it cannot be fixed. However, by following these steps, you can stop the spread, or prevent it altogether!

Step 1: Skinning your animal in the field or at home

The first step in post-harvest care is to skin your animal. This should be done as soon as possible. If it is left too long, the heat from in carcass will heat up the skin, and bacteria will enter faster. Remember to keep in mind the correct process and method of skinning for the mount that you want. If you are unsure, call your taxidermist to see what their preferred method is.

Step 2: Storage

Proper storage is essential to prevent your cape being ruined. If you skinned your animal out in the field, make sure to put the cape into a breathable bag. Game (meat) bags are the best option. This allows for as much airflow through the skin as possible, which in turn keeps it cooler. For archery kills in warm weather this is especially important. Once you have your trophy at home, get the skin to your taxidermist (best option) or into the freezer (if time doesn't allow) as quick as possible. Here is the best and safest method to ensure that your cape is frozen properly.

1. If you have the freezer space, lay it out as flat as possible in to cool off the skin. Keep it in there for a couple of hours. You don't want it to freeze solid, just cool off. If you do not have the space, go to step 2.

2. Once cooled off, take it out again and lay it out flat, skin out. Fold it in half, skin-to-skin. Then roll it up. If the cape was not previously cooled off, roll it up with the head out, otherwise with the head inside. Put it in a garbage bag and into the freezer. DO NOT SEAL THE BAG UNTIL THE CAPE IS FROZEN!! This will trap the heat in, once again allowing bacteria to spread. Once frozen, seal and label the bag.

3. Get it to your taxidermist as soon as possible!

Step 3: Salt?

This issue has many differing opinions on what is correct and what is not. The following is what I have found to be the best.

If you are on day trips and can get the skin frozen the same day, the best is not to salt it. Just as salt acts on ice in the winter, it'll prevent the moisture in the skin to freeze properly, or fast enough.

If you are on a multiple day hunt where access to a freezer is not an option, flesh as much meat and fat off the skin as possible, and then lay a good amount of salt over the entire cape, making sure not to miss anything. Remember that salt is only a temporary preservative. Once you have it home, bring it to your taxidermist the same day if possible. This is your best option. If that does not work, freeze it following the steps above. However, DO NOT FREEZE A SALTED CAPE. Wash off the salt before freezing!

Step 4: Questions?

You may be wondering what happens if bacteria does get into and attack the skin. If this happens, it kills the hair roots in the skin, causing the hair to fall out. It may be that it happens in small groups, or large areas will completely come out. The following picture shows a serious case of hair slippage!

There are many different scenarios that are possible for any hunt, making it hard to make concrete solutions for everything. If there is ever something that you are not sure about, reach out to your taxidermist! They all have their preferred methods, and will be more than willing to help you out in any way.

Conclusion

The best way to ensure that you will have a top quality mount in your house, shop, mancave, museum, etc., is to make sure the proper steps are taken from the very beginning in caring for the capes. There is no guarantee that these steps will always work, as each case has its underlying situations as well. It is all just preventative measures taken to reduce the chance.

If something is still wrong with your cape, your taxidermist will contact you immediately to go over the next steps.

Quality starts with the hunter and ends with the taxidermist. Working together, you will be able to proudly showcase all of your trophies for years to come!