Trophy Tips
Trophy preparation
Deer
hunting is indeed an exciting sport and trophies are popular reminders
of successful days afield. Head mounts, racks and hides are the most common
deer hunting trophies. However, deer feet are often used as gun racks,
lamp bases and bookends. Hides also can be used to make items of clothing,
wallets and purses. Whether you decide to make your own trophy or leave
the job to a professional, the way you handle your deer from the moment
it is downed will affect the quality of the product.
For instance, if you plan to mount your deer head, do not cut the animal's throat. In fact, make no cuts in the head and neck region other than those indicated in the following diagram. This method of skinning will allow plenty of hide for a full head-neck- and-shoulder mount. After skinning, sever the head from the neck and take head, antlers and hide to your taxidermist. If you anticipate any trouble, you might let your taxidermist tackle the caping chore. A list of licensed taxidermists is available on request from the Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
Another method of displaying antlers that is inexpensive, yet attractive, is to attach them directly to a backboard or wall. Simply saw off a good, solid section of skull with the antlers and fasten through a hole drilled in the middle. Deer hide or felt can be used to cover the skull-plate, if desired.
There are a number of reputable companies that will process your deer hide for you. If you have that do-it-yourself desire, however, you can follow these step-by-step instructions for home tanning.
Home tanning technique by Thomas J. Kick
Outlined below are the various steps necessary to make leather suitable for articles of use, or left whole as remembrances of the hunt. No fancy tools are needed and you will receive good results for a minimum of time and labor.
Materials needed:
- Dull Knife
- Rubber Gloves
- Naphtha Thinner
- Sawdust
- Plastic Buckets
- Salt
- Alum
- Water
- Neatsfoot Oil
- Hydrated Lime (optional)
- Wood Ashes (optional)
- Boric Acid (optional)
Plastic
buckets are recommended for holding the solutions. Chemicals can be purchased
locally. Shoe repair shops sell neatsfoot oil. Canning salt is available
at your supermarket. Naphtha thinner, also called benzine, and hydrated
lime can be obtained from a hardware store. Alum and boric acid can be
purchased from a drugstore. In reference to the use of all of these chemicals,
be sure to read all labels and cautions and obey them. When handling the
solutions, use rubber gloves.
Step 1: Scraping The first step is to remove all flesh and fat
from the skin. This is a prerequisite to the actual tanning process and
is time well spent. This should be done with a dull knife while the skin
is fresh. (If you cannot work on the skin when it is 
fresh,
freeze it until you are ready and then allow it to thaw. Pelts that have
been salted and dried or just dried should be soaked in water until limp.)
Then rub salt onto the flesh side and roll it up, flesh side in, allowing
it to set for two or three days. When you unroll the skin, you will find
that the salt has loosened fat and flesh that held fast the first time
you scraped the skin.
Step 2: Degreasing When you have the skin free of all flesh and fat, it is time to degrease it. Use naphtha thinner and rub it well into the hair and onto the flesh side. Be sure to use naphtha outdoors and away from flame because it is highly flammable. After you have worked the naphtha well into the skin, rub sawdust into the hair and onto the flesh side 3 or 4 times to absorb the naphtha and dissolved grease. Shake out each application of sawdust until you have removed the naphtha-grease complex from the skin. Then rinse the skin in 7 or 8 rinses of clear water to remove any remaining salt, naphtha or sawdust.
Step 2a: Removing Hair At this point, if you desire, the hair may be removed from the skin. (If you want to tan the skin with hair on, go directly to Step 3.) This is done by soaking the skin in a solution of hydrated lime, wood ashes and water (1/4 pound hydrated lime and 1/2 cup wood ash to 1 gallon of water). Soak for several days until the hair can be pushed or scraped off the skin with a dull knife. Fully developed coats of hair from skins taken in the fall and winter are generally easier to dehair because of the uniform length of the hair. Hides taken other times of the year take more time to dehair because many smaller undeveloped hairs tend to stay in the skin when the longer hairs are sloughed off. After the hair has been removed, wash the skin thoroughly in several rinses of clear warm water and then place it overnight in a solution of boric acid and water (1 ounce boric acid crystals to 1 gallon water). This neutralizes the lime left in the skin from the dehairing solution. After removing the skin from the boric acid solution, rinse it before going to Step 3.
Step
3: Tanning The skin is now ready to go into the tanning solution
where it will stay for 7 days. To make the tanning solution, dissolve
1/2 pound salt and 1/4 pound alum per gallon of water, making enough
solution to cover the skin. Stir the solution daily. After a week, remove
the skin from solution, rinse it in clear water and allow it to drain,
but do not let it dry out. Rub warm neatsfoot oil onto the flesh side
(4) and, while keeping it out of direct sunlight, let the skin begin
to dry. During the drying process, pull and stretch the skin in every
direction (5). A board clamped in a vise provides edges over which you
can work the hide back and forth to help in the softening process. Continue
this at periodic intervals until the skin is dry. At his point the skin
should be white on the flesh side, and soft, supple and ready to use.
If
the skin dries too quickly or should you need to leave it for several days
during this step and the skin gets stiff, merely dampen it with a wet sponge
until it becomes limp again and resume the manipulation of the hide. To
remove any tissue or unevenness on the flesh side of the finished hide,
sand it with a piece of coarse sandpaper (60 or 80 grit). This will give
the hide a suede look and enhance its attractiveness.
When
using your finished leather, take advantage of its natural thickness. You'll
find the neck skin thicker than the back, the back thicker than the sides
and the belly skin thinnest of all. If you need a uniform thickness for
your project, go back to your coarse sandpaper and a little arm action.
A table belt sander can also be used for thinning down a hide but it can
take off a lot of material quickly so beware.
This is a tried and proven process and is used today by many professional tanners and taxidermists. I am sure you will be pleased not only with the results, but also with the feeling of having done it yourself.
Growing trophy antlers
This world-record non-typical white-tailed buck was fund dead, apparently
of natural causes. It weighed 250 pounds and scored 333 7/8 on the Boone
and Crockett scale.
Antler size is primarily affected by three factors: nutrition, genetics and age. The landowner or deer hunter can influence each of these factors to some degree.
Nutrition can be improved by improving the deer habitat on the land you hunt. Technical assistance, seed and wildlife plants are available to improve habitat on private lands through your local Conservation Agent, Wildlife Management Biologist or Private Land Conservationist.
Given the generally small size of private land holdings in Missouri, and the relatively large home ranges of white-tails, genetics usually cannot be effectively manipulated.
Age can be influenced by not harvesting the 6- to 10-point bucks and allowing them to mature. The age at which most bucks produce their largest antlers is 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 years. Of course, not harvesting a 10-point buck may be the biggest challenge of your life! But, following these general guidelines can and will increase the number of trophy bucks available for harvest in your hunting area.
Show-Me Big Bucks Club
David Reid took this non-typical buck in October 1991 in Adair County,
using a compound bow. It qualified for the Show-Me Big Bucks Club with
a score of 188 6/8 on the Boone and Crockett scale.
The Missouri Show-Me Big Bucks Club is a statewide organization affiliated with the Boone and Crockett Club. The purposes of the club are: to officially recognize Missouri trophy deer heads and to honor the successful hunter; to promote interest in and appreciation for Missouri deer hunting; to promote sportsmanship among deer hunters; to establish and maintain a permanent record of trophy deer heads taken in Missouri; and to assist eligible members to receive national recognition from the Boone and Crockett Club.
Membership in the club is available to any hunter who has, during any legal hunting season, taken a trophy that meets the standards of the club. Scoring is based on the system of measurements developed by the Boone and Crockett Club. Official club scorers are located throughout the state. Membership in the Show-Me Big Bucks Club will be based on scores submitted by the official club scorers, verified if necessary by officials of the club. Trophies that meet Boone and Crockett standards when measured by Show-Me Club scorers will be remeasured and certified by authorized scorers of the Boone and Crockett Club.
Many beautiful racks of antlers are taken in Missouri each fall. Larry Gibson took our best typical trophy head in 1971 in Randolph County. The antlers rated 205 points on the Boone and Crockett system and ranked third in the latest edition of the club's records of North American Big Game. The world-record non-typical whitetail was found in St. Louis County in 1981 (see above). It scored 333 7/8.
Minimum scores for membership in the Show-Me Big Bucks Club are 140 points for typical and 155 points for non-typical deer taken statewide.
Do you have a record set of antlers? Try scoring it according to the instructions on an official score sheet available from the club. A score of more than 140 is exceptional and should be entered in the record book. For further information about the club, contact a Department of Conservation representative.
