I am going on a Free ranging sika deer hunt here in MD. The guides dont really do the skiining thing, as you are mostly on your own.
Is there anywhere where it shows you how to skin an animal for a full body mount. I ahve skinned deer for butchering before, but thats about it. I fiquired I would skin it up to the neck, and cut it off an let the taxidermest take the skull out. Not really sure about the gutting process in this situation, or the sexual organs, or on the hooves Also, are measuremnts needed.
Thanks in advance,
W.

I was taught Dorsal incision for full body head to rump.

And-
Ventral incision chin to crotch for rugs.

Have skinned many this way.
(I don't do taxidermy though)

There are many ways to skin an animal for lifesize. These illustrations will help you to visualize what they are.

This first is the typical ventral incision used for many hoofed mammals. Notice the belly cut stops before reaching the brisket, or chest of the animal. Also notice the sex organs are laid to the side of the incision. These can them be skinned as one unit as you remove the skin.


This is a dorsal incision. While good for Bears and many small game, it is not recommended for short-haired mammals such as many species of short-haired Deer, the Big Cats -- Lions, Leopards, Cheetah, or Cougars, or lifesize Zebra or any of the Antelope or Gazelle species. I know, you cannot import Cheetah into the U.S.A. They can, however be brought home by Canadian hunters, and hunters in most other Nations! More's the pity for us!

This shows the dorsal incision on a Whitetail Deer. It could work on the Deer family if they are heavy coated, thick haired, winter kills ... even Elk and Moose can be skinned with this method for a lifesize trophy.


This illustrates the skinning of one of any of the Big Cats. The main point here is to NOT cut through the males sex organs, but rather, to stop just ahead of, or in front of them. The leg incisions are made along the rear edge of the forelegs and hind legs, then down and around the foot pad on the inside of the Cats paw. This is much better than slicing through the middle of the foot pad, and will produce a much neater appearing paw should you want the animal reaching out for its prey, for instance.



For a rug you can skin nearly up to the chin of the animal.

I would recommend going with the skinning procedure shown in the previous illustration on the Big Cats, then if you want a rug, the Taxidermist can continue the incision on to the mid jaw or to the chin.



When skinning antlered or horned trophies there are a couple of ways to skin around the horns, and these two illustrations show the two most popular incisions. They are referred to as short due to the fact that they are only needed to be long enough to skin around the horns or antlers.
The first is the "Y"-incision.


This is the short "7"-incision.


On many small, medium, and some large game mammals, the method known as case or "tube" skinning is used. This is the popular method of skinning used by Trappers. These incisions are made from the center of one hind foot along the rear edge of the hind leg, up and around the anus -- at the base of the tail, in other words behind the anus -- and on down the rear edge of the opposite hind leg to the center of the foot. The tail is also opened, especially on fur bearers such as Raccoon, Fox, Coyote, Wolf, Muskrat, Marten, Fisher, Wolverine, Badger, etc. The tails of smaller rodents can be stripped from the tail skins without opening the tail skin, unless, that is, it is for a tanned flat skin.


The last things that needs attention before you can salt the skin, is splitting of the lips and eyelids, turning the ears, and paring away the nostril cartilage.


Good luck to you. If you would like more detailed information, e-mail me and I can return some good, in-depth information to you.

John Bellucci,
Master Taxidermist.

Thanks for posting John! Those are great drawings.

What about case skinning or leaving the hide as a tube and pulling the carcass out from the rear? Works great for pelts.

Regards,
Scott

quote:

What about case skinning or leaving the hide as a tube and pulling the carcass out from the rear?

I've always thought the fewer cuts the better - the taxidermist can always make an incision if he needs to. I shot an oryx a few weeks ago that we skinned out by making an incision on the inside part of the hind legs (like shown in the ventral incision). We then just tubed the whole animal out from there stopping just behind the skull (we let the taxidermist skin out the head).

Woodsie, I would talk to your taxidermist to see if he wants any measurements. When I asked about doing a life-size aoudad, my taxidermist asked for a few measurements:
1. Distance from tip of nose to front corner of eye.
2. Distance from tip of nose to base of tail measured by following the dorsal line.
3. Circumference of neck right behind the base of the skull.
4. Circumference of the largest part of animals body.

Regardless, have a great hunt! Sika deer a beautiful animals.

Actually, the problem lies in what is required for the tanning process. Tanneries prefer thinning or shaving a skin that is completely flat. As a Taxidermist who also uses a round knife, aka shaving or fleshing machine (having been taught by legendary Master Tanner - Sinclair Clark) I can attest that a flat skin is easier to work over the blade, than a "tubed" leg.

Unless the Taxidermist in question does his own tanning, it is recommended to flat skin an animal in the field. This skinning method also insures more thorough salting of the skin ... one of the most important steps in field care! The hunter has to think further ahead than just the Taxidermist ... he has to consider the Tanner and his requirements for optimum skin tanning.

Taking those measurements are important, and had that question been asked, I would have answered that one as well, which is why I suggested he e-mail me for more in-depth information.

However, measurements taken in the field are not as important as immediate, or near-immediate field care. An experienced, competent Taxidermist, can get the basic measurements needed for mounting purposes from the skin itself.

Leaving the head and lower legs in the skin is always a boon to the Taxidermist -- especially the head -- mostly if the hunter can get the animal to the Taxidermist ASAP.

If, however, one is in the field for any length of time and refrigeration is unavailable, that hide will need to be salted or bacterial decay will begin, resulting in hair slip and worse.

As a side note on this topic, the "Akeley Method" of skinning involves making one cut in the belly skin -- a ventral incision -- with absolutely no leg incisions at all.

The only other cuts are made to release the horns or antlers, and relief cuts made at the back of the hooves, between the dew claws down to the bottom of the foot, where the hair is the thickest.

This was Carl Akeley's preferred method for all hoofed game, and was especially good on Zebras, as their striped leg patterns were never disrupted!

Of course this type of skin requires more thoughtful approach to both salting and tanning, not to mention a whole 'nother set of circumstances required to mount the animal.

Having done this on a couple of occasions, I can attest it is more time-consuming, but the results are dynamite!

For those unfamiliar with Carl Ethan Akeley, he is known as the Father of Modern Taxidermy.

He pioneered the method of sculpting clay models using the skeleton of the particular mammal being mounted, then making multi-piece molds of these clay models, to produce the mannikin that the skin would be mounted on, eliminating the method of "stuffing" large mammals.

He perfected a new method of mounting lifesize Elephants, invented a camera for filming wildlife, and developed the Akeley Method of skinning hoofed specimens, among other things. All this was developed in the late 1800's through the early 1900's, and these methods are still in use today by skilled Taxidermists. It is quite the legacy!

John Bellucci,
Master Taxidermist.

Thanks John B. It was very informative.

Woodsie, where you're hunting, there are dozens of good taxidermists. Just field dress your little elk with a single gut incision from between the front legs to the pelvis and clean out what you can. Then call one of them and have them skin it out for you. I HATE a dorsal cut on a deer because I, like most taxidermists I know, can't hide that seam when it's done. A sika does have a fine fuzz, but it also has a mane than if you're not careful with the dorsal, you can ruin the final appearance of your mount.