I got a nice deer to day and need to freeze the cape. Right now i have it cooling in the refrigerator. Does it need salted before freezing? Anything else i should do to it?

Plinker

tell us about the deer--what size and the shot. I'd sure like to hear all about it.

Edited to read: previous post deleted since i should have put it on a different category. Sorry


Plinker

Do not salt it if you are going to freeze it! Salt stops the freezing process that is why it is put on icy roads. Just freeze it. No salt.

Edited to read: deleted post as unrelavent

Plinker

quote:

Originally posted by Exit31:
Do not salt it if you are going to freeze it! Salt stops the freezing process that is why it is put on icy roads. Just freeze it. No salt.

Yikes....i never thought about that. How it is with roads and icey sidewalks. That's right. Thanks for helping me out with that. I really do appreciate it.

Plinker

Grandson hasnt gotten one this year--hasnt been out. He got a hog a few months ago. He is in San Diego this week seeing his girlfriend.

My Taxidermist says not to salt if you are going to freeze the hide, but if not going to freeze you must salt the hide and keep it cool.
I too though, have salted and then frozen the hide with no ill effects, it is just unnecessary.

As a taxidermist let me explain. YOU DO NOT SALT A HIDE IF YOURE GOING TO FREEZE IT.

Salting is used as a preservative to pull moisture from the hide and allow it to air dry hard. A hide must be completely "turned" before salting. That includes turning the lips, eyes, nose and ears. If you don't do that, you WILL lose the cape. Once the "turning" is complete, then you salt and let the cape hang or lay it on a slanted board. 24 hours later, resalt and hang. After a day or week(depending on humidity, temperature, etc, you can fold the hide in preparation to send it to the tannery.

If you salt the cape and freeze it not only are you wasting time, the cape will continue to weep in the freezer. It will not freeze completely and can actually begin to rot.

You can freeze the hide with the skull intact and with no need to turn the animal. Just double wrap it in a plastic bags. Try to get as much air out as possible. Modern freezers pull moisture out of the freezer and can cause freezer burn if you leave the head out in the "open" of the freezer.

Talk to your local taxidermist before you make a costly mistake. The last thing a taxidermist wants to tell you is that you made a mistake and its going to cost you a new cape.

Hugh

DO NOT SALT FROZEN SPECIMENS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PROPERLY FLESHED! No matter what someone tells you about ill effects. Trust me you made your taxidermist's job much more dificult and you are lucky you got a finished product with your cape on it.

update---grandson got a bobcat,hog and raccoon this week-end

Edited to read:

Another off topic, got em all now.


Plinker

Carpetman if you'll stop hijacking the thread we'll help the lady.

Hugh and Smarterthanu gave superb advice. Salt is not a word that most hunters need to be familiar with. If splitting lips, turning ears, and fleshing out nostrils and eyelids are not terms you're familiar with, salt is not your friend. If your deer is a trophy animal and you intend to have it made into one, why isn't the deer already at the taxidermists. Cooling, refrigerating, or "aging" simply cause more complications down the road. While all this is taking place bacteria can be growing under the hide between the skin and meat. This may eventually lead to hair loss. Most important is the tender membranes of the nostrils, lips, eyes and edges of the ear. These parts dehydrate and can make the taxidermists work miserable and it could very well cost you for the extra work your hide is going to require. Most taxidermist go more than halfway in helping customers with their animals. If cost is an issue but you intend to have the hide mounted later, just be up front with the taxidermist. Many have payment plans or can make exceptions if it's in their best interests. Most of all, talk to a taxidermist.

Sorry, George thats my fault i should have posted my hunting story in an appropriate category. I went back and deleted all my irrelevant posts.

The reason for freezing the cape is because when my shoulder is better i wanted to attempt mounting it myself. Money isn't really an issue, i could afford to get it mounted. But...LOL the reason i could afford to get it mounted is because i never pay to have anything done i could do myself. Then again, maybe that's why i have a torn rotator cuff I actually enjoy skinning out animals and i just thought it would be fun to try to do the deer even if it doesn't turn out perfect. Thanks for the info about the problems freezing causes with the nostril, lip and eye membranes, and about not salting before freezing. I think i did good at caping it...left plenty of lip, eyelid and skinned to behind the front legs and there was no cuts. I did that in the evening, let it cool overnight and froze it the next morning with the hair in, skin out. It might be a few months before i can start it.

Plinker

George Roof----If it takes you 16 days to respond---gonna have bacteria and dehydrate already anyways. How did my posts create that delay? You must be easily distracted,or did it require over 2 weeks research for you to answer a simple question?

Not at all carpetman. She was getting good answers all along had she not been distracted by some nitwit wanting to hijack the thread. Since no one seemed willing to possibly offend you I figured I'd just handle the job myself. I see it worked and you still didn't learn anything.

George Roof---into name calling nit wit- I know you are a know it all and a real self proclaimed expert,but if someone says they have arterial bleeding and it takes you two weeks to come up with a put a torniquet on it,dont see how your advice is so great. The person that starts the thread should be the one complaining---and that didnt happen. Maybe she wasnt distracted and you were---sounds like you need your Prozac adjusted---seems to be due.