I was thinking about trying to mount a deer this fall. Never have tried or know anything about it really. You fellas with experiance....what would be your advice to a novice on mounting your first deer? Should i get one of those "kits" that include everything from Van Dykes? How much time is involved in one mount? I know there are a few of you old timers that can help me out!! Thanks guys.
Josh

Here's a good page with lots of free info
http://www.mckenziesp.com/training.asp

And buy this manual, its well worth it.
http://www.mckenziesp.com/taxid_store/catalog_product.a...9MUB07KTCGD8XL0HAAV0

Walker gave you good advice and its great your interested in giving it a try. READ lots before you try it and you may want to invest in some videos from McKenzie or one of the other supply companies.

They do a great job for beginners. Be prepared for your first deer to be the most challenging, and the worst looking. I know I cringe when I see the first one I did.

But stick with it.....you never know you could be the next World Champion.

Hugh

I agree with the above posts. Get a video and follow it. One of the confusing things when first starting out is that there are many different techniques/processes/supplies etc.. that can be used to achieve the same results. Do not worry about which way is best for now. Just buy one good recently made video or book and follow the steps. Order your supples after viewing the video or reading the book.

If you are doing the tanning yourself, you will have a lot more time and money invested in this project than if you have a good tannery wet tan the cape. You may want to have a look at a good (thin) wet tanned cape first so you can see what the skin should look like before it goes on the form.

If this is your first I would figure one day to skin/flesh/turn the ears, lips, eyes. two days to salt and resalt. Three days plus to pickle, tan, neutralize, shave, thin the cape. one half day to test fit the cape, prepare the form and set the skull plate. One day to mount the deer. Two weeks to dry. One day to do the finish work.

Enjoy!