Though
out our tutorials, we have made reference to skull placement and
correct alignment. Back in the 70's and 80's cutting the throat was a
common occurrence. As taxidermist we spend endless hours trying to
educate the hunter in proper field care. Nothing worked at all. We had
photos and descriptions of proper skinning techniques but it fell on
deaf ears. It was not until we started charging for the extra work and
time, that things began to change.
We are now at
another cross road. Since the finding of Chronic Wasting Disease
(CWD); we now have uneducated people in the field cutting skulls and
skinning trophies with the worst results in handling that I have ever
seen in 36 years of being in business. So you might ask; how can this
be turned around. There is only one way to get the hunter to want to
stop and learn proper field care. We will now begin to charge for the
extra work it takes to fix these problems. This will change the action
and attitude of the industry. In the following photos, notice how
skulls are cut and how they relate to the mannikin. Most Taxidermists
and guys doing taxidermy (and there is a difference) do not pay enough
attention to the usage of skull measurements and placement.
Here
is an example of a full time taxidermist who has cut this skull. Our
client harvested this Mule Deer in Colorado. He took it to a local
taxidermy shop where he found this full time professional taxidermist. I
find it hard to believe that this taxidermist cuts his own skulls in
this manner. This would make his job so hard to do, and do correctly.
Only thing I can say is that the taxidermist was mad that the hunter was
taking his trophy back home to have mounted in his home state. This is
just an example of poor handling at its finest.
Here
is what a skull cut in this manner gives you. There is no skull to
reference to the angle of the antlers. Eye sockets are missing, so
getting the correct skull width is also not an option. Attaching this
skull to the mannikin is another problem. As you see, skulls cut in
this manner makes no sense. This would be like trying to build a house
on one prier block. This is very unstable and everything is a guess.
Notice
here how the skull has been cut. I have the bridge of the nose in tack
to align up with the slope of the nose on the mannikin. This will set
the antlers at the correct angle. There is no guessing here. Next;
notice I have the eye sockets in place on the skull. This is going to
give me the correct width.
The
width of the skull is most important measurement to have when mounting
any big game. The eye to nose; nose to the back of the head and neck
measurement are second to skull width. Most all mannikins are to wide
in the head. I am estimating over 95 %. Believe it or not, this is the
one measurement that most taxidermist do not pay attention to. This
limits there ability to produce high end quality mounts. This will open
the door for a new taxidermist to move in town and take over an area.
With this knowledge, he will be more accurate. Now his prices can also
be 30% higher, and he will still take the majority of the work.
Here
are the way skulls come from Africa. Do you ever wonder why they send
the whole skull. This is to get all the measurements need to perform
the job. The width of the skull is there, along with length, depth and
shape. This is very important on African game. Well mounted African
game will bring in the good clients.
Notice
here, everything lines up. There is no guessing. We will end up with a
natural looking deer. Perfect these techniques and you will surpass
your competition. These techniques also bring in more profit and build a
better client base.
