Field Care

Whitetail Deer are the most common North American species to mount, and proper field care of your trophy is critical to ensure you get a quality mount. As soon as any animal is down, and after tagging, take a few pictures. They don't have to be artistic, but they will help our wildlife artists re-create your animal as lifelike as possible. Photos of features like neck size, scars and ear damage are most helpful.

Also, these field care tips can be applied to other, similar species such as moose, elk, caribou and antelope.

First, never cut the throat of an animal you would like mounted! it isn't necessary and in most cases cannot be repaired. Even if you're not sure you want a shoulder mount, Black & Tan offers discounts on other services if you bring in your cape, so it is worth doing properly. 

Second, when cleaning the animal, don't cut the brisket past the whorl of hair between the front legs, as this is another cut that will be difficult to fix.

Following the dotted lines on the diagram, remove the legs below the elbow. You can leave the whole hide with your animal - more is always better! Or, you can separate just the cape, making sure you cut the hide behind the shoulder; this will ensure that you will have the greatest range of options for your mount's position. 

Tube the neck as high as you can and cut through the spine, leaving the head attached to the cape. 

Treat your cape like you would any perishable piece of meat - keep it as clean of blood and entrails as you can, and keep it dry. Get it cooled as quickly as possible, and drop it off within 24hrs. Otherwise, it is best if it can be frozen. Don't salt it, don't leave it in a garbage bag in the sun for a week, and don't let it "age" for ten days with the rest of the meat, then freeze it and hope we won't know! 

Bears and wolves are often mounted as rugs, or as half - body mounts, or occassionally as full body mounts; the same instructions are helpful for both. 

It's best to have an idea of what you'd like ahead of time, but stay flexible - a lot will depend on the animal! A wolf with mange or a bear with thin, ratty fur will never make a nice rug or full body mount, and a good taxidermist will tell you that; at Black & Tan we want you to be happy with your mount and show it off for years. 

For shoulder or half mounts, follow diagram 1; remove the hide by cutting behind the shoulder, don't cut the throat or the brisket, (especially on bears with white marks), if necessary cut up the back of the neck to the skull, cut the spine and leave the skull in the hide. Cut down the back of the front legs and cut the wrist, leaving the paws with the hide. 

For Rugs, follow diagram 2. Keep all cuts as straight as possible to maximize the size of your finished rug; the head, paws and tail can stay with the hide but please remove as much fat as possible - when rolled a poorly cleaned hide can take days to freeze solid, this can lead to spoilage. Also keep in mind that white marks may not show on a rug unless they are fairly large - a shoulder or half mount might be preferable for these bears. 

Full body mounts can be handled two ways: mounts on all fours on the ground  can be skinned the same as for a rug; standing bears or bears with thin fur on the chest and belly can be skinned with a dorsal incision, as per diagram 3. One cut is made from the back of the skull to the top of the tail, and the hide is peeled off with no other cuts necessary. This will help us produce the best mount possible with your bear or wolf, BUT we can't make it into a rug if you change your mind!

For all specimens, you should remove as much fat as possible, try to keep the fur dry. Fold the hide skin-to-skin, roll it with the head out and freeze. 

Fish are a beautiful and long-lasting memento of a great day on the lake or river, and at Black & Tan we love mounting fish of all species and sizes!

Take a few pictures of your catch when it's fresh out of the water, this will help us recapture the colours and details of your specimen as you remember them. If it is catch and release and you would like a replica made, these pics are critical, as well as any measurements of length and girth you can safely make, without stressing the fish too much. 

Once it has expired, don't gut it!

Wrap the fish in a wet towel or tshirt, keeping the fins close to the body, and get it in the freezer. You can also fold a piece of cardboard over the tail to protect it. It is important that you use cloth to wrap your fish and not plastic at first, because plastic will leave marks on the skin, particularly on trout.

Once frozen, you can wrap in a garbage bag and mark it with your name, the fish species and size. Like this, a fish can last several months safely in your freezer. 

Help us make you a beautiful mount by avoiding these common problems:

- Don't put frozen unwrapped fish in a sleigh and let it rattle around all the way home until there are no fins or scales left

- Don't leave an unwrapped fish in the bottom of your freezer for 5 years until it looks like a freeze dried raisin. Would you eat a steak like that?

- Don't leave in a water-filled warm cooler with empty beverage cans for a week until you decide it's too slimy and stinky to eat, might as well let the taxidermist deal with it!

All game birds, (though these tips also apply to roadkills), can be handled the same way, and proper field care is critical to creating a great mount!

As with any specimen, take care of it: birds with a lot of shot damage are not good candidates for mounting, neither is the one at the bottom of the game bag that was soaked in blood and mangled by the dog!  

If possible, gently stuff the beak with cotton, kleenex, anything handy that will keep blood and fluid from soaking the head. You can also pack a bit of absorbant material where there is shot damage, if there are bloody spots visible.

Wrap in newspaper, paper towel or a cloth, keep the feathers tidy and as straight as possible.

As soon as you can, get it into the freezer. Only after it is frozen solid, wrap in plastic. 

Please mark it with your name, the date and species, and your migratory bird license number (if applicable).

We love Roadkills** (and other accidental specimens) at Black & Tan! 

For so many beautiful wildlife species, this is the only way to acquire them, and it is much better to see them beautifully preserved than for it to rot in a ditch. 

First, please make sure it is safe to stop! A dead animal on a busy highway isn't worth risking your life, no matter what it is. 

Second, make sure it is dead. No one needs an unconscious bear waking up in the backseat. I had an experience with a half-flat snake last year that still gives me nightmares....

Always wear gloves, many animals have parasites, even if they're frozen. 

When you get home, pack the beak/mouth with paper towel, bag the specimen and get it frozen asap - you can never tell how long it was dead for, and freezing will stop further spoilage from occurring.

Please note that when a bird is hit, it is often blown off the road into a ditch. I know of several cases where an eagle was found near a dead deer, so it's worth a look. 

There are a few things we don't accept:

- most road killed skunks are just too stinky to ever fix

- if you can't tell what it was, we probably can't fix it

- if it looks like a meat bomb went off, we probably can't fix it

**Please see FAQ's for help with permits

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