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Bragging rights? Call that big tom in with a wing bone call made by you Click here Make your own Wingbone Turkey Call Tips on preparing your bird for the Taxidermy So what do you do when you shoot a turkey, and think you would like to have it mounted ? First is it worth mounting ? Did you blast it to bits ? Is there a mess of feathers floating around on the ground ? If you said yes to the last two questions then a full body mount might not be worth your investment. Taxidermists are wildlife artists, not magicians. If the bird looks damaged badly, from your gunshot blast , then most likely it is. This is why it is so importunate to get a good clean head shot on a turkey. Never shoot at a full strutting tom turkey that you intend to have mounted. To get a good head shot on a strutting bird, without causing sever damage to the body can be difficult. The objective is to get his head away from the body before you shoot. A good way to do this, is to get him to gobble or come to attention. You have to be careful when attempting to get the bird to come to attention, as you can spook him and never get the shot. I have done it plenty of times, and is probably the best way to shoot at a turkey, without contacting the main body with your shot. A slight move on your part or an alarm putt produced by your mouth call, can get this accomplished. Once he comes to attention with his head high in the air, squeeze off the shot. It only takes one or two pellets to the head to kill a turkey. If your uncomfortable with that idea, then get him to gobble. Once the bird is within range at full strut hammer him with some exciting yelping and cutting. Once he reaches his head out to gobble, let him have it. Bottom line is, aim for the head. I know the standard is to aim for the head and neck, but we don’t want the neck destroyed either. It does not matter if you destroy the head with the gunshot as 90% of turkey mounts come with a different head to begin with. You may be asking what the heck does that mean. What it means is that most taxidermists either use artificial turkey heads (which are more economical) or a freeze dried head (raises cost of mount) from another bird that has very little to none in damage. If your turkey head is in good shape, request that the original head be freeze dried. I personally mold and cast my own turkey heads. They look like the real deal, with the exception of the hair. This is only because I do not have a freeze drier machine, and when a customer requests a freeze dried head, I then must have it sent out to be done. I also must charge the customer extra for this. I do prefer using freeze dried heads and recommend you have one installed. So be sure to ask your taxidermist if the mounting price includes a freeze dried head. Lets move on to field care. If you can get the bird to the taxidermist within one hour of the kill, do nothing to the bird (except tag it) and deliver it to them. If you cannot get to a taxidermist within a day or more then the following must be done. First is to gut the bird. I know several taxidermists who do not like this. In my own opinion it is no big deal, if you gut the bird correctly. Lay the bird on it’s back and make a small vertical slit into the bird from above the vent (anus) to the tip of the breast bone. If you see breast meat you went too far. The cut should be about three or four inches long. Do not attempt to breast the bird. Your taxidermist must have the entire bird for proper manikin measurements. Remove the guts from the bird and discard them. Be careful with your bird. Do not leave the bird in any kind of sun light, or exposed to heat. What you want to do now is get that big old tom and in the freezer. Now comes the panty hose question. Before placing your trophy into the freezer, stuff the bird head first into a pair of panty hose, as far as you can. Take the second pair you bought and pull it over the first pair. What the panty hose does, is lay the feathers down and protects the feather quills from getting damaged, (twisted-broken) while stored in the freezer. Next wrap the entire bird in a large bath towel and duct tape. After this part, place the bird into a plastic bag, wrap up and place entire bird in freezer. You can store your gutted turkey, in the freezer for a whole year using this method. This will give you time to get it to your taxidermist. When you bring your bird to the taxidermist, keep it frozen. Do not thaw it out. Place bird in ice chest for the trip to the taxi-shop. |
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