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Field dress or not?

Started by Gobspur, March 07, 2015, 03:27:19 PM

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Gobspur

I'm plan to ask my taxidermist this when I find one, but thought I would ask here first.  If I get a nice one this year I plan to do a full mount.  Question is what to do between dropping him and getting him to taxidermist.  Should I gut and put in cooler on ice?  Or leave whole and put in cooler on ice?  I assume putting him on a trash bag first before going in cooler would be best?  Total time before getting to taxidermist could be 3-4 days.  Thanks for the advice!

mgm1955

I use a pair of pantyhose and slide the turkey in headfirst. Keeps all the feathers from getting banged up. Put it in the freezer without any field dressing and leave frozen until you go o the taxidermist. This is what has been recommended to me by several different taxidermists. Only downside is no turkey for dinner.

Struthunter

you can blot up any blood around the head then tuck his head under a wing bag him up and keep cold or freeze
Make sure that you see the taxidermist work before giving them your bird

Northerner

Leave bird whole and try to freeze first if you have that option.  You can also do some early homework and try to find dry ice in your area.  The dry ice will not create any water when thawing.

You can put the bird in a bag once it has completely cooled but leave the bag open.  Again if you can have someone throw it in a freezer before your journey home, that is best in my experience.  Then just keep checking your ice till you make it home.  Dry ice works awesome.


Clovis67

You need to make sure and get a head shot on the bird if at all possible.Body shot birds and birds that loose lots of feathers while doing the death flop are not going to make the cut for a pristine mount.A great mount starts in the field,you have to be careful and when you pull the trigger b sure to get to that bird and try not to let him flop around.Try not to get any blood on the feathers and put a ziploc bag around the head and seal it before you freeze it..then get to a Bird Taxidermist and you should be good to go..

GobbleNut

If you are in a position that you can leave the bird intact and freeze the entire carcass (or keep it on ice), that is the very best thing to do.  However, there are often times when that is not going to be feasible.  If not, here is what I suggest:
1)  If your future plans are to have a number of birds mounted, learn how to cape them.  It is not nearly as difficult as people seem to think it is,...and it makes dealing with birds that you want to mount sooo much easier.  You also never have to sacrifice the meat of the bird, which should always be a primary consideration.
2)  If you don't want to learn to cape a turkey, be aware that you will have a lot more trouble keeping one in good shape for a taxidermist (or eating) under most hunting conditions than you will by simply learning to do the caping process yourself.
3)  If you still don't want to learn to cape your own birds, you can still gut/field dress the bird.  Just go through the normal gutting process of making an incision at or above the vent, and pulling all the "innards" out. 
4)  Stop thinking you need to annihilate a turkeys head and neck by shooting the most concentrated shot pattern you possibly can.  One of the biggest issues with a good turkey mount is the destruction done by highly concentrated shot patterns in the feathers below the neck,...or by a body shot bird.  For mounting purposes, use a reliable, good-patterning shotgun,...and don't try to blow the turkeys head off.
5)  If you shoot a great bird, but question whether you damaged it beyond mounting, be aware that a good taxidermist can repair just about any kind of damage you could do to a bird,...within reason.  If your birds loses many of the major "display feathers" (tail feathers, wing feathers) pick those up and keep them for the taxidermist.  Take care not to carelessly damage/bend/break feathers on your bird. 
6)  Regardless of all else, you cannot let the bird/cape spoil before getting it to any taxidermist.  Keeping it frozen/very cold as soon after it is killed,...and not allowing it to get warm/hot for any length of time, is critical.
7)  The trophy characteristics of a gobbler are generally thought of to be the beard and spurs.  If you want a full mount of any bird that you killed,...even years ago,...of which you still have the beard and spurs intact, you can always use a replacement cape for a mount.  All is never lost....



Gobspur

Thanks for all the replies!  Very helpful!