Preserving Trophies For Mounting

The following tips will help you to ensure that your trophy is properly prepared for mounting due to proper care in the field or on the water.

Preserving Trophy Birds

When picking up birds from the ground, always pick them up by their feet as any bleeding occurring from their mouth will them fall on the ground and not on their feathers. Do not use any type of game carriers as they will tear skin or dislodge feathers.

Do not field dress the bird as this will also get blood on the feathers and create unnecessary sewing from these incisions. If possible, plase grass or cotton in the throat area to stop blood from exiting the mouth area. Keep the bird as straight as possible while transporting so tail feathers do not get bent or damaged.

Place the bird(s) in a plastic bag, tuck head(s) under wing, seal bag and place in a freezer ASAP taking care to keep the bird(s) as straight as possilbe.

Preserving Trophy Big Game Heads

Do not cut the throat area. Stop your incision for field dressing just short of the front legs. When skinning, cut a circle around the animal just behind the front legs. Cut off the front feet at the elbow joint and roll the skin forward until you are 6-8" from the lower jaw.

Cut the neck and bring to Advanced Taxidermy right away. If you have to freeze the head, place it in a large garbage bag and seal it with tape to control freezer burn.

With any specie of goat, i.e. Antelope, Mountain Sheep, or Bighorn Sheep, it is extremely important to remove internal organs and cool the body cavity down immediately as the animals hair is loosely hinged in their skin and has the tendency to fall out if the animal is overheated, and to slow down the spoiling process.

Preserving Trophy Life-sized Mammals

Leave the animal completely intact and freeze ASAP.

Preserving Trophy Fish

Soak a towel and wrap the fish in it. Then place the fish in a plastic bag and freeze. Make sure to label the bag, so that in 3 months you'll know what it is! On smaller fish, many times you can just put it in a gallon freezer bag and fill with water, then freeze. What damages fish during freezing is freezer burn, which is caused, in part, by air contacting and drying the fish surface. Either one of the methods above will prevent the freezer burn and keep the fish in good shape for an extended period of time.

Contact us today to inquire about what we can do for you to preserve your life long memory of the hunting trip or fishing trip of a lifetime.

Mounts For Sale

Preparing Your Game

Steps To Preserve Your Trophies

You've bagged a beautiful ten-pointer, or that pheasant with the twenty-inch tail, or maybe that once in a lifetime thirty-inch walleye. Now what do you do to ensure you have a beautiful mount later? Follow these steps from Advanced Taxidermy and you will be able to have a mount that fully preserves your experience and memories.
» Read More