Antelope question?

[Bighunter4x4]

I didnt know if this should be in the beginners section or the gamehead section.  I have only done a dozen or so whitetail shoulder mounts and I have done an aoudad mount.  This antelope is for a co-worker I am doing.  I have sweated the sheaths off the cores and have got the flesh off.  The skull and sheaths smell horrid.  What can I do to eliminate the god aweful smell?  As for the cape, it doesnt smell like a bed of roses.  I also plan on pressure tanning this cape.  I just would like to know what to do to eliminate the smell of the horns, skull, and cape of this thing.  I have a taxidermist firend in SD and he tells me they call them prairie maggots.  I am starting to understand why.  Thanks for the help guys.

[Apruitt]

I use concentrated lysole and water and soak for about 24hrs.  Seems to take the smell out, just did two.  hope it helps.

[Mthunter]

I use borax and fill them inside and out. then spray them with a satin (nonlaquer) clear coat.

[Richard B]

As for the smell of the cape, the odor might be coming from the glands on the neck. Michael P did an excellent tutorial on how to remove them. 

[Lone Wolf Taxidermy]

First of all they are not "Prairie Maggots"....Secondly, they are one of the most beautiful animals in North American.

That said... you need to research some on the work you do. The horns may still have a bit of the core material in them. Check and make sure they are completely clean inside. You can eliminate appx. 90 % of the odor with proper cleaning and the rest in a bath of water ( enough to submerge them), 2 caps of lysol (in the brown bottle)  and one cup of ammonia. Allow them to soak over night. Then allow them to completely dry. I mount 20 to 30 of them each year and this is what works for me.

As for the cape...the glands under the black patchs on the neck must be throughly cleaned. I have all skins commercially tanned but understand the pressure tanning works ok. By cleaned I don't mean washed...the gland patch must be removed ( on the skin side) as much as possible. This is a soft area in the skin so you must be carefull not to cut a lot of holes. There are many ways to do this...fleshing machine, wire wheel, knife or scalpel with the skin streched over a fleshing ball or light bulb. Whatever method you have or is comfortable to you. But remove as much as you can...you will see the difference in the gland material and the skin. Check out the post of Michael P's as mentioned earlier. It will help.

Once you have your horns, cap and skin properly cleaned, fleshed and tanned you should have no problems with odor.

Good luck

[Matt]

Will put Billy, ditto.

[Schmitty]

Thanks for the great tips Billy.  I don't want to hi-jack this post, but I have 5 antelope to do an have caped a couple today.  I am having problems turning the ears without and tearing, especially towards the tips.   Any secret techniques besides going slow?  Thanks

[Lone Wolf Taxidermy]

Schmitty, once I get to the tip I use the end of an artist brush to help with the rest. You can also use a small metal modeling tool and with the ear turned hair side out gently separate the skin and cartilage by working the tool back and forth while holding the tip between your thumb and finger to feel the tool advance then turn the tips. If you are sending the cape to a tannery you might want to stop a little short of the tip as they can be torn in machinery if turned too close to the edges and tips.

Oh yeah....and go slow.....

[George Roof]

Well, I guess we all skin cats differently.  I quit using Lysol for ANYTHING long, LONG ago when they stopped using phenol in it. Most speed goat horns place in a plastic bag with NOTHING for 3 days will twist off easily.  If you clip the cores in half and cover them with DP, that's the end of smell there.  For the sheaths, I fill one with DP and then pour it into the other. Then I dump it on the skull cap and cores.  The sheath smell is eliminated and after a week of drying, I singe the hair off the cores so the horns will stick back on the cores.  I place the cores in boiling water for 5 minutes, coat the cores with epoxy paste and press the softened sheaths down over them.  The heated sheath accelerates the curing of the epoxy down to a few minutes so there's little need for pins and gimmicks.

As for the ears, that too doesn't need any gimmicks.  The elf tips of the ears can be removed quite easily without any tooling.  Split the ear and work both sides down to the tip. Then grab the cartilage in one hand and squeeze the "elf ear tip" much like you would to remove a squirrel tail.  Pul on the cartilage while keeping pressure down on the skin and the tip will peel easily out all by itself.

Most prong skins have a sage odor adn the glands have nothing to do with it.  Having them professionally tanned and commercially degreased in the process seems to eliminate all that smell down the road.  The glands certainly DO make a strong musky smell by themselves and must be completely removed.  You guys live in a great period.  It wasn't that long ago that prong skins were not taken in by tanneries because it was believed they couldn't be tanned without slippage.

[Lone Wolf Taxidermy]

Dang George,

How long was "not that long ago"...Carolina's been doing them for me for at least 20 years and Lysol even without phenol still kills bacteria. I like the sounds of the elf ear trick but I imagine it is kinda like eating crabs...sometimes that meat in the pincer comes out in one piece and sometimes it don't. But I will try it ... I have 2 to go in last years batch.

[Richard B]

George, we agree that the glands MUST be removed.
IYO does it need to be done before salting, After tanning, or just anytime before mounting???

[George Roof]

I've always done it before salting.  Don't know the reason other than "I've always done it that way."

Billy, you're probalby right.  When you're old, 20 years tends not to be as long ago as it once was.  I know fo a fact that 30 years ago tanneries wouldn't take them.

[Bighunter4x4]

Thank you guys for the help.  I have been looking for the concentrated lysol but have not found it.  I did search for info about anteltope and just found MP's tutorial and it will help a lot.  Thanks Michael P for not blowing up my post with a copy and pasted search HAHAHA.  Thank you though for the tutorial it helped greatly.  Nice to know this place exists to ask questions.  The sheaths and skull base have been dp'd and dp'd again.  There seems to be a faint smell.  I think I need to get some lysol.  These guys are definitely unique.

[Lone Wolf Taxidermy]

LOL...Know what ya mean George ... I'm gettin' there too

[sagebrush]

yes, remove the glands thoroughly before salting i do lots of antelope as we have them all over our state of wyoming, the glands are dense and go like right to the black cheek patches, do your best and if any thick spots are there cross hatch it with your knife and rub salt in real well , you will slip hair if you dont or that pressure tanning may be the greatest thing out there. good luck and have fun with it