HOW DO YOU MEASURE FOR A FORM IF YOU TAN??

[hounddoggy]

USING DP WE ALWAYS JUST MEASURE AND WE KNOW UP FRONT WHAT FORMS ARE AVAILABLE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.AS YOU ALL KNOW SOME FORMS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE IN CERTAIN SIZES.I HAVE HEARD THAT WHEN YOU SEND OFF HIDES YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT SIZE IT MAY BE WHEN IT RETURNS.IF YOU MEASURE AFTER TAN...............WELL..........YOU CANT! USUALLY THE CUSTOMER WANTS TO PICK OUT POSITION AND ALL WHEN DEER IS DROPPED OFF.

CAN YOU MEASURE UPFRONT-HOME TAN -AND STILL KAVE THE HIDE FIT? IM TOLD TANNED HIDES DONT STRECH AS GOOD. SEEMS TO ME LIKE THEY WOULD STRECH BETTER .ESPECIALLY AFTER A SHAVE...............AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

[hounddoggy]

IS THERE REALLY THAT MUCH SHRINKAGE OR HAVE I BEEN FED A LINE OF BULL???

[Justin P.]

Tape measure.

[TROPHY SHACK]

Lots of shrinkage,and how many customers like to drop off a deer with a 20 neck and pick up weeks later with a 18 neck,trust me they dont

[Mark D]

TROPHYSHACK,  WHO TANS YOUR HIDES? OR WHAT SORT OF METHOD DO YOU USE IF YOU DO IT YOURSELF?       There is not that much shrinkage Hounddoggy.  You CAN measure up front and have the hide fit after tanning.

[Steve Rotramel (Witchbane)]

Think about it for a minute.  Do you really think all the quality taxidermists that either tan their capes or have them tanned do so because they know the cape is going to shrink and there is no way to know how much and they are impossible to measure?

Everyone has a system; here is mine.

I measure the deer by putting a flexible tape measure around the smallest part of the neck before I skin it.  Smallest part, right up next to the ear butts.
I pull the tape tight but not choking tight.  Just enough to lay the hair down tight to the neck.

I add one inch to that measurement and order the form accordingly.  Depending on the form I want, I will sometimes take the eye to nose measurement as well to make sure we stay in the same universe.

20" measurement gets a 21" form.  Always tan.  Rarely have a problem.

Measuring after the tan definitely can be a little tougher and takes some experience.

Biggest problem converting from DP to tanning??  You're not used to shaving as much as you need to.  If you leave the hide that thick it will shrink and not stretch.

[TROPHY SHACK]

Not saying anything wrong with that but if i done it that way my capes would not fit most of time,u must get lots of streach

[bill@hogheaven]

My experience is that a PROPERLY TANNED & SHAVED cape is always bigger than a raw skin. BUT you gotta tan & shave CORRECTLY. If you cant do it use a good tannery.

[TROPHY SHACK]

Your right thats why im eather staying with dp and glue or tanery

[nitt]

I tan my own hides and get more stretch out of them than the oreiginal measurements taken. If done right you will be ok

[sergeant133]

I'm just shaking my head at this.   There is only one true way to measure the deer you take in.  MEAT measurement.  If you measure the meat then you will not have any problems.  You replace what you take out.  Anything else and you are stretching/cheating the measurements.  Whether you have a tannery tan your hides or tan at home, you should get the same fit regardless.  Now when you mention "tan at home" what do you consider the definition of tanning is?  DP IS NOT TANNING.  Granted I can take a "green" hide after it is fleshed and washed, throw it on a bigger form than it should be on.  By doing this I'm only asking for problems down the road.  The cape returning to the original size and stitches in the back splitting.  I've already remounted three deer other taxidermist have mounted this particular way!

When a deer comes in and you are finished removing the cape from the skull measure the meat!  I have done this for the past I don't know how many years and have NEVER had a problem ordering forms or fitting when mounting.  My tannery does an excellent job and I get the stretch I need when re-hydrating the cape.

One problem I see over and over is letting the hunter tell YOU what a deer looks like when it comes to sizes of necks!  Next time a hunter comes in and says "I measured the deer myself and it measured 36" around the neck", throw a few catalogs at him/her and tell them to find a form with that measurement.   Secondly if they show you a "dead" pic of the deer explain that pic is NOT in the natural state.   When the deer was actually alive his neck was swollen but not to the extent it is when the hunter has the neck all twisted up for the picture!

This always gets me on a rant when hunters start acting like the expert!  Hell I send most of my deer out of the shop cross eyed!  After a couple of years mounting deer with the eyes anatomically correct they were bitching because they didn't look right.   I would show the white in the correct position the eye was reflecting and one hunter said deer don't look like that.  I even had the nicitating membranes in place and backed it up with reference photos.  Sooooooo I started mounting things like they wanted to see them.   

Anyway I got off the topic at hand.  Take measurements by the meat and you will be fine.

[TROPHY SHACK]

I agree with u,meat measure.