How much extra hide is too much

[Haffs]

I've mounted a couple of deer and a few antelope and ran into an issue with my last two whitetails. It seems that once I have everything sewn and the lips and eyes tucked, I have a ton of extra skin around the face. The deer i mounted last weekend has dried now and all of the extra skin shrunk down and everything looks fine but in the reference videos I've seen, it seems like the deer is basically done when the taxidermist is. (No waiting to see if the puffy cheeks and ear butts will shrink down and look right). The deer I just finished tonight has major exrta skin around his face and under his jaw. I'm expecting to all shrink down and work fine but it's a bit nerve wracking in the mean time. Is it normal to have this much extra skin??

[Randy Miller]

Test fit first. Then mount. It won't "shrink down" automatically by itself into the correct place. That's your job. Taxi it into place.

[Matt]

Ditto on what Randy said. I run into that from time to time when it looks like there is alot of excess skin. Just taxi it around and line everything up.

[duxdown]

I use a chaulk gun and before i tuck they eye's i pump about 3 good pumps down in each cheek and then tuck the eye's. I even pump a couple up in the forehead area often as not. You can then move it around and as it starts setting still manipulate it to get the look you want. Just make sure you use latex chaulk.

Duxdown.

[turkeyjim]

In some cases, yes you can just taxi it around, in some cases it just isn't going to fit. Your going to have hair patterns that are messed up. Is it the form size your having trouble with, Is the eye to nose right. If the eye to nose is right and the form size is right, but you still have a lot of excess skin. Try a change out head. I have ran into this on a few different mounts. In the past, I just taxied it around the best I could. The finished mount just didn't look right. A friend of mine uses change out heads, and it really does make a differrence. Just for craps and giggles, I tried the change out heads and it worked.  Their just a little bit bigger than the head size that comes on the mannikin, and does take up the excess skin. It is a little more expensive, a little more extra time, but the end result is a head that fits, and a mount that looks much better, without the hair patterns that are gobbed together. Now I keep a couple extra heads on hand, just in case. Good luck.
Jim

[3bears]

Make the form fit the skin. One size doesn't fit all. Some times you have to build up facial features on some deer, the jowl area most often. A little slack is a good thing but alot not so much. As stated babysit it and adjust as needed to match reference. 3bears

[Randy Miller]

x2 Matt, Turkeyjim, 3bears. I like dewlaps!