Dry-tan rehydration

[Oak Leaf]

Ok, so I recently ordered a dry tan cape to mount my 4th whitetail.

Ordered the form and cape on a conference call with the cape company and revolution taxidermy. Picked the form somewhat down a size from the cape size to be on the safe side. (the cape dealer and I decided that was a safe bet).

Anyway...make a long story short.

I rehydrated the cape and sweated it in a black plastic bag for 24 hours, all according to the directions. It came out nice and soft...I can remove the cartilage no problems.

Problem is. The face went quite a bit longer than the expected 7" and the neck fits below the ears, but no where else.

The form is a "Last chance" and the cape is also very long between the base of the jaw and the armpits compared to the form....

Can I "re-rehydrate" and re-sweat the cape?

Is there some kind of relaxer to help get more stretch?

I've heard of people using a "rolling pin" to get the cape to stretch side to side. That would also shorten up the lenght as it stretches, right?

---Matt

[Mountain Ed]

Ok, so I recently ordered a dry tan cape to mount my 4th whitetail.

Ordered the form and cape on a conference call with the cape company and revolution taxidermy. Picked the form somewhat down a size from the cape size to be on the safe side. (the cape dealer and I decided that was a safe bet).

Anyway...make a long story short.

I rehydrated the cape and sweated it in a black plastic bag for 24 hours, all according to the directions. It came out nice and soft...I can remove the cartilage no problems.

Problem is. The face went quite a bit longer than the expected 7" and the neck fits below the ears, but no where else. What is the eye to nose on the form? a 1/4 " extra on the hide is no big deal.

The form is a "Last chance" and the cape is also very long between the base of the jaw and the armpits compared to the form....

Can I "re-rehydrate" and re-sweat the cape?Should be no problem, just watch for mold. get a fan on it after you finnish mounting.

Is there some kind of relaxer to help get more stretch?Realy should'nt need one. How far are you from pulling the seam on the neck together?

I've heard of people using a "rolling pin" to get the cape to stretch side to side. That would also shorten up the lenght as it stretches, right?Yes, stretching side to side will shorten the cape.You can stretch the hide by "fisting it,just don't pull on the hair side.

---Matt

[Oak Leaf]

Thanks Ed.

I was able to get it mounted. Ran into some trouble with the brisket because of how stretched out it was, it ended up to where I couldnt taxi it exactly where I wanted and its a little twisted...Im disappointed that I couldnt get it straight, but I tried and tried..I just couldnt get it exactly the way I wanted.

The rest of the deer definitely came out better than my first two though. I mis-spoke, this is number 3 really...number 4 is in the refrigerator...

I've definitely learned something with every mount.

When I get a chance, I'll post some pix.

Thanks again.

---Matt