I am new, but most deer I get in are skinned to the head, and brought in to me for the final skinning. My question is how do you get an accurate neck measurement from a deer with no neck? All I have is the head and Skin.
Return to Beginners Category Menu
Bob,
I get them the same way. If they are taken completely to the first joint of the spine at the base of the skull, you'll have to do it the hard way. If not, slip the tape under the chin and around the base of the skull to the top of the neck. (I measure before I skin and I keep the tape tight. You can also do it later with a loose tape.) Years ago, this was the "A" measurement and as far as I'm concerned, is still the most important. Rutted deer change the other measurements as the seasons pass, but that old "A" measurement stays the same. If you try to stretch it, your eyes become slitted and the ears move up on the sides of the deer's face.
The hard way is to take the tubed cape, stretch it lengthwise and then width wise. Lay a ruler across the spots designated for measuring and double the figure you get. If you dorsal cut them, lay them out, hair down and just take the flat measure across the spots. I like shorting the measurement 1/2 inch or so, so that you have plenty of cape to detail the muscles on. Never estimate above your measurement.
There is a difference between the northern and southern deer. all deer from colder climates have longer hair, and therefore you should use a snug measurement any time you go over the hair.
the southern deer and texas deer are very short-haired, and can be
given a little more slack.
on our deer, a good fit will be obtained by using a snug, but not tight measurement, and if you have to measure a flat or tubed skin,
you can use the actual measurement, instead of subtracting any.
Hope that helps.
Dave