I am a begginer at Taxidermy. i have gotten the manuals and stuff on it but i havent done any mounting or anything yet. someone told me that dry preserving wasnt very effective.if i am going to mount a deer head would it be better to tan it or use the dry preservitive for my first mount?
thanks
brian
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Brian dry preservative is just one of the many options out there for preserving a mount.Now some people on here would rather cut there hand off as to say D.P. is ok.But as for me I would defintley reconmend DP. since this is your first mount.There are plenty of commercial taxidermist that turn out thousands of deer every year,some crapy ,some blue ribbon quality useing D.P.I myself have never tanned with a true tan in my 4 years of taxidermy.I will say this, if you are going to use dry preservative be sure to thin the face area as much as possible for less shrinkage.Ben Mears is the best whitetail taxidermist I perssonaly know and he uses his own spray tan method,not a true tan also every body has there opinoin ,as for me the only thing ill tan is a rug .
Brian,
A job worth doing is worth doing right! There are no "True" short cuts to taxidermy.Tan your skins.
DP may work for some Taxidermist in your Southern regions, but here in the North, "It aint worth a hill of beans" if you're wanting to use it for your shoulder mounts. The 4 seasons play havoc on the skins due to the constant expansion and contraction, due to the seasons.All DP does is what it stands for.....Preserves the skin by pulling all the moisture out of it.Its still raw or green, just in a dry state.Down the road, look for pulling and cracking to take place as well as seems starting to show.
Do it right....Tan it! There's so many fine tans out there that are easy to do in your own home.Lutan-F, EZ-100, Liqua Tan,QUick-N-EZE by Rittels, Tannit VGS are all good choices for tanning agents for almost all your needs.Shoulder mounts, Rugs and some of these are even good for garment.Say that about DP!
By tanning, and applying the oils back into the skins, regaurdless of the seasons, you'll prevent shrinkage problems and cracking and with a little care will have a mount to last your lifetime.Call your nearest tannery and ask them what they use. I promise you, it wont be DP!
Any ways,what ever your choice, just have fun and be creative. Thats what its all about for ya this early in the game.
Have a great day to all,
Dave
Thanks for the input guys
Brian
In a lexicon's parlance, you've just found yourself in a conundrum. BanDykes sells volumes of mounting kits through their supply catalog and through Cabela's. I just had a customer bring in a squirrel mounting kit AND a deer mounting kit from Van Dykes today, and guess what they both had neatly wrapped inside them? I don't know how happy your employer is going to be about you saying they aren't supplying the best products to their customers.
That is absolutely correct George. We do sell kits with DP in it. You wont find it in any kit larger than a Rabbit for a mamal, and it does come in all our bird kits. You WONT find it in any of our Deer or Antelope kits!I thought that this was the toppic......shoulder mounts. I probably should have specified that so you would have understood what application I was referring to.Sorry, I'll talk slower next time!
The point I was trying to make is that in recent years, there have been made possible, better tanning methods vrs DP,at the least, better for the hide, allowing it to hold up better throughout the years.
As much as you would like me to, I wont sit here and argue with you over the product. I was born and raised in Michigan, I read your latestnewest posting, and I simply disagree with you!You wont convince me otherwise.I can see the difference DP makes and I HAVE seen the effect changes of the seasons has on it.I feel that DP has its place with Taxidermy, but on anything bigger than a coyote, I choose not to use it and when I'm asked,I tell them the same, and have done so LONG before my employment here.
In the future, I would truely appreciate it if you refer to me as a person and not a rep for a particular supply co.I have been responding as "Dave B." so that others didn't feel as if I'm some type of sales person here as well as the fact that I do have my own opinions and dont want others to feel that my opinions are those of the company I work for.I dont do this to you or anyone else on this Forums and would truely appreciate the same consideration!In Your latest posting "Wives Tale", you chose to make it knowen that it was a "rep" from a "supply company" said: I feel you were wronge for doingdoing that. I have NEVER treated YOU or anyone else like that and dont expect to BE treated like that. It was disrespectful and unappreciated! I'm just a fella with an opinion, nothing more, but, nothing less.
Have a good day,
Dave