Mounting my first antelope. I got in frozen, unthawed and skinned out. Put back in the freezer unthawed this afternoon and started fleshing on fleshing beam just like I do on a whitetail. Noticed a large clump of hair fall out. When I turned hide over to see where it came from hair fell out everywhere. Everywhere I fleshed all the hair fell out. Hide is riuned, just wondering if anyone can tell me what happened; are what I did wrong.
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and it arrived frozen, I would have to assume it could have been bad before it was frozen and sent to you. Or, when you thawed it out the first time, how long was it thawed out, was it wet, bloody, ect. How warm did it get before you put it back in the freezer? Did you roll it up tight, and then put it back in the freezer, if so, and it had bacteria working on the cape, it could still do damage for a bit in the freezer. This is just some what if's, but one of them might fit.
when I started skinning. It didn't take to long to skin out and turn ears,split eyes, lip and nose. It might have took me 31/2 to 4 hours. I did roll up tight and put back in freezer , because I did not have alot of space. Thanks Ben
The HOLLOW HAIR is great insulation. It may have taken days for it to freeze. the tight ball you rolled it into was not good for it either. The rest is elementry to handling any hide, slow thaws are the worst thing you can do.
You got a little carried away over the fleshing beam. Speed goats, IMHO should never be beamed anyway. The hair sit on the outer epidural layer os skin and dislodges just like John C said. A narrow beam and an agressive fleshing knife rolls the hair and it's gone.
Antelope skin is thin anyway. Hand flesh the red meat off on your next one and just salt. Sorry about this one.
Being here from Wyoming I mount alot of lopes. Hunters shoot one in the morning and then drive around all day long in 80 degree weather with the whole dead one in the back of the pickup looking for a the partners buck to shoot, the cape is lost on the first one and then they also say the meat tastes bad; it does not. This is only one reason I buy and sell many antelope capes every year. The black patch must be fleshed, something most new to antelope capeing and fleshing do not do and it slips there if you do not. Lope capes esp. on account of alot of poor hunter field care. The capes must be cooled down and salted as fast as possible the day you recieve them in even if you have to work all night catching up. AND then you will still loose a few. Plastic bags,freezers and refrigs. are antelope cape destroyers. Tanning antelope capes yourself will also result in extra losses. Thats a fools and new commers game with regards to antelope capes. Send them to a good tannery that does a lot of them. I use Glacier Fur in Kalispel Montana and they do great work ON PROPERLY CARED FOR capes.