A friend gave me his deer he shot this weekend to practice on. I ordered the video series from WASCO to get more info but it wont be here for a few days. I dont want the skin to rot. I have it all skinned and also skinned the skull so right now I have the full cape with all the meat cut off of it. I put some salt on it but so far thats all i have done. What else do I need to do to preserve it for at least a week until I get to watch the videos. Do I need to wash the blood off the hair now? Also is it a good idea to just order the Whitetail Deer Shoulder Mount Kits from WASCO for my first one? Thanks
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Did you turn the ears, eyes, lips, and nose? If you didn't and you don't know how to, you need to freeze the cape as soon as possible. If you have these areas turned and all the red meat removed from the cape, simply rub in non-iodized salt into all the areas of the skin side of the cape, roll it up, and put it on an incline to drain overnight. The next day, brush off the wet salt and apply a fresh layer of salt to the skin side and lay it out to dry. Use non-iodized, fine grain salt.
Nope I havent skinned the ears. One problem though is that I checked the salt container at lunch and it said Iodized salt on it. I went out and hosed the thing down hoping that might help. What kind of problems will this cause me?
To my knowledge, iodized salt really doesn't make a difference, except it might leave a stain on the skin from the iodine. Probably won't make a difference. If you don't get the ears/eyes/lips/nose turned, they will slip or lose hair. If you can't do this, you need to freeze the hide immediately.
Should I just let it dry until this evening then and roll it up and stick it in a platic bag then freeze it? Or is their a better way to package it for the freezer. I only need it in their long enough to get the video set I ordered from WASCO this morning.
Don't roll it up. Just lay it flat in a bag and seal the bag. Lay the bag so that the skin is as flat as possible in the freezer. Get it in there as soon as possible. Your video set will probably take a few days to get there and you don't want to risk having the hide slip on you.
Thanks for the info. I will get it in the freezer in the next couple hours.