Having trouble getting my deer hides to fit the forms not sure if I am measuring wrong or what. I've tried both measuring before skinning and after tanned.
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Are you tanning the hides yourself, sending out, dp? How are you measuring? There so much info that is missing that we have to write a book to help you out. Give us a bit more and we can then help out more.
I have had this happen many times. I take my measurments after the hide is off. Some do and some don't but I have found this is the best method. I finally made myself a hide stretcher. You can see a picture of one in Van Dykes. I have found this to be a very useful tool. I also purchased a hide tool so I can position the hide. If you want to ask me any questions please e-mail me at cpatrick@watchtv.net Hope this helps.
I use a short incision and when I get it back from the tannery I rehydrate, place a lawn tractor inner tube in the neck area, put a couple stitches in it to close it, inflate it enough to put a gentle swell on it, and sweat it over night. This works well if you have a hide that is tanned properly and is thinned enough to allow good stretch. Also, are you tryng to order a full swell form when it might be a pre-rut? Are you ordering an inch below actual measurements to allow yourself room to "taxi"? And the list goes on and on. It's a trial and error thing. Don't feel bad. My first deer took 3 different forms before I got it right! Feel free to e-mail above address. Just add the .com. Good Luck. Jeff F.
if you tanned them yourself you may not have neutralised them enough
and if you ordered a mold with to much swell
try cuting the seam a little more it sometimes helps get the bunching
to slide a little better and makes your ear butts easier to deal with
also what hide paste are you using
if you sanded the snot out of the form you may have to much resistence
a good hide paste like Epo-Grip will help you just like if you had a plastic bag
if you have more info it would also help
did you dry salt
what type of tan
how did you neutralise
did you sweat in a plastic bag over night
give us more info and well try to help you figure this out