i have three snow geese in the freezer and i would like to try mounting them my self because i would like to start my own taxidermy, i was woundering if a wire wheel is worth the money or if doing it by hand is just was good, what is the "life spand" of the wire wheel and what is the time difference between the wire wheel and by hand
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Clint
Been doing waterfowl for 30 yrs.
Recently bought a wheel from Van Dykes the big heavy one recommended for turkeys.
It is heavy duty and smooth running and works great.
Don't know how I ever got along witout one except when I started mounting they weren't invented!
On Swan and geese and fatty ducks you really cannot remove all the fat by hand you will just cut the bird to bits trying.
wheeling also opens up so skin so degreasing (dawn)can happen.
my birds cure and dry MUCH faster now.
Looks to me that any of the brands or homemade ones will last a long time. Just a soft wire wheel and a motor.
How long does it take you to do a snow goose with a scisors? 2 hours? More? I can do one with a wire wheel in 20 minutes. How long will they last? That depends on how many birds you do. I personally have used the same wheel for the past 2 years.
Its like the difference between night and day.
....for birds but an excellent way to flesh small game.You can do all these with the same wheel, but I found out early that geese and turkeys require a larger "free" area than what comes with most fleshers.Get the biggest one you can then you might want to alter it to give you more working room. Good investment...JL
I have the same wheel on mine that was on it when I bought it in 1983. They even gave me an extra wheel with it. I guess they didn't know how long it would last back than.