I have a deer that I mounted for a guy about a month ago and he wants me to take the antlers from it and put them on another deer that I am mounting for him. He wants the larger rack on the deer I am about to mount for him. Can this be done and still reuse the hide? Whats the best way to rehydrate the hide? It was tanned and I used hide paste of course.
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And wrapit up in wet towels and plastic bag. Keep it damp, Cut stitchings, remove antlers. Saving that hide, you will need to remove it and do a good job of cleaning. While it is still damp, freeze it for use later.
Jimmy I did that before, more bother & time than it's worth. The hide that's already mounted, has taken that shape and it's tough to rehydrate and work it to be completely limber again. Not to mention the mess of the hide paste. Don't get me wrong, it can be done. The one I did turned out but, it was a real headache and I wouldn't want to ever do it again.
The easiest thing would be, to soften the skull flap and remove those antlers and replace them with another set and sew back shut & let dry.
hope that helps
I just did this. I removed one rack from a head and shoulders mount and replaced it with another. The original rack was small, so I just dunked it into a tub of water with the water level just above the eyes. After letting it soak over night, I oppened up the seam, removed the old rack and ear liners, replaced the ear liners with some new ones (ears back and they were forward)then sewed it back up. I also completly refurbishe the mount by cleaning it, redoing the nasal interior, eyes and gave it a new paint job. I also had to replace the eye lids and fix some minor cracking. It came out great.