Well, I posted here last week about trouble with fitting the forward postion ears on a form because it wouldn't sew up in back. After putting the cape on an altered, smaller form I put it together. I couldn't stand to look at it any longer, so I called the customer to discuss it with him and suggested he bring a picture or two of the deer.(I didn't cape the deer, but was given the cape and antlers by the customer)
The customer met with me tonight and we looked over the picture and the deer mount. At first I thought there was no way the deer I mounted was the deer in the photo. The deer in the photo has a full swollen neck and a big head and muzzle. But after comparing bullet holes, facial hair patterns, a torn ear and a cut made when skinning the customer made by the eye, we determined it was in fact the same deer. (I did check the code I had punched in the hide and my original tag was still on it after the tannery.) Only the deer I mounted looks like a piece of crap. The neck is skinny the head looks too big and it is way too small in the shoulders.
What I am trying to find out is, what the heck happened to this cape? I used the same tannery as my other deer this past season and did not have any trouble with 25+ other capes. It appears that this cape shrunk big time, even after rehydrated and no amount of stretching brought it even close to back to where it should be. The cape also lost small amounts of hair after tanning, some along the dorsal cut. Has anyone ever had something like this happen?
I fleshed and salted the cape like all the others and do not remember anything at all unusual about this one, other than it being full dorsal cut,(I usually use a short Y)and that there was a cut behind the eye.
I was thinking about calling the tannery to see what they had to say and probably will. Any thoughts? Thanks.
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I was one of the people that anwsered your post last time.First of all not all deer tan up the same.This I do know for sure for the fact that we tan several hundred a year in house.Some skins just dont let out as well as others no matter how thin you shave them ect.I am suspecting this is a late season deer after rut maybe, maybe not. but here in the upper midwest we get a lot of dec, and jan. deer they seem to give us the most problems with this not all but a few. after all by then the swell is gone mostly anyway.Another thing if infact it is a late season deer from up this way rember a lot of what size that you are seeing is hair this hair in the pics has loft lots of loft if a late season deer this adds tremendous size apperence.hope some of this will help let me know when and where the deer was harvested id like to know if it in fact is a late season northern deer cya Jeff
It was shot in a management zone in late October, in the photo he looks primed for the rut, a real physical specimen. The customer was very good about the whole thing, but it made me almost sick to look at the photo and then the mount. He didn't seem too concerned about the deer, but had it been mine I know I would not have been happy. By the way we decided I would remount the deer on a big cape for him.
After seeing the picture, I just can't understand how this cape ended up so small.
Take ahand full of baking soda mix with half gallon of water mix and spread it on your cape just before mounting and watch it grow,works every time.
A 2.5 year old 8 pointer, shot during December muzzleloader season on the same 6522 McKenzie form. It fit fine with the ears forward. This deer is much smaller than the one I attempted to mount for the customer.
I've heard the baking soda idea is tricky business as far as keeping your cape from falling apart. If all the other deer I have done are fine, but one had trouble, and they were all tanned the same, why would this matter?
You said this deer fit the form good ,but if this deer was smaller how come you used the same form for both deer.there could be a hundred reasons why that skin didnt fit. next time wait till you get your skin back from the tannery and sweat it and measure it before ordering the form. do you use clay earbutts or not?
was posted back a few days ago under "Help with fit". Please read it because I explained what the problem was there,and if you can think of one of the hundred reasons that might fit here, please let me know. I seriously would like an explanation because I do not know why this cape would be different than the other 25+ I did from the same tannery. Thanks for your help.
I did rehydrate and sweat it and after stretched it, sewed up most of the incision, stretched it some more and test fit it on a manikin. I have extra forms, but go back and read the post and maybe that will help. Thanks again.