OK first of please dont tell me to look in the archives, because I have not found the answer that I am looking for. A customer wants me to mount a 5 pointer that he just shot in full velvet. The velvet is already starting to dry up(getting ready to shed the velvet). My question is how do I go about getting the velvet to stay on the antlers? The tips are not soft and it has solid bone throughout. The freeze drying method I no nothing about and I dont know of anyone that does them. I would like to just put them in the freezer, but I dont know for how long is sufficient. I dont want to have to tell the customer that he is going to have to wait 2 years before he gets his mount back. My turnaround time is usually about 4 months. I have also heard about this product called preserve-it. I was curious about that to see if you just leave the antlers submerged in the so called tan for a period of time. Please any of your help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks in advance Todd...
Return to Deer Taxidermy Category Menu
.....Because I've covered my method at least a couple times. But here it is again. I'v never used the Preserve-it, but I hear it works well.
Your antlers are beyond the shrinkage stage of summer velvet. Basicly you want to bug proof and completely dry the ramaining velvet. Soak the antlers in (1)alcohol and (2)a strong borax solution, alternating for several days. Put it in one in the morning and then at night put it in the other, do this for a couple days, if it were a summer rack I'd recommend doing it for a week. Start and finish with the alcohol, let them dry and your done. If this were a summer rack that you would want to avoid shrinkage, it would need to be frozen to keep it from shrinking until you could get it freeze dried. The borax will keep the bugs from taking a liking to the velvet, and the alcohol will remove any moisture that remains in the velvet.
Just freeze drying a velvet rack will not keep the bugs from getting to them eventually. Been there, done that.
Research Mannikins does an awesome job of putting artificial velvet on. Just send a piece of the velvet or a photo with the antlers and they'll match the color.
if the velvet is still soft enough to push a needle in, inject the antlers with preservz it. If they are too dried out to do that, wrap them in paper towels soaked in preservz it. Then wrap some plastic over that and let them sit for a few days. After that you take the papertowels off and hang them up to dry.