I am new to taxidermy, having mounted 4 deer heads. On my last mount I measured the tanned hide like they tell you in the catalogs. Using the nose to eye measurement as my first guide I found that all of the forms listed had larger neck measurements than my hide. I stretched the hide a bit but it still measured too small for the forms. I ended up ordering a form with a nose to eye measurement smaller than that of my hide and with the smallest neck measurements they had. Even at that the form shoulder was too big for my hide. Should I have ordered a form with an eye to nose measurement half or three quarters of an inch shorter than my hide to get the right neck measurement? Is this a common problem or was my deer a pencil neck?
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I know what you are going through. Recently I did a deer that had a 16 inch neck and a 6.5 nose to eye, but the problem was that blacktailed deer are so hard to get that measurment. Everyhing I found with that nose to eyes had necks that were 17 or larger. So finally I ordered a 17 inch neck and shaved it down to 16. It was much better than having a pug faced deer because the nose and eye measurments would not fit. I dont mess with the face, if the neck wont fit, I shave it down til it does.
The most important measurements are the neck measurements. Let's say I have a cape that has a 7 3/4 eye with the other two neck measurements being 19 X 20 1/2. The closest form I can find is 7 1/4 X 19 X 20 1/2. I will buy a 7 3/4 change out head and remove the 7 1/4 head and bondo the larger head on. I run into pencil neck deer quite frquently here in Iowa , especially shotgun season and late muzzleloader. I think it's simply a matter of a larger deer being run down from the stress of the rut, hunting pressure, and the fact that it's winter! Earlier in the year say late pre rut going into full rut these deer probably had fuller, more swollen necks. Hope this helps
Personally I would rather buy the face that fits and shave the neck to make it fit.
i order the neck measurement
when im going to mount up i alter the face up or down
if you just had to slide the cape on
well
whats the fun in that
its great when everything fits
but if it doesnt
lately im happier to give my artistic nerve a stretch out
the bigger the pile of foam on the floor sometimes the better
its part of the learning process
up to a .5 inch difference in face i dont even blink
hope this helps
paul e
do not be afraid to alter a form. go for the neck measurement and alter the face. cut right behind the lips and take out a half inch or so OR add the same. bondo, not hot glue back together and your a good taxidermist. not all forms fit all capes exactly. alot of times i`ll even get more stretch out of a cape after i apply the hide paste so in some cases i even buy a larger form and make it work for that big neck look. be creative and don`t dread the alteration. it doesn`t take long to do and the extra effort make a quality piece.