I am a historical reenactor of the American Colonial time period. I have a full whitetail hide already tanned and would like to carry the deer on my shoulders to historical events to simulate returning to camp with a fresh kill.
Any suggestions on putting together a soft/flexible mount to accomplish my goal would be helpful.
Steve, 6-12-06
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Get your lifesize deer soft tanned. Wet only the head enough to mount. Buy a change-out head and mount the head. Buy 16 foot of 1/4 inch copper tubing and cut into 4 equal lengths. Put one tube in each leg and fill the leg skin with polyfill as you sew, packing it tightly so as to keep the copper tubing in the center of the leg. Once you get all 4 legs sewn up, buy enough of the fine poly beads like are used in bean bag chairs to fill the body cavity. You'll probably be better off to pour these beads in muslin bags, but don't overfill them. Stuff these bags into the body and sew it up. The beads will allow you to bend your deer's body easily and weigh next to nothing. Bend your legs as you'll need them and there you have your dead deer to carry with you anywhere you go. The lobby of the Hilton may not be the best place to visit, however.