Help with Mountain Goat

Submitted by Dan Peterson on 8/16/04 at 12:04 PM. ( dan@snbt.com ) 24.123.91.22

I am going on a mountain goat hunt in about six weeks and will want to mount my goat if I am successful. I have done a lot of head mounts, but never a mountain goat. I assume I will cape it like any other animal, but do the horns need to be boiled off like an antelope? Are there any other special requirements when skinning and caping? How about the smell? Are there any special tricks for that as well? Any help will be appreciated!

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Dan, lots of things differ

This response submitted by George on 8/16/04 at 1:25 PM. ( georoof@aol.com ) 64.12.116.132

First and foremost, try to keep the hide clean and don't let it set in puddled blood. It's likely to need bleaching anyway, but it's still best not to add insult to injury. I'd suggest a dorsal incision for these guys since the hair is so long, but be VERY CAREFULL to cut off to the side of top dead center. The scruff(neck) and the fluff(butt) manes will stand up much better if you sort of cut off to one side.

When you cape it out, take special care with the horn glands (you already know about that), but I'd discourage boiling them off. Just bag them and they'll mascerate quite well in a few days.

When I bleach mine, I make sure that I also use a good hair conditioner on it after I rinse the bleach out. This will allow you to back brush the hide much easier and it will make the wool fluffier and those guard hairs stick up beautifully.

Good luck on your hunt.


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