I have some clients going on an antelope hunt in September. They are needing to know how to preserve the capes before getting them back to my shop. Please e-mail me with suggestions. Thanks!
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Remove the glands&Blood and salt the same as a w.t. .
The glands are not something I'd want any hunter messing with at that stage. FIRST and foremost, tell them to keep the animals hair away from the blood. That hair is hollow and will suck the blood into it where it CANNOT be removed. SECONDLY, be very careful with the hair. It pulls out on contact. And THIRD, remove the excess meat and FREEZE THE HIDE. If they don't know how to turn ears and split lips and eyelids, don't put salt on that hide. You'll have a mess to fix is that meat in the lips and eyelids dries before you get to it. Salt IS NOT YOUR FRIEND if you don't know what you're doing.
that these hunters know absolutely nothing about skinning a head for taxidermy purposes or the fragility of an antelope cape in particular. I would simply suggest that they cape it out, leaving the head in tact, bag it and place in a freezer as soon as possible (even sooner). Inform them not to pull on the hair, but grasp the flesh side of the cape while skinning. No matter where they're hunting, a freezer should be accessible within a few miles of where they are. If this is a guided hunt, the outfitters should already have preparations made. If it's non-guided, the hunters should make arrangements to have a freezer made available. As George stated, do not have them salt anything.
HH
I always recomend that hunters take along jugs of water and rags to clean the antelope hair with. Usually hunters ruin lopes when one guy gets his early in the morning and then they drive around all day long in the heat and the dead antelope bounceing around in the back dust with only a basic field dressing job and blood all over it while they look for another good buck to blast at. I take a large cooler with me 'lope hunting and bone out the thing right away and put the meat in the cooler and the head under a tarp or in a game bag and as clean and dry as possible. They can also take a big can of pepper to sprinkle on the cape and even on the meat to keep the flys off and help the cape. Pepper will do all that salt does "short term" without pulling water out of the skin. Another option is have them take them to a local taxidermist or game meat place ASAP just for caping etc. That's cheaper than new capes or bad meat.
Greg,
Do exactly as George says. Do not even mention salt to the hunters. My experience has been to keep instructions to hunters as simple as possible. I don't know what it is, but hunters loose all their common sense when it comes to proper handling of trophies. They'll haul it around in the back of their truck for hours showing it off. (Nothing wrong with that of course, but needs to be cooled as they do it) If you were to suggest hauling a t-bone steak around for hours in the back of their truck before taking it home to the little lady to cook it up for them......they would say "hey I ain't that stoopid".
Thanks for all the advise. I have spoken with my clients and they plan to take a small freezer unit with them. Problem solved!