I have never mounted a caribou and a potential customer has asked me if I could mount one. I am very reluctant to attempt this cause I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to caribou. I've mounted plenty of whitetail before, is there anything special I need to know about, like the handling of the hair, do I tan it like I would a whitetail, any info anyone would be willig to share would be great. I use Krowtan btw for tanning. Before I decide whether I am gonna take this on or not I'd like to hear some feedback from you all. I haven't been mounting things long except for friends and faimily. Just starting to branch out to folks I don't know. TIA, trudyjean
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They have fuzzy noses so that saves you time. They have grey/blue eyes and their skin is very thin, so make SURE you don't order an oversized form. Otherwise, same as a deer. Even use medium deer earliners.
article on this in Breakthrough. Check out the index on their website you can buy photocopies of the article for a buck a page.
They arent difficult to do just follow good reference.
I heard or read where the hair slips easily, is this true? Is there any do's and don't with this animal? Also what price range do you guys charge? I just need an idea. BTW, Thanks for you alls help. Yawl are a wealth of information. I have posted my email addy if you'd rather not post here. Thanks again, Trudyjean
a caribou is easy to mount ( for me that is ) the 2 things I see often that its done wrong is using brown eyes , use caribou eyes they are grey. The clay work around the eyes is the other thing.The manikin useal;y needs more clay because when the manikin molds cut backs would be some times difficult to remove from the mold , and can cause damage to the manikin. A caribou has a lot of muscle tissue around the eyes like a moose , so to give the caribou that swollen
eye look , you will need to use more clay.
I did a couple last year. They are alot like a deer. Get some reference. The lips are unique and can look stupid if done too far off. Where I underestimated the job was preparing the antlers. They usually come in velvet and full of blood. They are very porous, like coral. Often the tips fall off and have to be rebuilt. Lots of info in the archives. I ended up painting them with latex paint to seal the pores, staining with Potassium Permanganate, buffing, and spraying with Matte clear sealer. Also, the skull is usually split and has to be reassembled. I charged $500 each but should have charged $700. Also, some people may want you to make one antler removable to get them through the door. My customer had a sliding door so I figured I was fine. I'm a part timer working in my basement and didn't consider my doorways. Fortunately I realized and ended up mountng them in my garage. One other thing, the selection of forms isn't as diverse as for whitetails and I had to alter them. I thought they came out great and I learned alot. The customer was real happy and sent some friends my way.
Thank you all for all your information. I haven't committed yet to this yet, I wanted to do all my research first and you all sure have helped alot. Anyone else with input please do post, I appreciate it. trudyjean