i drew a sheep tag and am going on a self guided hunt in colorado this year. i would like specific recommendations as to how much salt i need to pack in if i want to preserve the whole skin for a lifesize mount.
thanks for your time
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It is around one pound of salt to one pound of well fleshed and cleaned hide, cape or skin. You can NEVER oversalt. Around 12 pounds of salt should be enough to get your trophy back to a taxidermist. Keep it cool!
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Kim
I would not want to pack in salt on a sheep hunt. I would cape it clean and get in a cool area with a breeze to start drying and get it out of the mountains. Sheep hunting is hard enough without packing 10 pounds of salt with you! Despite what you read, you can air dry a hide under the right conditions. I have dried a ton of hides this way when running a trapline back in the day.
your taxidermist will have plenty. Along with the knowledge of fleshing prep prior to applying the salt. Not to sound downgrading but do a little footwork on skinning directions, (dorsal), field measurements to take, etc. I'm sure there are a number of folks in your area that would be happy to help you out. Get the cape off the carcass in a reasonable amount of time, cool it rapidly and keep it cool, clean and dry until you get to a freezer or your artist.
Unless you know how to turn the ears, nose, eyes, cape the head properly, have the tools or time to flesh all the meat, fat off, salting will just cause a mess of fluids puddling all over and may reuin your trophy. Jim and Drews advice was sound.