Mounting my first Elk!

Do a prefit, cut accordingly. They vary a lot with regards to pedicle height etc. Check your antlers for wall cearance! Have fun.

 

Invert the skin, and sew all but enough of it to slip over the head prior to mounting (about 18 inches) Your seam will be much neater by placing the cape on a table and doing a roll stitch. When you align the two sides of the cape, take a sharpie and place marks at 6" intervals on both sides of the seam all the way down. This will keep you aligned as you sew. In 30 minutes or less, you will have most of your sewing done. As for setting the antlers, place the form backboard on the floor and make sure the antler tips don't touch the floor. If they do, adjust accordingly. This is a good time to prefit your cape. I use 5/16" x 6" lag bolts to anchor the antlers. In impact wrench really speeds this up. Place a little oil on bolt threads for ease in tightening them.

 

To reiterate !!! check those antler tips, then check them again ! nothing more frustrating to mount one up then find the antlers touching the wall and cant hang it up.

I use a 6 foot leveler. (short antlers a 4 foot works) You have the form on your stand any ways, just put the leveler on the back board and rotate it across at the top. If its touching the antlers, cuss then readjust them.

CHECK THOSE ANTLER TIPS ! I been at this over 30 years, and didn't think to check a kudu just two weeks ago. Didn't catch it until the next day when I WAS going to hang it on the drying wall. Lucky for me they only need a 1/8th to a 1/4 to clear. A panel on it was an easier fix than unsewing, adjusting and resewing.

 

Generally they come up and away from the line of the nose, check some ref pics and youll see. You will see many people have them coming out more parallel to the line of the nose, usually as a way to cheat the wall clearance issues mentioned above. Better to do the slight alteration of tipping the head down to pull the tips out of the wall vs having the antlers at the wrong angle.

 

If you do detach the head from the form, after re-attaching, I drill two 1" holes through the forehead and go deep down into the neck. I have an ancient old wood boring bit that is 18" long I use for this. Slip a piece of re-bar into each hole, and the fill with foam or thinned bondo. This will provide adequate support for the head with those heavy antlers.

 

I used to have to put weight on one of the legs of my stand because it would tip over. I have one of the Van Dykes stands and it’s not for big heads. I also filled holes to put a 1/4 inch bolt to keep the head from sinking. I couldn’t tighten the lock Tee handles down tight enough. Finally bought a HD stand.

 

Same here, Dave.

 

Yes, if you cut the head off to alter it, you need to beef up the support rather than depending on bondo or foam at the cut site.

I lay an 80 lb bag of quickcrete on the backside of the base of my mounting stand when mounting large game. I have placed a 2 x 4 under the chin of moose to aid in support while mounting.

 

Some elk forms come cut from the suppliers to fit in a smaller box.

 

LOL. It wouldn't take too much to be larger than an East Tennessee whitetail! Having moved to Greene County (from Chicago and previously done most of my hunting in the boonies of Central Wisconsin) I have yet to see a deer I would waste my time hunting around here. What they call big here only an impatient ten year old kid on his first hunt would shoot something this small up north.

Good luck with your mount!

Vic

 

Every elk I ever mounted was done as Joey suggests but the form was set FLAT ON THE FLOOR. If you set that form on the floor (on it's backboard), you will never have to guess if you have wall clearance. Mount your antlers. If they are cocked or skewed in any way, it means you need to alter your form. Positioning them on the form really shouldn't be a big issue either. Use the muzzle line top to align with the skull plate. If the antlers were cut properly (half distance between the burr and the eye, it will be even easier.

 

I learned that from you!

 

Chuckey - near Chuckey Elementary School but I teach at Science Hill High School in Johnson City.