If you were to ask a group of whitetail deer taxidermy judges what the most common anatomy problem they see when judging competitions, the answer would almost unanimously be ears and earbutts. Deer ears are extraordinarily delicate and beautiful structures, with nuanced expression revealed in the subtle way they are positioned. The earbutts themselves are an extremely complicated bundle of individual muscles and cartilage which change shape dramatically depending upon the position of the ears.
As Rick Carter explains in the video at the end of this article, there is an easy solution to solving the problems of ear anatomy, and that is by using the new McKenzie Whitetail Ears and Earbutts designed by Brad Eppley for all of your taxidermy work.
After years of design and testing, expert moldmaker and designer Brad Eppley worked in conjunction with whitetail experts Joe Meder and Dennis Behn to produce a whitetail ear that would represent the next generation of earliners. Not only are these ears the most anatomically accurate ever offered, they also have the cleanest edges and finest lines of any earliner on the market. Available in small, medium and large, they feature a natural translucent cartilage color, detailed inner ear structure, and offer outstanding adhesion with a variety of hide pastes and epoxies.
When examining the McKenzie Whitetail Ears, you will quickly notice the proper auditory ridges, the correct bulge of the conchal cartilage, the natural roll back of the tip, and the smooth clean edges. Along with the ease with which they are used, these add up to tangible benefits that will save you time and money while allowing you to produce your most accurate whitetail ears ever. They are everything you could want in a whitetail earliner, both technically an anatomically. And they are configured to be used with the McKenzie pre-sculpted earbutts also designed by Brad Eppley.
McKenzie Whitetail Earbutts
Earbutts are remarkably complex structures. Anyone who thinks that a lumpy gob of clay can represent this fascinating bundle of muscles is mistaken. Earbutts can move deer’s ears in any number of positions, pulling forward and back, twisting up and down, even laying them against the head. There is no human counterpart to this muscle group but I suppose the only area with that much range and versatility would be the human forearm. If you were sculpting a human, you wouldn’t use a single misshapen lump of clay to represent a forearm, would you? In addition to the complex structure and anatomy, the earbutt group changes shape dramatically according to the action of the muscles—which ones are stretched and which ones are compressed—depending upon the post of the ear.
These McKenzie Whitetail Earbutts make easy work of this complicated procedure. Available in three poses—ears forward (alert), ears half-back, and ears back—they match perfectly with the corresponding size of McKenzie Whitetail Ears, virtually snapping into place in perfect position. This allows you to mount the ears, and easily attach them to the earbutts on the proper location, with every muscle in the correct representation for the pose you choose.
Welcome to the McKenzie Video Library
As you may have surmised from the video below, McKenzie is now kicking off a new web-based video series, the McKenzie Video Library. This is the first in a series of informative videos showing demonstrations of McKenzie products, procedures and how-to information geared to our taxidermy customers. Some videos will feature product knowledge, such as the first video imbedded below, while others will be produced as marketing segments that taxidermists can use to promote their own business to their clients. I look forward to bringing you new subjects on a regular basis that I hope you will find informative and entertaining.