Best Way To Cape A Doe For Mount

Most of the time the head will be too large to tube. Make a straight line cut beginning just behind the ears and about 6-8 inches long down the center of the neck.

 

Not at all Joey. I always tubed does. When you get one in, skin the neck all the way down and sever the spine. This can be done with a scalpel. At that point, take take a SHARP scalpel and hold the ears apart. Insert the blade in the center of the skull, even with the front of the ear butts and make a linear cut down the center of the skull to the skull shelf on the back of the skull. Open that incision and cut the ear butts off. Either tube or or push the skull up through the incision.
Going back together, install your earliners and put about half the clay you'll use in the ear butts. That skull relief cut will give you more than enough room to maneuver your manikin. Once in place, fill the ear butts and shape them. Sew up the incision. Roll the muzzle back, clay your eyes, and glue the face. Roll the muzzle bag and finish. Roll the neck forward and glue it heavily before positioning and stapling the hide to the backboard.

 

you can tube a doe off with no incision and get it on the manikin you can do a buck also just cut his antlers at pedicles

 

Yea I tube all mine , it can be a little tuff if it’s a small doe , but if that’s the case I will tube it starting at the mouth and basically go backwards. Cut lip line and nose then eyes then ear butts and off the necK

I will mount by cutting form in v notch few inches behind head , cutting head off form I’ll put ears in with clay , I insert head thru mouth opening then put 5 min epoxy on v cut and pull cape over neck and form into v cut and hold till 5 min epoxy kicks then roll hide up , put hide paste on and finish mounting , no cuts at all on cape

 

I have had no problems with tube skinning, if its tight 4 ya stretch it out a little bit and bamo, slides over nicely. The less sewing the better, imo. Saves time and makes you more money cause tour spending less time on it. IMO

 

Would you use this method on a button buck as well

 

Yes you can, now you can do 1 of 2 things as your skinning for the buttons , you can use a screw driver and work the skin up and off the buttons or what I do just take a small mallet and hit the buttons breaking them from the skull then skin the cape off and go back after and pull buttons out of cape . Then when mounting just mix up some apoxysculpt and fill button pockets and sew up cape then position and shape buttons and let harden .

 

Yes I have tubed them but in my old school days we cut them all the way down and was no problem we knew how to sew them back up