Always use extreme caution and wear rubber or latex gloves when handling wild game to prevent various diseases from being transmitted. Wash hands with warm soapy water immediately after handling any wild game. All clothing should be washed to prevent disease and smell.

Birds: Rinse with water carefully until no blood remains on the feathers. Do not gut the bird. Carefully place the bird in a plasic bag or pantyhose making sure you do not damage or bend any of the feathers. Feathers need to lay flat against the bird. Do not bend the tail. Take the bird to the taxidermist immediately or freeze for future delivery to the taxidermist.

Fish: Take a picture of your fish as soon as possible, as the coloration begins to fade quickly after being caught. This will help the taxidermist match the natural coloring of the fish more accurately for a more natural look. Do not gut the fish. Place the fish in a plastic bag making sure all fins are laying flat against the fish as to not break any fins. Take the fish to the taxidermist immediately or freeze for future delivery to the taxidermist.

Small Mammals (fox, coyote, raccoon, bobcat, etc): Do not gut or skin the animal. Place the complete carcass in a plastic bag (after body has cooled) and freeze to prevent deterioration or spoilage of the animal. Note: animals such as these spoil quickly.

Field Dressing:

1. With deer on its back make a shallow cut through the skin just below the breastbone. Make sure that you start your cut well away from the brisket allowing plenty of uncut skin for your shoulder mount . Insert two fingers of the free hand, cradling the blade, to hold the skin up and away from the entrails (figure A).

2. Cut straight down the belly and around the genitals, separating but not severing them from the abdominal wall. Slit the belly skin all the way to pelvic bone (Figure B.)

3. Cut deeply around the rectum, being careful not to cut off or puncture the intestine. Pull to make sure the rectum is separated from the tissue connecting it to the pelvic canal. Pull the rectum out and tie string tightly around it to prevent droppings from touching the meat. Lift the animal's back quarter a bit reach into the front of the pelvic canal, and pull the intestine and connected rectum into the stomach area.

4. If you want to make a full shoulder mount, do not cut open the chest cavity. Cut the diaphragm away from the ribs all the way to the backbone area. Reach into the forward chest cavity, find the esophagus and windpipe, cut them off as far up as possible (Figure C), and pull them down through the chest.

5. Roll the deer onto its side, grab the esophagus with one hand and the rectum / intestine with the other. Pull hard. The deer's internal organs will come out in one big package with a minimum of mess.

Caping
Caping, the process of skinning out a trophy animal, is best left to the taxidermist. Their experience skinning, especially their delicate nose, mouth, eyes, and ears is invaluable toward producing a quality mount. Damage to a hide is costly to repair. Some types of damage simply cannot be "fixed" by the taxidermist. Many trophies are ruined in the first few hours after death. As soon as the animal dies, bacteria begins to attack the carcass. Warm humid weather accelerates bacteria growth. In remote areas, or areas not near your taxidermist, a competent person may be required to cape out the hide in order to preserve it. Every taxidermist has a preferred method of caping a hide. Contact your taxidermist prior to your hunt in order to get instructions on their caping requirements. However, the following techniques are generally acceptable.

Skinning Life-Size Big Game
There are two major methods of skinning for large life size mount such as deer, elk or bear. These methods are the flat incision and dorsal method.

The Flat Incision
The flat incision is used for rug mounts and for a variety of poses. The areas to be cut are shown in Figure 1. Make these slits (cutting the feet free from the carcass) and pull the skin off the carcass. The head is detached as with the shoulder mount. Note: If you Can't take your hide immediately to a taxidermist, freeze it to your taxidermist's specifications.

The Dorsal Method
The dorsal method of skinning involves a long slit down the back (from the tail base up into the neck) The carcass is skinned as it is pulled through this incision. The feet/hooves and the head are cut off from the carcass as with shoulders mount explained later. Only use this method with approval and detailed instruction from your taxidermist. Use this method only when the skin can be frozen quickly after skinning.

Caping for a shoulder mount
1. With a sharp knife slit the hide circling the body behind the shoulder at approximately the mid-way point of the rib cage behind the front legs. Slit the skin around the legs just above the knees. An additional slit will be needed from the back of the legs (Figure 2A and 2B). 2. Peel the skin forward up to the ears and jaw exposing the head / neck junction. Cut into the neck approximately three inches down from this junction, Circle the neck cutting down to the spinal column. After this cut is complete, grasp the antler bases and twist the head off the neck. This should allow the hide to be rolled up and put in a freezer until transported to the taxidermist. These cuts should allow ample hide for the taxidermist to work with mounting. Remember, the taxidermist can cut off excess hide but can't add what he doesn't have. Note: When field dressing a trophy to be mounted, don't cut into the brisket (chest) or neck area if blood gets on the hide to be mounted, wash it off with snow or water as soon as possible. Also avoid dragging the deer out of the woods with a rope. Place it on a sled, rickshaw, or 4-wheeler. The rope, rocks or a broken branch from a deadfall can easily damage the fur or puncture the hide. If you need to drag it out with a rope, attach the rope to the base of the antlers and drag your trophy carefully.

Field Dressing and caping instructions and diagrams provided courtesy of McKenzie Supply.