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Author Topic: Hey Cdog911, Taxidermy question Coyote Tim Knows what it's all about Member # 396 posted October 06, 2004 08:56 AM                    Lance, As my earlier post shows I connected on a smaller but very nice Coyote yesterday. I want to get him skinned out for a full body (He's whole in the freezer till tonight.). The Dorsal method sounds best. Will I need to slice the legs to get the feet pulled through? By the way, my rug video came in. It looks pretty good. I think that when I round up all the supplies I'll give it a try. I do plan to be a bit more carefull and accurate than what the video teaches. For the full mount I'll freeze and then pickle and tan until I can get at it. Tim Posts: 13 | From: Up-State NY | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged Cdog911 "There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell. Member # 7 posted October 06, 2004 03:20 PM                       Tim, First off, congrats on the coyote. Second, before skinning, measure from the tip of the nose to the front coner of the eye. This will be the "A" measurement for your form. The other key measurement will be from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail measured over the skinned carcass. BTW, when you order your form, order the A about a quarter under the real deal, and an inch or so under the actual length measurement. Allows the hide to dry/ shrink without lifting and leading to drumming. From your stand point, it allows you to put in detals without losing them to drumming. Where and how you skin the coyote will depend a lot on the pose you choose. Luckily, with coyotes, the hair is long and hides a stitch just about anywhere. The difference is how much you want to sew. As far as the legs, what you describe are called "relief cuts", and often, you will have to do just that on coyotes and 'cats. Bring the hide down the leg until it gets real tight, then use a very sharp scalpel or knife to make just enough cut to get the job done by cutting on the leather side of the hide (avoids cutting hair). At the feet, take your time and work down each toe and clip the last segment of each toe off to retain the nail. Skinning mammals is a tough job and tedious but take your time and do it right. Oh, and also, this is important. Before skinning anything else, skin the lips out first from the outside. Top and bottom jaws, use a scalpel to make an incision where the soft inner skin of he lip transitions into gum tissue. Work all the way around the jaws and peel the face back to just in front of the eyes. Then, skin as usual. You'll find this works MUCH better than trying to blindly skin that area from the inside back. You'll have other ???'s, and feel free to e/m me at wildside@ kansas.net. Good luck. Lance -------------------- I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003  |  IP: Logged Tim Behle Administrator MacNeal Sector Member # 209 posted October 06, 2004 08:39 PM                       Lance, I've been informed it's always a good thing to talk directly to the taxidermist before you go hunting. The one I used to do my bear last year was gone Elk hunting when I called, and had his Father answering his business phone. His Father didn't know how he would want him skinned, so I tubed him like a big coyote. Toes to nose, the only time I cut though fur was in the opening cuts on the back legs. Not a single hole in the pelt, left the claws intact. He said it like to drove him nuts when he was thawing it out, trying to find where I had skinned him out. Hell, I was proud of myself for being so neat! -------------------- Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take an ass kickin'. Posts: 3160 | From: Five Miles East of Vic, AZ | Registered: Jun 2003  |  IP: Logged Locohead World Famous Smoke Dancer Member # 15 posted October 07, 2004 09:47 AM                    Ha! Great Story Tim. You ought to be proud. It must of taken a day or twelve to skin huh? -------------------- I love my critters and chick!!!! :) Posts: 2219 | From: CO | Registered: Jan 2003  |  IP: Logged Coyote Tim Knows what it's all about Member # 396 posted October 07, 2004 11:31 AM                    Thanks guys. When ever I shoot a Fox or something I always want to mount it but never know how to skin it (Dorsal, Ventral etc). Most of the time I case them out and end up selling them or giving them away. This time I figure I should plan things out a bit and get to learning this stuff befor I'm to old! I know what you mean about that bear hide, It just don't seem right to go slicing them right down the belly! I Once took a deer head to a taxidermist that I had caped out. I used a very small Y incision and did not slice down the back of the neck. he looked at it for a bit and asked how the heck I got the skin off the head. By the way, That coyote is not the first critter I've had to skin when he was hard! Deffinatly not the smartest thing to do! Tim Posts: 13 | From: Up-State NY | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged Cdog911 "There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell. Member # 7 posted October 07, 2004 04:55 PM                       Wow, Tim, that guy was either not very familar with deer taxidermy, or the event was many, many years ago. The short Y is the industry standard now, and in fact, some guys are going with a single cut between the burrs. The long cut is such a pain and outdated now that I know some guys that charge extra for the extra time spent sewing it up. Me? I usually lay the cape inside out on the bench and sew most of the incision up until it's nothing more than a short Y. -------------------- I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003  |  IP: Logged

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