Gary Wilford, Taxidermist
Boone and Crockett Official Measurer
Pope and Young Official Measurer
609 S. Kennedy Dr.
Georgetown, IL 61846
ph: 217-260-4637
gary
Preparing Hides
I get calls and emails from hunters that want to send animals to the Antler Shop. No Problem! I can accept any wildlife species that has a legal hunting or trapping season in the state or province from which it was taken. All you have to do is include state, season dates and limits, your name, address, phone number, and email address, and a copy of your hunting or trapping license. It it is from Canada or Mexico check with your local wildlife authority to see if a CITES permit is required.
Small game animals, up to coyote, can be frozen whole, triple plastic bagged, shipped in an insulated box (newspaper works well) and shipped on Monday through UPS. Make sure you report to UPS what you are shipping (animal hides are fine).
Of course you can skin out the animal then freeze and properly box for shipment. DO NOT put salt on the hide. Salt draws the water out of the hide and it will be a wet mess by the time it gets to the Antler Shop. If I do the skinning it will be a custom skinning job so that the hide can be used for several options.
Instructions for skinning game heads:
Take measurements
ANTLERS
Talking with many hunters, most of the time, the topic of interest are antlers. One question that often comes up is why does some deer exhibit antler growth that is so non-typical, abnormal and unusual? There is not an easy answer. Many factors can come into play to produce non-typical antler growth.
Genetic differences play a big part especially when the abnormal growth is balanced on both sides of the rack. Age can also play a role. Quite often when a deer reaches 4 years old, sticker points start to arise off the burr, down low on the main beam and kickers on the typical points. These age related abnormal growths may be due in part to an injury that has occurred to the pedicel. The pedicel is the projection that arises upward off of the orbital bone above the eye. It is the base that grows the antler. Female deer do not have pedicels only low lying bumps, so they don’t typically grow antlers. The pedicel plays an important role in antler growth. Its diameter which usually increases with age (but not always, once again genetically controlled), produces greater antler mass.
During the rut many fights that bucks get into are just shoving and pushing matches, no harm done. But sometimes the fights are serious and broken antlers or damage to the pedicel can occur. If the damaged pedicel is severe enough (such as major crack or break) the healing process may leave the pedicel deformed. The following year the damaged, but healed pedicel will most likely produce an antler that is abnormal, non-typical or unusual. If only one side of the rack was injured the undamaged side will grow a typical antler. That is why some deer will have a typical antler on one side and a non-typical on the other side.
Now like I said there are other reasons for deer to produce non-typical antlers, but damage to the pedicel is a common one.
If you have any other questions about wildlife, deer or antlers, drop me an email and I will try to answer them for you.
Gary
Notice that the left antler is non-typical due to an injury to the pedicel and the right antler is normal (no injury).
Copyright Antler Shop Taxidermy. All rights reserved.
609 S. Kennedy Dr.
Georgetown, IL 61846
ph: 217-260-4637
gary