Early season deer mount tip #2

[Mountain Man]

I meant to post this earlier (a few weeks ago) but it still applies to anyone that may have shot a Sept deer this year or even an early Oct deer.

Most deer manikins are sculpted for the size a buck will be later in fall (i.e the rut, Nov. in northern states). Since bucks killed in August or September and even into early October have skinny necks, many times taxidermists that don’t know what they are doing (i.e. don’t understand deer anatomy and the changes a buck goes through from later summer through the fall) or are too lazy to do things right, will order a manikin based mainly on the neck size. When they do this they are getting a manikin that is overall for a smaller framed deer (which includes a smaller head and shoulders) than the one the hunter shot.

The correct way to choose a manikin for an early season buck is to order a manikin the size of what that deer would be later in the fall. This will ensure that the manikin/mount is the correct frame size for that specific early season deer. This will require a little extra work by the taxidermist because they will need to reduce the size of the neck (take off some of the swell) until it matches the measurements of the early season buck.

If you kill an early season deer and want to have it mounted, question the taxidermist about manikin sizes and how they would handle the situation so you get back the same sized deer you shot and not one that is noticeably smaller. (There are some manikins available based on the season they were shot, but they are rare and the poses are very limited – an example is the Edge series by WASCO which is now owned by McKenzie).

Here is an example of what I am talking about. For a 3.5 year old buck in WI the September measurements might be 7.25” to 7.5” for eye to nose, the neck right behind the ears might be 17” and 3” down the neck from that measurement might be 18-19”. By mid-November that deer might now be 7.25” to 7.5” for eye to nose (this measurement didn’t change), the neck right behind the ears might be 18-19” (increased 1-2”) and 3” down the neck it might be 20-21” (increased 1-3”). The taxidermist should order a manikin that is 7.25-7.5” x 18-19” x 20-21” and then remove the swell in the neck so it becomes a 7.25-7.5” x 17 x 18-19”.

If they don’t do it that way and order a manikin based on the smaller neck measurements, you might get a manikin with a 6.75-7” eye to nose, 17” behind the ears and then 3” down it is 18-19” (in many areas those measurements are a large 1.5 year old buck to a small 2.5 year old buck). In this case the eye to nose is too short which could be extended but the problem is the overall head size is still too small for the deer you shot and the size of the shoulders will be too small. In general the whole frame size of that manikin is too small for your deer and your mount will be smaller than the deer you shot. The taxi needs to/should have ordered a manikin that would be that deer’s frame size in Nov. (in the northern states in this example) and reduced the neck size accordingly to match the correct measurements of your buck.

[Black Squirrel]

Thanks for the tip. Hopefully I'll be able to put it to use soon.