Prepairing Deer Cape for Shoulder Mount
1. Make a cut around the chest of the deer well behind the shoulder.
2. Cut from the knee, down the back of the leg, all the way back untill
your knife reaches the cut around the chest.
3. Cut around the leg and peel the hide back.
4. Now peel the cape toward the head while detaching hide from underlying tissues.
5. Continue untill the narrowest part of the neck is visable - just before the skull -
and detach head from the rest of the animal. (this can be done by cutting 
between two of the vertebrate while twisting the head)
What to do with my deer cape before I get it to a taxidermist?
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Keep the hide as cool as possible! Cold temperatures decrease the rate of
decomposition - so the colder the hide is the longer you have before it spoils.
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Freezing will stop decomposition completely!
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When in the field keep it ot of the sun and in a cotton game bag to prevent flies from laying eggs on it.
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If it is snowing put it in a plastic bag and sit it in a pile of snow.
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If it is extremely hot outside your options are limited. If there is a stream nearby you can put it in several garbage bags and lay it in the steam. Otherwise hang it under a shady tree for a short time untill it can be moved to a better storage place or taken to a taxidermist.
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If it will be stored in a freezer for a long time stick it in two plastic bags and tie them so that they are completely sealed.
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In general, it is always best to get it to a taxidermist as soon as possible!
Prepairing Animal hides for Life-Size mounts
Animals that will be mounted life-size should be brought to a taxidermist whole when possible. Large game such as Deer and Elk can be very difficult to transport, so it may be necessary to skin them your-self. How you need to skin the animal depends on what species you are deeling with and the pose that the animal will be mounted in. Bears in the standing position expose their belly and leg pits which are covered with little or no hair; they should thus be skinned using the dorsal method. Deer should also be dorsal skinned to minimize the amount of sewing that will need to be done during the mounting process. Small game such as bobcats and coyotes can be skinned either way.
Dorsal method
Cut from the base of the skull to the base of the tail in one line - as straight as possible. Peel the hide from the body. Cut through the tail bone and neck as needed.
It may be nessecary to make a cut down the back of each leg - from the ankle to the knee - to relieve pressure as you pull the inverted hide down the leg.
Ventral method
Make a cut from the genitals all the way up to the brisket. Cut down the back of all four legs - from the paw all the way to the cut you just made - (running between the legs and up the belly). Peel the hide from the animal carcase - cutting through the tail bone as needed. When the hide has been pulled up the neck a ways, cut through the neck to detach the head.
