Raw Trophy Care

Instructions for Outfitter & PH

We all know how important client satisfactory is to our businesses, international as well as local. The hunter ​entrusts us with his hunt as well as his trophy, therefore we should accept the responsibility of trophy care ​and manage trophies in a professional manner. Hunters expect, that when charged a trophy fee for hunting, ​that whoever is responsible for the hunt, will treat his trophies in a proficient manner.

When the memories from the actual hunt fade away, the trophy is the only tangible memory the hunter is left ​with to keep the experience alive.

Reused dirty salt may contain halophilic bacteria, i.e. bacteria acclimatised to living in salt conditions. These ​bacteria are commonly noticed from the characteristics red or coloured patches on the flesh side of the ​hide or skin known as "red heat".

Field Preparation

The field preparation phase, is where most hunting companies / outfitters / PH’s fail their clients.

Their lack of knowledge and understanding of how and why trophies should be cared for in a specific way, ​contribute to poor quality of products handed in at the taxidermy. It is of the utmost importance that the ​preparation/preservation is done correctly to ensure the trophy is in perfect condition when handed in at the ​taxidermy.

Taxidermists can only create a superb trophy if they received a skin in the proper condition.

During a busy season your taxidermist might not have enough space to dry the skins on your behalf and ​therefore we provide the following regulations to ensure the hunter an outstanding trophy.

Raw skin field preparation and after care

before delivering to the taxidermist.

1. Skin the animal as soon as possible.

No longer than 4 hours after it had been hunted should the animal be skinned. A golden tip is not to stay in ​the bush after photos have been taken. Hit the road and hunt your way back to the skinning facility.

2. Adhere to your responsibility towards your Trophy Hunter above the preservation of the carcass.

Time is of essence and meat preservation is of least concern, considering the costly trophies of the trophy ​hunter. Trophy parts thrown in cold rooms, in preference of meat preservation, only to be addressed the ​next day, is not acceptable in any Professional Hunting outfit.

3. Ensure that you get the correct instructions from the client before skinning commences.

This simple rule will prevent al lot of misery if adhered to. Confirm the instructions with the skinners ​responsible for the client’s costly trophy. Poor communication on this point, could mean that the client ​loses his trophy. Ensure the skinner is trained and is familiar with the different techniques used for cape, ​full cape, half mount, back skin, rug mount or flat skin.

4. Check to ensure all neccecary procedures has been carried out.

Ensure no fat or meat residue stays on the skin, causing defiant hair slip during the tanning process. See ​that the eyelids are not cut out and that the nose, lips, and ears are properly opened for the salt to ​penetrate. Finish the skinning process and refrain from putting the skin in a cold room overnight to finish ​the next day. Decomposing starts the moment the animal was killed, therefore leaving the skin overnight ​increases the risk of hair slip significantly.

5. Cleanse the skin to ensure all blood is removed and skin is disinfected.

Wash the skin thoroughly with clean water and a disinfectant like Dettol or Savlon, and ensure all the blood ​is washed out of the fur (hair). A salty solution (brine) of 2kg of salt and 20 liters of water mixed well with ​10ml of disinfectant should do the trick. Soak the skin in the brine, but do not exceed 20mins. Take the skin ​out of the brine and let it drip dry over a wooden pole (5 to 10 minutes only). Once the skin was removed ​from the brine, the brine should be discarded and should not be kept for the next day.

6. Salting the skins - Salt

Iodized medium sea salt should be used for your skins in opposed to salt such as Bot salt, as it makes the ​skin too hard to work with. The skin will not stretch properly and will not allow the taxidermist to unveil all ​detail out of the skin to produce excellent trophies.

7. The Salt Room

The salt room or store floor must have a slight downward slope for all the skin fluids and water to drain.

Cover the area where the skin will be laid for salt penetration with a layer of 3 inches salt, necessary for ​moisture to drain away from the skin. Place skin on the layer of salt and cover with clean new salt about 2 ​inches thick. Make sure to rub the salt in all areas of the skin especially the facial area, ears, lips, nostrils, ​and the flap between the horns. Also check the cuts on the skin and that it did not fold or stick. Leave skin ​for three days. Leaving skin longer can cause red heat, resulting in a worthless, unworkable skin.

8. Hanging the skins after 3 days in salt.

Fold skins a few times before opening it up and draping it over a wooden pole. Ensure that there are no ​metal touching any part of the skin, as the salt will cause the metal to oxidize and rust marks on the skin ​are impossible to remove.

9. Cover the skin with bug preventative poison.

Once the skin is dry, a bug preventative poison such as Karba Dust must be sprinkled over the fur side as ​well as the facial area, which is turned inside out. Bugs tend to enter the cavities and will start to eat the fur ​away making the cape useless for taxidermy purposes.

10. Fold and store skin safely.

The cape (skin) can now be folded and stored in a rat free area, preferably in a well-ventilated area away ​from any pets. Rats, mice and dogs tend to eat the lips, nose and eye lids causing damage beyond repair. ​Hand over to the taxidermist as soon as possible.

Skull and Horn field preparation and care

before delivering to the taxidermist.

1. Avoid damage to the skull.

Do not damage the skull by sawing or cutting through it, leave that for the taxidermist.

2. Removing structures from the skull.

Ensure all meat is removed from the skull. Separate the mandible (jaw bone) from the skull, without cutting ​into the bone.

3. Removing fatty structures from skull.

Remove the eyes from the skull and remove the brains from the head with a bent piece of wire. This is ​necessary especially when the hunter wants to make a European or African skull mount trophy. Any fat left ​on the skull will cause the skull to become greasy as bone is porous and the fat will ooze into the bone on ​hot days. This will have the negative effect that when the skull must be bleached.

4. Refrain from boiling of the skulls

Untrained individuals tend to overboil the skulls, compromising the integrity of the trophy. When the ​frontal bone gets detached in the boiling process and lost, the trophy is worthless, especially when an ​European mount was requested.

5. Cover skulls with bug preventative poison and store away safely.

Cover skulls with Karba Dust and store in a designated skull room, separate from skin room. Skulls tend to​ lure more bugs that cause damage to the skins.​