Does the original Cape of a buck mean anything to you in a shoulder mount?

B

BJE80

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Say you shot a buck and want to get it shoulder mounted. Does the mount having the original cape mean anything to you? Say the cape got damaged dragging it out or someone screwed up while caping it. When you look at the mount would you feel different knowing it is a cape from a different deer?
 
i'd rather have the original cape if possible.
 
To some extent, but if you have to you have to. My bucks have a tendancy to be beat up "battle scares" and I like that - it helps paint a more complete picture of the deer. Puncture wounds, torn ears and the like just add to the story. I also think the actual size of the cape will matter. I have one buck that is just much larger than my others. Rack will score about the same as one I allreayd have, but the width at the shoulders is literally 4" wider and that increase in size is carried up into the neck. To have that deer mounted on a small cape/form would simply not fairly represent the deer I killed. I would obviously prefer to use the original cape if possible. Sometimes it just isn't possible however and you have to bend a little.
 
I would want the original if possible, but would not have a problem with a replacement if it had to be that way.

My Taxidermy buddy says sometimes he has no choice but to use a replacement some times. Condition some of the deer brought in has been pretty brutal some times!
 
I would want the original if possible, but would not have a problem with a replacement if it had to be that way.

My Taxidermy buddy says sometimes he has no choice but to use a replacement some times. Condition some of the deer brought in has been pretty brutal some times!

Oh the horror stories I could tell!! Hunters who dont take care of their deer capes properly and then expect me to work miracles are one of my top pet peeves! One of my worst offenders, almost on a yearly %€^~#! basis is a guy who used to do taxidermy work!

To answer the question I would want my original cape if at all possible, but would settle for a GOOD QUALITY replacement.
 
Original if possible, but would have no problem with a good replacement.
 
Original if possible, but would have no problem with a good replacement.

Same here.
 
My FIL has an awesome buck mounted that he shot when he was a kid. It is one of the worst mounts I have ever seen. If I could somehow get it from him I would love to have it redone for him. What would that entail and how much would it cost? Seeing how I have never seen one that big not sure where I would get a cape or if you are even allowed to buy one.
 
The only 2 people that will know its not the original cape is the taxidermist and the customer..... Everyone else will enjoy the mounts and no nothing other than its a cool buck.....
 
My FIL has an awesome buck mounted that he shot when he was a kid. It is one of the worst mounts I have ever seen. If I could somehow get it from him I would love to have it redone for him. What would that entail and how much would it cost? Seeing how I have never seen one that big not sure where I would get a cape or if you are even allowed to buy one.

I have done remounts of both old deer mounts ( the technology and materials did not exsist even 40 yrs ago that we have now to create the quality that we can now) and horrendously poor mounts by current taxidermists. You will be looking at the going rate for a deer mount by the taxidermist of your choice, an hrs worth of labor to remove and prep the antlers for a new mount and the cost of a replacement cape (varies by taxidermist and the size of the cape) unless you can provide a fresh cape off a recently harvested deer. And NO for the 10,000,000 th time a doe cape will not work!:D I couldnt tel you about the laws in NY regarding deer parts, but here we can buy and sell capes with no problems.
 
You can go right on Ebay and buy capes it appears.
 
You can go right on Ebay and buy capes it appears.

Be wary just like all purchases on Ebay. I have bought a couple of good capes off there, but also been burned on a couple bad ones.
 
Oh the horror stories I could tell!! Hunters who dont take care of their deer capes properly and then expect me to work miracles are one of my top pet peeves! One of my worst offenders, almost on a yearly %€^~#! basis is a guy who used to do taxidermy work!

To answer the question I would want my original cape if at all possible, but would settle for a GOOD QUALITY replacement.

He USED to be a......... Just gotta love those guys!

My buddy says the worst is when the hunter leaves the deer hang too long at hunting camp. He said the hide really starts to break down fairly fast, so when it is past the point of no return there is nothing he can do with it.
 
I would want a nice cape before a mount with slipped hair or scars all over. Most taxidermist keep a handful nice capes on hand from guys that do European mounts.
 
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