Elk cape

[Zbow]

Anyone on here shoot a bull elk in neck with a muzzleloader last fall and have it mounted by a taxidermist in the Denver area? If so, I may have your cape on my elk.
I know this seems odd, but taxidermist told me he had to fix bullet hole in the neck. I shot mine in the heart.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Old wound? Antler wound from fighting?

 

[Fingershooter23]

A bullet wound takes less than 2 minutes to repair on an elk neck so not sure why it would even be mentioned.
A lot of times hides come back from the tannery and from fleshing and shaving they get extra holes put it in them that may have been confused for a bullet wound. Or maybe you put a hole in it when you skinned it?
Are you thinking your taxidermist messed up? Does your mount not look like your elk?

 

[Zbow]

I did not see the hole when I caped it. Taxidermist said it had bullet holes in each side. I added a picture of the mount, does not look like the same cape.

 

[go_deep]

There's only one picture.

 

[Zbow]

Forgot to hit save on the second picture

 

[go_deep]

Hate to say it, but just because it looks a little darker in the kill photo doesn't really mean anything. Lighting in a photo can change the color drastically, cleaning the hair and hide during the tanning process can also.

Unless you're mount is totally F'ed, hang it up and enjoy it. If you really are that unhappy, go talk to the taxi, nobody on here is going to fix it for you.
Or you could get DNA samples of the cape and the antlers and see if they match...

 

[Marble]

Not too mention is also went through the tanning process and IME the hide will be slightly lighter either from the tanning or just washing the hair.

It's not uncommon to add color to hair or antler to get it to look like it originally did.

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[thomas67]

Looks like a totally different cape to me.

 

[Zbow]

Does the hair on the neck get shorter when tannng? I recall how long and thick the hair on the neck/mane was when I was caping it. Looking at the pictures it seems the long hair went all the way to the chest. The hair on the mount does not seem nearly as long as the hair in the first picture.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

The neck tufts look shorter. The cape you got is a much smaller bull than pictured.

 

[BBob]

It looks like you got a cape off of someone’s raghorn bull.

 

[svivian]

Definitely different cape....

 

[Fingershooter23]

Let me preface this with... I don't know the answer and you should talk to your taxidermist about this.
But...
I have been doing taxidermy for over a decade. Most elk (and any other animal that tends to collect dirt like bears, bulls, goats) do in fact come out of the tan much lighter than when they went in. Its a chemical process not to mention the shampooing and washing the dirt out of the hair.
I didn't see both pictures when I first replied. They do look to be different capes. Could be lighting? Could be that one is cleaner than the other? Could be the first one is wet and appears darker? When the hide was glued to the form it may not have been taxied correctly so the long hair is laying down more than it shouldn which would make it appear shorter? Or it could be two completely different capes.
Sometimes capes get messed up in the process... regardless of who's fault it is, that cape is replaced by another cape (usually someone who only wanted a European mount). If this is the case and the taxidermist did not tell you..well that is not cool.
Sorry a lot of speculation and not really helpful. I'd be curious to see a picture of the mount actually hanging to see how the hair sits...
Most taxidermist mark hides with small holes so they know which customer they belong to when they get them back from the tannery. You could ask your taxidermist if they do this. Maybe it would give you confidence that it is (or isn't) your cape.
Bottom line.. talk to your taxidermist.
Good luck.
Ps. Let us know what they say because now I'm curious.

 

[LongWayAround]

Hopefully you have a better picture of your bull on the ground?

My eye says those are two different capes.

 

[Firestone]

Yeah if I was a betting man, you got the wrong cape. Especially with the taxi saying thier was a bullet whole in the neck.

 

[PaCarbine]

The hair is shorter on the mount - look at the underside of his neck the bull laying in the woods and compare it to the same spot on the mount closest to his chest

Raghorn mount probably looks interesting

 

[Randle]

That shaggy mane cape of your bull is diferrent for sure

 

[hobbes]

The mount appears to be a raghorn cape. I'm not buying that it the same cape.

I'd say....hell no that's not the same cape.

 

[Marble]

Let me preface this with... I don't know the answer and you should talk to your taxidermist about this.
But...
I have been doing taxidermy for over a decade. Most elk (and any other animal that tends to collect dirt like bears, bulls, goats) do in fact come out of the tan much lighter than when they went in. Its a chemical process not to mention the shampooing and washing the dirt out of the hair.
I didn't see both pictures when I first replied. They do look to be different capes. Could be lighting? Could be that one is cleaner than the other? Could be the first one is wet and appears darker? When the hide was glued to the form it may not have been taxied correctly so the long hair is laying down more than it shouldn which would make it appear shorter? Or it could be two completely different capes.
Sometimes capes get messed up in the process... regardless of who's fault it is, that cape is replaced by another cape (usually someone who only wanted a European mount). If this is the case and the taxidermist did not tell you..well that is not cool.
Sorry a lot of speculation and not really helpful. I'd be curious to see a picture of the mount actually hanging to see how the hair sits...
Most taxidermist mark hides with small holes so they know which customer they belong to when they get them back from the tannery. You could ask your taxidermist if they do this. Maybe it would give you confidence that it is (or isn't) your cape.
Bottom line.. talk to your taxidermist.
Good luck.
Ps. Let us know what they say because now I'm curious.

Interesting to know the manner in which the cape is laid down affects how the hair lays down or sticks out. It's obvious now that you mention it, but not something I every considered.

Thanks!

After looking at the two a little closer, there is a big difference between them. Not just slight but dramatic.

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