Elk cape

[5MilesBack]

I once shot a 270-ish bull that I wouldn't have mounted normally, but his cape was so gorgeous I decided to. Black mane and legs with really long like 8" hair all down his front, which was unusual for a September bull. When I picked him up I immediately knew it wasn't my cape. Then the taxi tried to convince me that it was and talked about the whole tanning and washing process etc. But as soon as he went into a tirade about all the sewing he had to do because of all the "flaps of hide" on the belly and the legs, I again knew it wasn't my cape. I always ring out the legs just above the knees, cut the hide down the back bone, cut down each side mid body all the way around, and then skin it forward all the way to the head. There are no cuts and flaps around the belly and leg area. My current taxi uses numbered tags for each cape that attach with kind of a rivet connection so they stay put through the process.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

I once shot a 270-ish bull that I wouldn't have mounted normally, but his cape was so gorgeous I decided to. Black mane and legs with really long like 8" hair all down his front, which was unusual for a September bull. When I picked him up I immediately knew it wasn't my cape. Then the taxi tried to convince me that it was and talked about the whole tanning and washing process etc. But as soon as he went into a tirade about all the sewing he had to do because of all the "flaps of hide" on the belly and the legs, I again knew it wasn't my cape. I always ring out the legs just above the knees, cut the hide down the back bone, cut down each side mid body all the way around, and then skin it forward all the way to the head. There are no cuts and flaps around the belly and leg area. My current taxi uses numbered tags for each cape that attach with kind of a rivet connection so they stay put through the process.

So it turned out to be your cape or not? If not, what was done about it?

 

[5MilesBack]

So it turned out to be your cape or not? If not, what was done about it?

No it definitely wasn't my cape. He gave me a discount on the mount and I never went back to him.

For a good comparable cape, it's not that big a deal. People do that all the time. But when they are vastly different (like the OP's sure appears to be), or they are damaged in a way that shows (like mine was).....that's kind of a big deal.

 

[dreamingbig]

Sorry to hear this! IMO, He found a “better” use for your cape.

 

[eaglemountainman]

The mane on the bull you shot is much thicker and longer, for sure. As afar as the color, I agree the cape might lighten some. But that mounted cape looks a lot more red, like a young bull. Good luck with your taxi. He's probably going to deny everything.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

Sorry man, this is one of my stinking nightmares.

 

[hobbes]

Taxiing the skin can/will play into how the hair looks. However flat laying hair would be the result of stretching the hell out of a cape over a form that's just too big in circumference or stretching the cape farther down the neck than natural when given too short of a cape (or because the taxidermist sucks). This looks like a raghorn cape and form size to match. Your bull's hair would not have come out looking shorter on a raghorn size form.

I like giving taxidermists the benefit of the doubt. I had a shop once and had a few mishaps through those years, mostly deer. I took responsibility for those and let them know up front. There was a couple that were definitely my fault but a couple that I really believe were the customers fault and I should have recognized it sooner. In those cases where I failed to notice the problem, I just took the loss. I also had a few that I let know upfront that their cape's condition was questionable and others that I told them up front that their cape was toast when they walked in.