Removing velvet?

[sniper61]

What do i need to know about removing velvet from mid August caribou. Will be on a float trip and it would be easier to not try and protect it. I have a velvet bull mounted and would like a hard horn one beside it. Should I soak the antlers or dry them after stripping the velvet.

 

[Marbles]

It may peel easily right away. If it doesn't, leave it on after the kill for a few days, then you can pull it off by hand.

There will be soft cartilage on the tips, so don't expect it to look as good as prior to removing the velvet.

 

[Blockcaver]

Easy to strip velvet right away in mid August. Then soak the antlers in the river overnight to wash the blood away. They’ll have to stained by the taxidermist when you get him mounted.

That was my experience this year in the NWT at any rate.

 

[medvedyt]

if you have enough deep water and fish they will clean your antlers. otherwise you can strip them in using a soft tool. i will post a picture of the tool i made when i was guiding for caribou in northern quebec. i repeat do not use steel or knife for removing the velvet on the antlers.

 

[BowMan86]

As stated before most of them should peel off pretty easily mid August. Occasionally you will get some that are stuck in there pretty tight but will loosen up after a couple days.

 

[jofes]

We found leaving them in the sun made pealing more difficult in late August. Pealing in the first 24 hours seamed easier. Plus lighter to pack out.

 

[280rem]

I personally wouldn’t soak in water again. We stripped our racks last year and threw them in a river, I thought they would never quit bleeding afterwards. This year we stripped and let them hang and dry. Although they did still weep a little blood it was nothing like the ones out of the river.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Young bulls in mid august might still have spongy or softer tips like Marbles stated. Be gentle with these for a week after to let drying toughen those up. Any velvet that doesn't pull right off could be left attached until things dry out, then lightly drimmel any remaining velvet off back at home.

In the field, a sand scrub and cold rinse in the river after all the leeching has stopped (2-3 days) will remove much of the unsightly appearance.

 

[pirogue]

I got an AZ muley one August. Shot right at dusk, and backed out until next morning. A coyote beat me to it and removed a piece or two, so that was decision to forget a velvet mount. I just used a potato peeler, if I recall. Didn’t hurt anything, and colored up nicely. Guess it depends on stage of development before drying up.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Yeah I left the skull of a big caribou in full velvet at the kill site a few years back and weather stalled my return for 2 days. Found the head had been dragged away from the kill site maybe 25 feet. A bear had taken its time to neatly remove every scrap of velvet, facial hide, the lower jaw and the nose. Still mountable with character but surprised how clean the antlers were, and unchewed. Crazy how that bear ate every scrap of hair and hide, guts, and leg bones. Only the hooves and part of a foot remained. Wish I had witnessed that ordeal.