How long can you wait to mount something?

[steve white]

I have two questions. One concerns how long an animal can stay in a freezer, gutted but not skinned. I was saving up to mount a black squirrel. (I actually shot two in the same day, if you can believe it. I was age 60 and the only other one I ever saw/shot was when I was 16!) I left it in the freezer for 3 years; in truth I forgot about it. When I contacted a taxidermist he said, "no way, you have mummified it by now" Next time bring it right in.
WELL--a taxidermist told me last week that HE could have saved it--that he had a special solution that would soften right up just such a skin, but that it would be a PITA to deal with, just a little extra charge to incur. I had already thrown it out, sadly. SO WHAT IS THE LONGEST IT COULD BE FROZEN?

Second concern: hides that are shipped over heavily salted, and stiff as a board. They need a lot of work if you start the day they arrive. But in a question of financial/shipping delays, how long can a hide remain dry and salted and still be viable? Shipping conditions today would suggest that they be able to be postponed up to 3 years, just considering the posts regarding shipping woes on AH!

BTW, the only two things that are certain in life (for a trophy animal) are death and taxidermy, lol.

 

[steve white]

OK, I'm expanding my own thread, lol How long do deer mounts last if well cared for?
DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF YOU HAVE THEM CHROME TANNED INSTEAD OF "QUICK TANNED" (It makes a difference in the cost--is it worth it for longevity?)

 

[Flbt]

I can’t tell you how long or how long they will last. Had a cousin have a black and white fox squirrel done. He had in thevfrezzer 2 years and still has it now about 10 years later.

My uncle had a big deer mounted in 77 and it still looks like I remember it as a kid

 

[Anbessa Gedai]

I have two questions. One concerns how long an animal can stay in a freezer, gutted but not skinned. I was saving up to mount a black squirrel. (I actually shot two in the same day, if you can believe it. I was age 60 and the only other one I ever saw/shot was when I was 16!) I left it in the freezer for 3 years; in truth I forgot about it. When I contacted a taxidermist he said, "no way, you have mummified it by now" Next time bring it right in.
WELL--a taxidermist told me last week that HE could have saved it--that he had a special solution that would soften right up just such a skin, but that it would be a PITA to deal with, just a little extra charge to incur. I had already thrown it out, sadly. SO WHAT IS THE LONGEST IT COULD BE FROZEN?

Second concern: hides that are shipped over heavily salted, and stiff as a board. They need a lot of work if you start the day they arrive. But in a question of financial/shipping delays, how long can a hide remain dry and salted and still be viable? Shipping conditions today would suggest that they be able to be postponed up to 3 years, just considering the posts regarding shipping woes on AH!

BTW, the only two things that are certain in life (for a trophy animal) are death and taxidermy, lol.

Below is just some of my own experience . . . you might get different specific instructions from your taxidermist . . .
Properly fleshed, salted and dried skins can be stored for YEARS and still tan up just fine.
BUT they must be kept free of bugs and kept dry . . . not allowed to rehydrate (as when the salt will pull moisture from the air if in a humid environment). I had salted and dried skins that I had done myself stored in my garage in Harare (overall a fairly dry climate) that didn't get tanned until 11 years later, and they all tanned up beautifully. But having said that, if wanting to delay the actual mounting, there is no reason to overtly delay the tanning. Assuming you are in the USA another plan is once you have the skins, send them off to the tannery without significant delay, and once tanned, they can be hydrated, rolled up, sealed in a plastic bag (or double bagged) and frozen. As long as they are kept frozen the tanned skins will last for years and can be thawed and mounted at some later date. I've had some mounts done with capes that had been tanned and frozen for more than a decade that turned out beautifully. None the less, with either plan keeping the "storage period" shorter rather than longer reduces the risk of ending up with an un-mountable skin.

Regarding freezing a specimen un-skinned, the concern is that over time the specimen dehydrates and oxidizes (freezer burn). Having the specimen double or even triple bagged to reduce air circulation around it and reduce the resulting sublimation would extend the frozen storage time without sustaining damage. Needless to say, shorter storage is always better than longer.

Regarding chrome tanning, FLAT skins like zebra rugs, back skins, etc., that will not be mounted in any way are usually chrome tanned. But a chrome tanned skin will NOT be suitable for mounting.
When sending capes or skins to the tannery you must specify to the tannery that they require taxidermy tanning (there are several acceptable taxidermy tanning methods, but they will not be chrome tanned).

 

[Brickman301]

I kept a whitetail deer’s head in my freezer for 18 months. It was stored in a heavy duty bag trash bag, with the air squeezed out, as best as I could.
My taxidermist didn’t even blink an eye about it being stored that long.

I used to trap, and I’ve kept whole frozen raccoons in my freezer for a year. As long as they were dry before freezing them, they were fine.

 

[coyote wacker]

I have a deer mount it was my Grandfathers done chrome tanned in the 60's and it still looks very good. My Grandmother would use her Kirby vacuum with a brush and clean it several time a year, I do the same.

 

[Hunt anything]

This whitetail was mounted in 1980 or so, it still looks pretty good but forms have come a long way since then! If I remember correctly this taxidermist didn’t have his skins tanned, he had some sort of mixture he used and they were mounted wet.
The smaller deer to the right was my first decent deer and killed and mounted in 1979. I mounted him myself but has held up pretty well being it was mounted by a high school sophomore that had no clue to what he was doing.

As far as length of time something can be frozen, I’ve had waterfowl in the freezer for up to 3 years and my taxidermist didn’t say a word when I finally shipped them to him.

 

[steve white]

Below is just some of my own experience . . . you might get different specific instructions from your taxidermist . . .
Properly fleshed, salted and dried skins can be stored for YEARS and still tan up just fine.
BUT they must be kept free of bugs and kept dry . . . not allowed to rehydrate (as when the salt will pull moisture from the air if in a humid environment). I had salted and dried skins that I had done myself stored in my garage in Harare (overall a fairly dry climate) that didn't get tanned until 11 years later, and they all tanned up beautifully. But having said that, if wanting to delay the actual mounting, there is no reason to overtly delay the tanning. Assuming you are in the USA another plan is once you have the skins, send them off to the tannery without significant delay, and once tanned, they can be hydrated, rolled up, sealed in a plastic bag (or double bagged) and frozen. As long as they are kept frozen the tanned skins will last for years and can be thawed and mounted at some later date. I've had some mounts done with capes that had been tanned and frozen for more than a decade that turned out beautifully. None the less, with either plan keeping the "storage period" shorter rather than longer reduces the risk of ending up with an un-mountable skin.

Regarding freezing a specimen un-skinned, the concern is that over time the specimen dehydrates and oxidizes (freezer burn). Having the specimen double or even triple bagged to reduce air circulation around it and reduce the resulting sublimation would extend the frozen storage time without sustaining damage. Needless to say, shorter storage is always better than longer.

Regarding chrome tanning, FLAT skins like zebra rugs, back skins, etc., that will not be mounted in any way are usually chrome tanned. But a chrome tanned skin will NOT be suitable for mounting.
When sending capes or skins to the tannery you must specify to the tannery that they require taxidermy tanning (there are several acceptable taxidermy tanning methods, but they will not be chrome tanned).

I shouldn't assume things, like that a hide was chrome tanned if not for sure. I assumed it was, as The Flagg Group taxidermy said it would really be tanned, not just "quick tanned" for taxidermy. They sent it off somewhere, charged more, and it did look significantly different than one mount I have that was quick tanned by the taxidermist. On the fully tanned hide the inside of the ears was pink in skin tone and had not been painted that way as witnessed by the still white inside hairs. I considered it an investment in longevity, although my first mount has lasted at least 35 years. I may not live long enough to test the longevity of the fully tanned hide, so was asking for collective wisdom.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

OK, I'm expanding my own thread, lol How long do deer mounts last if well cared for?
DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF YOU HAVE THEM CHROME TANNED INSTEAD OF "QUICK TANNED" (It makes a difference in the cost--is it worth it for longevity?)

Once upon a time I did taxidermy on birds. Someone gave me a crow that had been in the freezer "for a couple of years." The fat was hardened to the skin and I couldn't separate the fat from the skin and they seemed to be hardened into "crow jerky." I couldn't save it and I'd guess the squirrel you mentioned was toast.

Now for the last part of your question. I have several shoulder mounts from my first safari in 1983 (43 years ago). They still look great as long as they are clean of dust.

 

[Sarg]

Whole animals, birds & fish kept in the freezer are best done as soon as you can, as mentioned freezer burn will make it difficult to clean up nicely,

Capes & skins arent nearly as bad & mine have lasted many years before being done.

Lots of people I know actually use their freezers as Quasi taxidermy, I’ve lost count of friends showing me a large/huge Fish or odd coloured small animal or bird in their Garage/shed freezer, sometimes for many many years !

On longevity, just look at some of the turn of the Century Rowland Ward taxidermy, some is still outstanding, on the other hand I have seen some done last year that had the look of turn of the Century !!

 

[Ridge Runner]

Contact, PM AH member @gizmo for a solid answer.

Personally, I've kept hides in a freezer for over 2-3 years before tanning them. But I'm not doing taxidermy for mounting animals. I'm doing taxidermy of hides for leatherwork, brain and vegetable tanning. Once I collect enough hides to personally justify the costs and time involved to complete several hides with minimal waste of materials.

 

[RedTag]

My mother had a dead parakeet in the freezer for about 13 years. She meant to bury it but she forgot. I found lil Petey and put him back in the cage, very well preserved, although the eyes looked a bit strange. Mom freaked out.

 

[Ridge Runner]

OK, I'm expanding my own thread, lol How long do deer mounts last if well cared for?
DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF YOU HAVE THEM CHROME TANNED INSTEAD OF "QUICK TANNED" (It makes a difference in the cost--is it worth it for longevity?)

Yes!
How a hide is tanned makes all the difference.
It makes a big difference in caring for the hide, leather, and the longevity of the hide, leather.

Best example I can give is:

You have a pair of shoes, boots, a belt, a wallet, that you put aside and after a few weeks or months you decide to bring them/it out of storage and there is discoloration, and a sort of stiffness. The salts/chemicals used in the chrome tan are/have "leeching/leeched" out. These same chemicals can/will damage metal. This is why chrome tan shouldn't be used for holsters, knife sheaths, etc.

What's a "quick" tan(?)(.) Answer: Is relative as to who is doing it , the process being done, and quality of the results.

Just me. But I don't believe in "quick" tanning. It's in the details. As IMPO "quick" tanning is shoddy, aka you get what you pay for. Maybe reasonably good or total crap job.

Q: How long should a deer mount last?
A: Decades! Long past your Great x5, x10, great grandchildren.

A lot of improvements in taxidermy over the past centuries. Even today the best work of quality taxidermist over centuries later still exist, although shoddy compared by today's standards. All one has to do is look around distinguished museums.

 

[Sarg]

These are All over a 100yrs old & better than a lot mounted today !

 

[spike.t]

Must confess I did a double take at the threads title...had to read it 3 or so times till I realised it was about taxidermy.... first response before I did my rereading.....was depends how cute she is....

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

While I was living and working in Nigeria for 6 years, I didn’t have a house in the US. My daughter and I did a couple safaris and had 15 animals. I talked with a taxidermist in Montana, who had done several elk and deer mounts for me, about holding everything for 2-3 years. He said, no problem. I moved back to the US and built my retirement house. When the house was about done, I contacted the taxidermist and he pulled the hides out of the freezer and a few months later I had two large crates of trophies.

 

[K-man]

Must confess I did a double take at the threads title...had to read it 3 or so times till I realised it was about taxidermy.... first response before I did my rereading.....was depends how cute she is....

I must confess my initial thought was very similar... "before the alcohol wears off..." now back to thread...

 

[Spartan5]

I consider the hides to be just like a woman the last couple of posts refer to. Mount it as quick and for as long as possible!

 

[coreydb]

Oh boy.....I'm worried about a couple heads I had done by a taxidermist who has a self contained taxidermy. Both trophies were ready in four months and looked great......are these going to be short-lived trophies?

 

[steve white]

Oh boy.....I'm worried about a couple heads I had done by a taxidermist who has a self contained taxidermy. Both trophies were ready in four months and looked great......are these going to be short-lived trophies?

You'll probably be OK. My first mount is 35+ years old. Depends on the taxidermist and their methods as I read comments above.