If you shoot a bird you think you may want mounted retrieve it by hand if that is an option. If it is a dog retrieval make sure and get it from the dog as soon as possible to limit the potential damage. Also, make sure to put it somewhere the dog cannot get to for the remainder of your hunt.
DO NOT WRING NECKS OR USE FINISHERS ON BIRDS YOU WANT MOUNTED. If hunting with a guide or outfitter let them know ahead of time if you believe you may get a bird that you want mounted. My preferred method is laying the bird on their belly and using either a hand or knee on the center of the back to apply pressure and crush the lungs. This allows for quick and humane dispatching while keeping the skin intact and not damaging critical areas like the head or neck
Don't throw special birds into a pile or hang them in totes by the neck. Hang them by the feet if you'd like to use a tote. Carry birds by their feet not by the neck. Keep them separate and protected and in a cool, dry place to help prevent spoilage. Try to keep the bird clean. We wash and clean the birds during our process but it is always best to keep them clean from the start. Don't breast out the meat of a bird you want mounted.
It's important to get your bird packaged and into a freezer as soon as possible. We recommend plastic freezer bags for your birds. 1 Gallon bags will work for smaller birds while 2 gallon bags will fit about any duck. If you have larger birds like geese or swan trash bags are fine for those. Before bagging you can wrap the feet and head in wet paper towel if you think it may by in the freezer for an extended amount of time. After wrapping you should fold the head under the wing and bag. Make sure to get as much air out of the bag as you can to help prevent freezer burn. I recommend writing species and date of harvest on the bag at this point so it is easy to see and remember later. We have made the federal tag and paperwork required for our records and that meets the tagging requirements for waterfowl available below so that you can print and fill out this information prior to bringing your bird in.
Get the bird to us as soon as you can. The sooner we get it the better shape it will be in and less potential for freezer burn. The sooner you bring it the sooner you will get it back!
This video covers the information above and shows you visually how we recommend preparing a bird for the freezer after a successful hunt.
These are required for our records for any waterfowl or migratory bird you'd like to have mounted. You may print these and fill them out beforehand or we will have them available at drop off.
In addition to things like patterning and sighting in your shotgun I recommend carrying a sandwich or quart size ziplock bag. Inside put 3-4 paper towels, a trash bag, and either a big rubber band or a zip tie. This packs really small and stores really easily in a vest. It can be invaluable after the shot. The video down below explains how to use this.
It is important to consider the shot you take if there is a possibility that you will be mounting the turkey. For taxidermy it is important to NOT shoot a bird in full strut or any pose where the head is tucked or tight to the body. You should also be mindful of the shot angle. I recommend waiting until the bird lifts its head or gobbles to minimize the shot damage to the feathers/body. A body shot turkey will not make a good candidate for taxidermy. Missing and/or damaged feathers WILL be noticeable on a finished mount. You should try and pick shots that minimize the possibility of damaging feathers.
This part can be difficult. Some birds fall and never move a feather while others start flopping as soon as they are hit. You always want to try and get to the bird as soon as you can to try and get the bird up and off of the ground before it damages itself. To avoid getting spurred, grabbing the head is best but you must make sure to grab only the head and not the neck feathers. If the turkey begins flopping while in your hands those feathers will likely come out. If you can get the bird off of the ground and into the air this greatly decreases the potential for damage from flopping.
Once the bird has expired and any flopping has finished this is where that little ziplock bag comes back into play. You want to take the paper towels and wipe off any areas on the feathers that are really bloody and then take the paper towels and wrap the head of the turkey completely. Next take the plastic bag and put the head inside and you can use a rubber band or zip tie to secure the bag to the head. This will capture any blood from the head area and keep it contained within the bag to help keep your bird clean. Then you can put the turkey into the trash bag so that while you're carrying it or putting it in a vest on your way out the feather are protected from rubbing against clothes or branches or any other item it may encounter that could damage feathers. This is also a perfectly acceptable way to freeze your birds once you are home from your hunt or to bring to us.
We recommend not trying to breast out the meat on turkeys you want mounted. This comprises the skin in an important area of the mount. It also makes for more work for us having to fix a big cut in an area that we typically wouldn't have one. Not to mention this opens up the possibility of feather loss or damage.
As mentioned above turkeys can do an extreme amount of damage to themselves after the shot and sometimes shot damage happens as well. While it is always important to do everything you can to try and minimize these things from happening we understand that these things can and do happen. When we're able we do everything we can to hide damage with posing. We can also offer the option for replacement of damaged areas in a lot of cases for an additional fee. In the same way as ducks if you have multiple birds we can pick the best or we can use extra birds as parts birds to fix any damaged areas.
This video covers how we recommend preparing a turkey to bring to us or for proper storage to get mounted at a later time.