Author Topic: What not to do when caping a deer. (Read 7895 times)

Michelle_Nelson · « **on:** October 30, 2009, 03:33:27 PM »

Well Tuesday night I had a customer call me with a deer. His daughter shot her fist buck. A small 3 point and wanted a shoulder mount done and the back 1/2 tanned.

I knew from talking to him tuesday that she had shot it in the shoulder and busted the leg. When they were caping it out he was afraid of doing damage to the cape so he tubed the deer leaving the damaged shoulder in the cape, LOL. I told him no big deal I will pull it when you get here and you can take it back home with you.

So Wednesday evening (7:45pm) when him and his daughted brought it to the shop I got it all checked it and they picked out the pose. I got my scaple out and was showing them how and where to cut the leg when caping to free up the cape. Got the first leg opened up and was just getting done with the second one when it happened!

The scaple slipped and the blade went into my stomach. It took a second to register at first. When I looked down and the blade hadn't just fallen out. I ended up having to pull it out. I looked up at the guy and said

"I just stabbed myself".

He looks at me and laughs and say "what?", "How bad?".

I think he thought I was joking or had just cut myself.

I said, "I don't know, bad enought that the blade didn't fall out" I think I am going to have to put your deer in the freezer for now and go into the ER and get checked out.

He comes around the table and says. Hold on let me see it may not be that bad. So I lift my shirt enough fo him to loo at it and all he says is it doesn't look good.

I havn't been to the ER since moving to Wa so I had no clue where a hospital was. After a few minuted of discussing a location I remember that one of the neighbors in a nurse. So I lock up the house and the shop and drive over to the nurses house. She looks at it and than says she is driving my to the ER.

We get to the Er and go through all their BS paperwork. I get a room and to Doc on call comes in and says "You have got to be kidding me?" "You stabbed yourself skinning a deer?" Well lets have a look at it. He looks at it and says well it's at an angle. It's deep but be glad it was at an angle and you didn't go deep enough to hit a gut but we are going to flush it and staple the hole closed. With out numbing it!

As I was leaving he told me to enjoy the deer meat. I said I won't be enjoying it because it is't mind. I am going out in the morning to try and fill my tag. He pretty much told me not the best idea I ever had and no hunting for a week. So didn't go hunting that morning I went out that evening.

When I got home around 11pm that night I went back to the shop and pulled the Deer head out of the freezer and finnished puling the shoulder, caping the head, fleashing, splitting, and salting the cape. I dont like to freeze entire heads if I don't have to.

Ray · « **Reply #1 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:36:08 PM »

Ouch. Sorry to hear about that. Sounds painful. You gotta stop being a klutz. At least you went hunting though :-)

washelkhntr · « **Reply #2 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:38:37 PM »

Damn Michelle, your a lucky gal. Best of luck on a speedy recovery.

markts · « **Reply #3 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:43:37 PM »

Be careful. I am sure you are not the first or last to end up in the ER after operating on a game animal. I have and so has one of my partners. Mark

huntnphool · « **Reply #4 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:44:08 PM »

Glad your okay.

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:47:10 PM »

The bruise is the size of a baseball.

Honestly so far I have not felt anything. The worst thing was the staples and even that wasn't all that bad even when the did them with out numbing the area.

LongTatLaw · « **Reply #6 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:49:17 PM »

I called trying to talk important taxidermy stuff...like what pose I want for my cat...

and all i get is blah blah blah...stabbed myself...booohoooo hello...stay on point here!

wall pedestal...which head turn position...wtf

Snowman · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:49:37 PM »

Well damn girl! That doesn't look as bad as I thought it was going to be. Get well soon. We have birds here shortly to go kill!!

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:51:14 PM »

Longtat fogot to mention he called me 5 minutes after I got into the ER.

Snowman I should have the staples out in a week so I will be up their next week to shoot some birds.

Snowman · « **Reply #9 on:** October 30, 2009, 04:03:12 PM »

K well make sure you got your snowgoose card

MtnMuley · « **Reply #10 on:** October 30, 2009, 04:05:11 PM »

Damn! Glad it turned out okay. Hope this isn't a bad sign for me when caping out an elk tonight!

bucklucky · « **Reply #11 on:** October 30, 2009, 04:06:01 PM »

You Dork....I sabbed myself last year right into the palm of my hand with a #24 clear up to where the blade slips onto the scalpel if that makes you feel any better

Glad you didnt get your gut.

MtnMuley · « **Reply #12 on:** October 30, 2009, 04:09:05 PM »

Damn it! A #24 is what I will be using tonight!

bucklucky · « **Reply #13 on:** October 30, 2009, 04:11:55 PM »

Quote from: MtnMuley on October 30, 2009, 04:09:05 PM

Damn it! A #24 is what I will be using tonight!

Just keep your body out of harms way and you'll be fine

I was in a hurry and not thinking when I did it. Mich how about you??

carpsniperg2 · « **Reply #14 on:** October 30, 2009, 04:31:26 PM »

that sucks sorry to hear and see it hope you get well soon

wadu1 · « **Reply #15 on:** October 30, 2009, 05:24:30 PM »

Glad to hear you went to ER, my cousin ran a fillet knife though his forarm did not go to ER. After a few day a bad staff infection set in and almost lost lost the arm still has a bad scar. He and his other hunting buddies us a fillet knife to cut the rectom out work good if you know what you are doing.
Keep your powder dry and keep care

elkaholic · « **Reply #16 on:** October 30, 2009, 06:24:31 PM »

Never heard of a taxidermist trying to use herself as a example.. : ) get well Michelle- glad to hear you will be ok.

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #17 on:** October 30, 2009, 07:40:15 PM »

Quote from: bucklucky on October 30, 2009, 04:11:55 PM

Just keep your body out of harms way and you'll be fine I was in a hurry and not thinking when I did it. Mich how about you??

Same here. Got in a hurry and wasn't paying attention to the direction I was cutting.

I am still not sure how deep it went. I know it was s new blade and I was putting a good amount of pressure on it when it slipped. It went in far enough that when I let go of the handle it didn't fall out on it's own. I had to pull it out.

Doc said that it had gone in at an angle and that is why it didn't get a gut.

Plus being fat didn't hurt either.

I stuck the scaple blade in the top of my finger last year in August. You can ask ShadowCat about that I was on the phone with him when I did it. It went in about 1/2 inch and hit bone. I flushed it out with peroxide and used electrical tape and paper towel as a bandaid.

I was using a #22 blade both times.

billythekidrock · « **Reply #18 on:** October 30, 2009, 07:48:35 PM »

Quote from: LongTatLaw on October 30, 2009, 03:49:17 PM

I called trying to talk important taxidermy stuff...like what pose I want for my cat...

and all i get is blah blah blah...stabbed myself...booohoooo hello...stay on point here!

wall pedestal...which head turn position...wtf

Yea, I got about the same from her.
"Hey, guess what I did...not supposed to hunt".....

Then later that afternoon she drives right by me while we were hunting.

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #19 on:** October 30, 2009, 07:55:45 PM »

You wouldnt have done the same thing BTKR?

What can I say I wanna kill a deer.

billythekidrock · « **Reply #20 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:00:05 PM »

Quote from: Michelle_Nelson on October 30, 2009, 07:55:45 PM

You wouldnt have done the same thing BTKR?

What can I say I wanna kill a deer.

I woulda done the same in a heartbeat.

So I take it you guys didn't find anything?

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #21 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:02:46 PM »

I think the kid either missed completely or made a bad shot through the meat of the neck. He was pretty excitable.

I looked for blood and sign where he claimed the deer was standing when he shot it but didn't see any sign the deer was hit.

Kain · « **Reply #22 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:43:19 PM »

You are tougher than me for sure.

BLKBEARKLR · « **Reply #23 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:57:28 PM »

Quit being a sissy all you had to do would have just slapped some stoprot in it and some superglue

Kain · « **Reply #24 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:58:56 PM »

I have seen her sowing skills. probably would have done a better job than the staples yourself.

Grizzly95 · « **Reply #25 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:59:16 PM »

Buried a box cutter into my gut last fall, not paying attention to how I was cutting. Not too much pain, but it is still tender. Amazing how little it bled also. I carry super glue for the unexpected stabbings now. Take care of it, I will look for a kevlar for ya

Track-er · « **Reply #26 on:** October 30, 2009, 10:42:44 PM »

You are lucky,When I was a kid living in northern California I remember a guy who came into the small town we lived in who stuck what looked like a Bowie knife in his thigh skinnig a deer.

Mike

ICEMAN · « **Reply #27 on:** October 31, 2009, 06:15:24 AM »

Oh my gosh!

Is my bear rug and skull going to be OK? Huh? I am really worried now....

Oh yeah...almost forgot...glad you are OK Michelle...

Do they make a full body fillet suit or anything...?

Maybe you could wear one of those? Just an Idea...

rasbo · « **Reply #28 on:** October 31, 2009, 06:55:43 AM »

Upon hearing these stories,I did some research done by the AMA on taxidermists.The study showed that taxidermists,while working with dead animals,alone many of the times,suffer greatly from lack of communication with live people or animals!It is found through numerous studies that symptoms start out slow and speed up as this lack of communication with living things proceeds..Symptoms start out with talking to ones self and ramp up when no response is heard.Then they start talking to the animal they are working on.After many attempts to speak with the dead animals,with no results or conversations{Some taxis actually believe they are being talked to by the dead animal,that's another story}.This is when the taxidermist reaches out in way that is harmful to themselves,often times stabbing themselves for attention.This is becoming a fast rising problem with the taxidermist profession,and from the AMA point of view might lead to the need for a friend,be it real or imagined to speak with.So they are finding that if the person brings in an animal to be worked on the client should have a name made up for the animal,like Fred or Wendy any name,so the taxidermist feels like he or she actually has a friend or knows somebody.Its much more personal,says Dr, drew ustuffalot..

coachcw · « **Reply #29 on:** October 31, 2009, 07:40:57 AM »

Just another reason exta wieght helps , hope you fell better soon.

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #30 on:** October 31, 2009, 09:12:45 AM »

HA HA HA Rasbo. That's some funny chit. Most of it is also true. Lot of us talk to the animals. I mean they have gone through some really rough times. From bring shot, gutted, caped, fleashed, split, shaved, mounted, poked and prodded, dried out and painted. It's suprising they don't require us to have some sorta therapy degree.

Austrian Hunter · « **Reply #31 on:** October 31, 2009, 03:16:55 PM »

Glad you ok, may I recommend

Whitelightning · « **Reply #32 on:** October 31, 2009, 06:15:54 PM »

Glad your Ok Michelle! I will name my Bear before I get it to you

Just doin my part

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #33 on:** November 01, 2009, 09:31:04 AM »

Thats funny.

NWHydroprint · « **Reply #34 on:** November 01, 2009, 06:32:33 PM »

Michelle, You can now package those blades and sell them as the lastest greatest brodheads with proven cut capabilities guaranteed to cut quickly and humanely!

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #35 on:** November 01, 2009, 07:23:48 PM »

Lol, yeah! You got to see the first demo!

bow4elk · « **Reply #36 on:** November 01, 2009, 07:30:29 PM »

Damn, Michelle. Glad you're OK. That looked brutal. I slipped with a small caping knife on a caribou one time. I was alone and a loooooong hike back to camp. I was bleeding like a stuck pig so I squeezed a bunch of Neosporin in the wound and bound my hand up really really tight with a bandana. Luckily I missed tendons and it healed up fine but I learned a good lesson. Glad you were able to get in and fixed up in a hurry.

Wishing you a speedy recovery!!

boneaddict · « **Reply #37 on:** November 01, 2009, 07:46:26 PM »

Holy Crap. Glad you're OK.

fireoff · « **Reply #38 on:** November 02, 2009, 05:01:01 PM »

I am so sorry Michelle, I am glad you are now ok, and hope it continues good without any complications GET WELL SOON.

News:

Advertisement

Author Topic: What not to do when caping a deer. (Read 7895 times)

Advertisement

Quick Links

Recent Topics