taxidermists

[Sundance]

things you would do differently?

[Kuduman]

Sundance;
  allot of what your asking is personal preference. and some {at least for me) is based on weather or not I intend to send this item to a tannery or not. Lets assume that your going to use a tannery here is how I do it.

1. Nose.... I separate and flesh I leave plenty of carteledge on until after I tan or receiving the cape back from the tannery and can skiff the nostril out in a fleshing horn. The reason for this is because the nostril skin is very thin and will hold up better after tanning.
2. Lips I leave plenty on all the way around and flesh thoroughly and salt.  after tanning I skiff just like the nostril... same reason.
3. Ears. I  completely turn out the ear leaving the cartilage in until after tanning. If i were to send to a tannery I would turn it out and than fold the ear and apply a heavy duty tie-wrap to close off the ear so as to prevent a blowout during tumbling at the tannery.
4. Lastly the type of incision is entirely your preference. I like a long Y on most deer and elk. a short Y is desirable for short haired and African game. Here its all about hiding the incision and how well and fast you can sew.
Hope this helps.

Kuduman

[Kuduman]

Sundance:
 wow where do I begin. First and foremost there is no substitute for experience. The quality of a tan is no guarantee that you'll end up with a gook looking mount. Ask anyone that has mounted deer in the past and they will tell you that the more deer you mount the better they start looking. Someone awhile ago started a post I think it was titled "first mounts let's see them" There were some pretty rough looking critters there. take a look at the deer that there doing now and the difference is obvious.  most people do one and say forget it and never get to another, while others stick with it and before you know it there doing some pretty nice work.

 There are several styles of tan. You mentioned a few some more popular than others. Some tans like brain tanning are a more natural way of introducing a tanning agent to a hide while others achieve a good tan through chemicals. I use Lutan F which is a very common tan used at most large tanneries. Lutan F offers a solid tan with great stretch. and when neutralized has no environmental impact.  I have tried other chemical tans but my best results are from Lutan F.
The big question is do I use a tannery or do it myself............... How much money you want to drop on a fleshing machine, tumbler. Hide buffing wheel ect.ect.ect.  Ask Bucklucky he's just starting to tan himself and believe me if you want to do it right it ain't cheap.
My suggestion is to get with an experienced taxi that does his own tanning and see the process for yourself. Those home tanning kits will tan but you will probably end up with a hide that resembles a hairy piece of cardboard.

I think I answered most of your questions. If you want feel free to contact me and Ill give you the name of a few tanneries that take hides from non taxidermists.

Good Luck

Kuduman

[cedarriver]

 Only thing I do a little different is, I only leave about 1/2 to 3/4 inside lip skin, no use working on all that extra skin. Just leave enough to tuck into the form. But if your not sure more is always better. Other than that like Kuduman said it's all personal preference.