What to do with cape

[duckman18]

Hi I hunt  about 3 to 4 hours north of Boise every year and live in Olympia Washington what does everybody do when they get a deer down that they want to have mounted but you’re not going home for3-7 days? If you cape it out how long will it stay in cooler? Usually freezes every night highs of 40-45 during the day most years

[vandeman17]

Not sure if its correct but I have carefully rolled the cape up and it stayed just fine for a week in the back country

[duckman18]

Not sure if its correct but I have carefully rolled the cape up and it stayed just fine for a week in the back country

That’s my plan if I kill something on the last day or two we did that two years ago my main concern is if you kill something on the first day and you have seven more days of hunting before everybody goes home what to do hopefully you can just do like you said and keep it dry put it in a bag and keep it on ice

[Igor]

Not sure if its correct but I have carefully rolled the cape up and it stayed just fine for a week in the back country

That’s my plan if I kill something on the last day or two we did that two years ago my main concern is if you kill something on the first day and you have seven more days of hunting before everybody goes home what to do hopefully you can just do like you said and keep it dry put it in a bag and keep it on ice

Make sure you do NOT put it in a plastic bag.   If you do, it's a goner.

[vandeman17]

Not sure if its correct but I have carefully rolled the cape up and it stayed just fine for a week in the back country

That’s my plan if I kill something on the last day or two we did that two years ago my main concern is if you kill something on the first day and you have seven more days of hunting before everybody goes home what to do hopefully you can just do like you said and keep it dry put it in a bag and keep it on ice

I have had them out 5 or more days. I just made sure to roll them up hair side out and kept them in a shady spot. Don't put them in a bag

[Rainier10]

Not sure if its correct but I have carefully rolled the cape up and it stayed just fine for a week in the back country

That’s my plan if I kill something on the last day or two we did that two years ago my main concern is if you kill something on the first day and you have seven more days of hunting before everybody goes home what to do hopefully you can just do like you said and keep it dry put it in a bag and keep it on ice

I have had them out 5 or more days. I just made sure to roll them up hair side out and kept them in a shady spot. Don't put them in a bag

And make sure they are cool before you roll them.  Hang them out all night in cool temps, roll them in the morning and then put them in a cool spot for the rest of the trip.

No plastic bag.

[vandeman17]

Not sure if its correct but I have carefully rolled the cape up and it stayed just fine for a week in the back country

That’s my plan if I kill something on the last day or two we did that two years ago my main concern is if you kill something on the first day and you have seven more days of hunting before everybody goes home what to do hopefully you can just do like you said and keep it dry put it in a bag and keep it on ice

I have had them out 5 or more days. I just made sure to roll them up hair side out and kept them in a shady spot. Don't put them in a bag

And make sure they are cool before you roll them.  Hang them out all night in cool temps, roll them in the morning and then put them in a cool spot for the rest of the trip.

No plastic bag.

The one in my avatar actually spent 7 days from the morning I killed him until we got home and it got warm during the day.

[Rainier10]

Not sure if its correct but I have carefully rolled the cape up and it stayed just fine for a week in the back country

That’s my plan if I kill something on the last day or two we did that two years ago my main concern is if you kill something on the first day and you have seven more days of hunting before everybody goes home what to do hopefully you can just do like you said and keep it dry put it in a bag and keep it on ice

I have had them out 5 or more days. I just made sure to roll them up hair side out and kept them in a shady spot. Don't put them in a bag

And make sure they are cool before you roll them.  Hang them out all night in cool temps, roll them in the morning and then put them in a cool spot for the rest of the trip.

No plastic bag.

The one in my avatar actually spent 7 days from the morning I killed him until we got home and it got warm during the day.

Did you completely cape it out?  Take it all off the skull?

[vandeman17]

Not sure if its correct but I have carefully rolled the cape up and it stayed just fine for a week in the back country

That’s my plan if I kill something on the last day or two we did that two years ago my main concern is if you kill something on the first day and you have seven more days of hunting before everybody goes home what to do hopefully you can just do like you said and keep it dry put it in a bag and keep it on ice

I have had them out 5 or more days. I just made sure to roll them up hair side out and kept them in a shady spot. Don't put them in a bag

And make sure they are cool before you roll them.  Hang them out all night in cool temps, roll them in the morning and then put them in a cool spot for the rest of the trip.

No plastic bag.

The one in my avatar actually spent 7 days from the morning I killed him until we got home and it got warm during the day.

Did you completely cape it out?  Take it all off the skull?

We didn't. At that time I didn't trust myself to do it without messing something up 

[Rainier10]

Not sure if its correct but I have carefully rolled the cape up and it stayed just fine for a week in the back country

That’s my plan if I kill something on the last day or two we did that two years ago my main concern is if you kill something on the first day and you have seven more days of hunting before everybody goes home what to do hopefully you can just do like you said and keep it dry put it in a bag and keep it on ice

I have had them out 5 or more days. I just made sure to roll them up hair side out and kept them in a shady spot. Don't put them in a bag

And make sure they are cool before you roll them.  Hang them out all night in cool temps, roll them in the morning and then put them in a cool spot for the rest of the trip.

No plastic bag.

The one in my avatar actually spent 7 days from the morning I killed him until we got home and it got warm during the day.

Did you completely cape it out?  Take it all off the skull?

We didn't. At that time I didn't trust myself to do it without messing something up 

Very lucky but understandable.

If you are going to leave it on the skull I would make sure to split the cape all the way up the back of the neck as far as you can and get as much of the heat from the head dissipated over night.

[duckman18]

Thanks guys If it starts getting warm out during the day would you put it in a cooler and just make sure it’s not getting wet and stays dry or would you still leave it out

[Born2late]

If it was me and it was freezing at night, I would lay it out the first night to let it freeze flesh side out. Then wait till it thaws enough to roll without damaging the hair and put it in the cooler. Not letting it get wet. I would also open the mouth to let heat escape out of the throat.
I personally skin them off the skull so you don't have the heat from the skull to deal with.
If you not sure of yourself on doing that,Practice on every small buck or even does till you get good enough to do it.It's actually not to hard once you've done a couple and know where to pay close attention to.

[greenhead_killer]

You can do like everyone said but pack with dry ice. Will hold pretty well for awhile. Ask your taxi what he recommends. He will have the best advice for you

[Stein]

Our taxi said to keep it absolutely dry and cold.  We had the cape and attached skull in a cooler for 4 days and it turned out perfect.  I did pull it out on day 2 to let it dry a bit and drain the water out of the cooler and leave just ice.

[Magnum_Willys]

We’ve done this a number of times- trim as much meat off head as possible, let head cool.   Put in plastic garbage sack , tape around base of antlers.   Put in big black/yellow 27 gal home depot tub.   Throw in bags of ice.  Cut antler spots on lid so it fits.   Put in shade, Add ice every couple days.

Treat it like a fine piece of steak.   Keep dry and refrigerated.  Good for a week.