How to Skin Your Trophy Elk

How to skin your trophy elk in the field for taxidermy:

If you plan on mounting the game animal, when field dressing your trophy, cut up through the breastbone and up to the base of the brisket. (See: Field Dressing) It is easier, especially on larger animals to offset your cut on either side of the breastbone or brisket rather than up the middle.

In warm weather, it is best to take the carcass to a meat locker the day of the kill. The ideal situation is for the carcass to cool to less than 40 F less than 24 hours after death. This ensures the quality of the meat and the quality of the cape. If the nighttime temperature is above freezing, skin the carcass to aid in the cooling process.

SKINNING FOR THE PURPOSE OF TAXIDERMY

With the animal hanging, cut the skin around the carcass at least 12 inches behind or below the shoulders (See Step-1). Next, cut along the top of the back to the base of the antlers (See Step-2). Then skin the cape away from the meat trying to eliminate leaving any meat attached to the skin (See Step-3). The cape needs to be skinned as far up the neck as possible at which point the head can be cut away form the neck (See Step-4)

How to skin for taxidermy

Once the cape is skinned up to the base of the neck, tie a small rope around the skin and pull the cape away from the meat. This will help keep the cape clean from any additional blood. Now you need to remove the remainder of the skin from the lower half of the animal. On larger animals the use of a sharp knife will aid in removal of the skin away from the meat. Once completed, cover the carcass with a game bag to help protect the meat against dirt and/or insects. Also, keep the head attached to the animal until you get to the meat locker. (See your states regulations on how to transport game animals). Once at the locker, the head and cape can be removed from the carcass by cutting the neck (See Fig.1-b). It is also a good idea to take photos of your trophy to give to your taxidermist. These photos along with actual measurements of the animal will help the taxidermist recreate the looks of the animal you harvested.