What Should a Hunter Do with a Deer Cape Before the Taxidermist?

By MountChief Editorial Team|Updated Mar 2026

Improper field care before intake causes 20 percent of preventable cape damage. That's a significant number, it means one in five cape problems could be avoided if the hunter handled things correctly in the field before the cape ever reached the shop.

If you want a quality deer shoulder mount, what you do in the first few hours after the harvest matters enormously.

TL;DR

Cool the cape immediately after harvest; heat is the enemy of hide quality.
Make your cut for a shoulder mount well behind the front legs, giving at least 6-8 inches of extra cape.
Never cut the cape too short at the brisket; missing material cannot be replaced.
Freeze the cape wrapped tightly in plastic to prevent freezer burn.
Do not attempt to turn the ears, lips, or eye openings yourself; leave that to the taxidermist.
Label every frozen cape with your name, species, and date frozen before storing.

Step 1: Cut the Cape Far Enough Back

The most common caping mistake hunters make is cutting too close to the front shoulders. A taxidermist needs several inches of cape behind the front shoulders to work with. Cut too short and there's not enough hide to complete the mount without visible seams or patchwork.

The rule: Cut the cape at least 4 to 6 inches behind the front shoulder. When in doubt, cut further back. Extra hide can be trimmed at the shop, there's no adding hide that you didn't leave on the animal.

Step 2: Do Not Skin the Face

Leave the face skinning to your taxidermist. The face is the most detail-critical part of the cape and the easiest to damage with amateur skinning. The ears, lips, and nose tear easily and require careful technique.

When you bring the cape in with the face attached and unskinned, you're giving the taxidermist the raw material to do the job correctly. If the face is already damaged from field skinning, that's a problem that affects the finished mount.

Step 3: Cool the Cape Immediately

Heat is the enemy. Bacteria begin breaking down the hair follicles quickly in warm temperatures, causing slippage. A condition where the hair actually slips out of the hide. Once a cape has significant slippage, it's either unusable or requires extensive repair.

Get the cape off the deer as quickly as possible after harvest. If temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, cooling the cape is urgent.

Options for cooling in the field:

Pack with ice: place the cape (folded flesh-side out) in a bag with ice
Get it to a cold vehicle: put the cape in a cooler or the cab of your truck
Head to the taxidermist immediately: if you harvested and you're 20 minutes from the shop, go

The faster the cape cools, the less risk of slippage.

Step 4: Bag and Freeze Correctly

If you're not taking the cape to the taxidermist immediately, freezing is the right move.

How to freeze a deer cape:

Fold the cape flesh-side out (protect the hair from freezer burn)
Place in a heavy-duty plastic bag
Remove as much air as possible before sealing (use a straw to suck out air if you don't have a vacuum sealer)
Place in a second bag for double protection
Freeze immediately

A properly double-bagged, air-removed cape can be kept frozen for several weeks to months without quality loss. Improperly frozen capes (single bag, full of air) can develop freezer burn that affects the hide.

What Hunters Should Bring to the Taxidermist

When you drop off your deer cape, have this information ready:

Your hunting license number
Your deer tag or harvest tag number
The county or management unit where you harvested the deer
Harvest date
Your contact information including email (for the customer portal)

Your taxidermist should capture all of this at intake. If they don't ask for it, provide it anyway. It protects you both if any questions come up about the legality of the harvest later.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far back should I cut when caping a deer for shoulder mount?

Cut the cape at least 4 to 6 inches behind the front shoulders. This gives the taxidermist enough material to complete the mount without patchwork. The most common mistake hunters make is cutting too close to the front of the shoulders, leaving the taxidermist short on cape material. Extra hide can always be trimmed; there's no way to add it back if it's already gone.

Should I remove the ears and lips before taking the cape to the taxidermist?

No. Leave all face skinning to your taxidermist. The ears, lips, and nose require careful, experienced technique to open correctly without damage. Amateur skinning of these areas is one of the most common sources of preventable cape damage. Bring the cape in with the face fully intact and unskinned.

How long can a capped deer remain unfrozen before damage occurs?

In warm temperatures (above 50 degrees Fahrenheit), slippage can begin within 4 to 6 hours. In cool temperatures (below 40 degrees), you have more time, but cooling is still urgent. Best practice is to freeze the cape or get it to the taxidermist within 24 hours of harvest. In any weather above freezing, treat cape care as a time-sensitive priority.

How much of the neck and cape should I leave when caping a deer for a shoulder mount?

Give your taxidermist more material than you think they need. Cut around the body well behind the front legs. Leave 6-8 inches of cape behind the shoulder blade. For the neck, cut up the back of the neck to the base of the skull rather than cutting around the neck near the head. Excess can be trimmed; a short cape creates problems that cannot be fixed.

What should I do with a cape if I am in the field and several hours from a freezer?

Keep it as cool as possible. If the weather is cold, that may be sufficient. If it is warm, place the caped hide in a cooler with ice or ice packs. If you have no cooler, hang it in the shade in a well-ventilated area away from direct sun. In warm weather, starting the salting process as a backup is a sensible precaution if you are more than a few hours from refrigeration.

Can I cape the deer myself or should I take the whole deer to the taxidermist?

Either approach works. Many hunters prefer to cape the deer themselves to reduce transportation bulk and because it is faster to cool a caped hide than an intact carcass. If you are unsure of your caping ability, especially around the face and ear bases, having a butcher or the taxidermist do it is the safer option to avoid cutting the hide where it cannot be repaired.

Try These Free Tools

Put these insights into practice with our free calculators and planners:

Sources

National Taxidermists Association (NTA)
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Breakthrough Magazine

Get Started with MountChief

Better capes produce better mounts, and it starts with what the hunter does in the field. MountChief lets you send customers a cape care instruction message at inquiry or intake so they arrive prepared. Try MountChief to make customer education part of your standard intake process.