Skinning for a mount (Mammals)

[LLtaxidermy]

I've had several people over the last couple months ask about skinning mammals for lifesize mounts. I finally remembered my camera the other day so here's the basics.

I start off by parting the hair of the animal down the back where the insision will be. Always try to be careful not to cut hair if possible.



 The next step is to start the incision, start about halfway down the back and cut to just above the base of the neck. always cut from back to front.



Start cutting away the membrane that holds the skin to the meat around the back and neck. Once the neck is exposed cut the head of the animal off. This will allow you to skin around the entire animal.

 

Continue skinning the animal until you reach the shoulders. Once you have reached the shoulders go ahead and cut the legs off. Just seperate them at the joint.



Once the legs are removed continue skinning towards the rear of the animal until you have reached the back legs. Remove them from the body and continue on to the tail. Remove the tail at the base.



At this point the entire body of the animal is seperated from the hide and the legs, head and tail are still intact. Remove the legs as far down as you can leaving the feet in. The head and tail also stay in.



Once your finished lightly wash any blood out of the hide with cold water, Wrap the animal and freeze until you can get it to your taxidermist.
This method is pretty much the same on all types of mammals regardless of size.

You should always wear latex gloves or something similar when doing any skinning. I know I didn't set a real good example in a couple of those pictures.
And make sure you have a sharp knife. Dull knives are dangerous.

I hope this is helpful to some of you. If anyone has any other questions feel free to ask. Please ask on this thread so everyone can see. Chances are pretty good that if you have a question there are others with the same one.