Finding Capes?

[Watts307]

Hey folks,

Really interested in taxidermy.

I reached out to a few taxidermy shops in town, no luck with anyone hiring or needing help. Most of them just one man shows.

Cant afford the $10k taxidermy school and with the enormous amount of info and taxidermist's with Youtube channels. I figured I could hopefully get a foundation with the basics and learning on my off days.

With that said, I was curious if anyone has any ideas of finding capes to use as I learn. I have found a few websites/tanneries selling unneeded capes but curious if anyone found other ways or more local ways of acquiring capes to use.

Obviously capes from tags I fill I can use and when it comes around that time I will let the word out around my circle to see if anyone fill a tag they dont plan on using the hide.

Besides that just thought I would put this out there in case anyone found other avenues for this.

 

[Nick87]

Sending u a pm

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Possibly road kill or the state game and fish department? Facebook or Craigslist add?

 

[Watts307]

Possibly road kill or the state game and fish department? Facebook or Craigslist add?

Roadkill crossed my mind. Good amount of does and antelope get whacked along my road. Usually after the bars have live music

Wyomings 511 app lets you submit salvage over the phone.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Roadkill crossed my mind. Good amount of does and antelope get whacked along my road. Usually after the bars have live music

Wyomings 511 app lets you submit salvage over the phone.

Especially after this winter

 

[Watts307]

Especially after this winter

very true...unfortunately.

 

[Red Fox]

do some coyote hunting, roadkill is a great idea. get good at the skinning as well as fleshing as well.

 

[brymoore]

You should be able to buy a few from hunters in the fall if you let people know.

 

[OntarioHunter]

You're still gonna need to have them tanned. Tanneries and other taxidermists have been our sources for buying capes but frankly we have decided to drop that option. It's always a crap shoot ordering capes. With one exception the capes we did order turned out to be crap. Even the cape I personally picked out from another taxidermist (who also bought it from another supplier) didn't work out. All the pros pretty much say the same thing: don't waste your money on schools. Lots of great videos can be purchased at a fraction of the price. You still will need a significant bankroll to get started. It requires a lot of specialized expensive equipment. Paints, forms, stands, fleshing wheel/boards, eyes, brushes, etc, etc.

If you are a veteran and haven't used your ed benefits, the VA will cover taxidermy school tuition. Good luck finding one that's worth a shit. They're out there. Just be careful.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Possibly talk to local owners of game processing businesses. Many hunters bring in animals whole and just want to pick up packaged meat after a few days. I assume many hides get pitched. Best of luck, TheGrayRider.

 

[Watts307]

Possibly talk to local owners of game processing businesses. Many hunters bring in animals whole and just want to pick up packaged meat after a few days. I assume many hides get pitched. Best of luck, TheGrayRider.

Good idea.

 

[Watts307]

You're still gonna need to have them tanned. Tanneries and other taxidermists have been our sources for buying capes but frankly we have decided to drop that option. It's always a crap shoot ordering capes. With one exception the capes we did order turned out to be crap. Even the cape I personally picked out from another taxidermist (who also bought it from another supplier) didn't work out. All the pros pretty much say the same thing: don't waste your money on schools. Lots of great videos can be purchased at a fraction of the price. You still will need a significant bankroll to get started. It requires a lot of specialized expensive equipment. Paints, forms, stands, fleshing wheel/boards, eyes, brushes, etc, etc.

If you are a veteran and haven't used your ed benefits, the VA will cover taxidermy school tuition. Good luck finding one that's worth a shit. They're out there. Just be careful.

Not a veteran but my wife is. Maybe she can facetime me the whole time and ill send her to taxidermy school

 

[THINKIN6X6]

I learned taxidermy via DVDs and VHS tapes. As others have said the initial investment for all the supplies needed to get into the field will be a moderate pill to swallow. Shipping costs are also crazy these days. Cost for a whitetail mount with tanned cape, form and misc supplies will be around $300. I started by mounting some 2 year olds I shot. It taught me how to flesh, salt and preserve the hide and then mounting it on a form without messing up a larger deer on my first couple of attempts. Your first couple will look pretty rough but like anything else you get better with practice. It's my winter hobby and in the long run has saved me thousands of dollars and it's personally satisfying to me. Taxidermy is messy, especially with caping and fleshing and prepping the hide. If you dont like that stuff kind of stuff you might want to pass. Good luck.