Mounting a turkey you harvested can be a rewarding way to preserve the memory of your hunt. With proper preparation and materials, you can create a beautiful taxidermy mount of your turkey’s fan, beard and other features. Though hiring a professional taxidermist may yield the best results, you can DIY a basic turkey mount as long as you follow some key steps.
Planning Your Turkey Mount
Before your hunt research taxidermists in your area that specialize in turkeys. Choose one to work with and schedule an appointment to drop off your turkey after the hunt. If you plan to do your own mounting acquire the necessary materials like a wooden backboard, push pins, salt or borax, wax paper, an enclosed display case, and any tools you’ll need.
Field Care for Taxidermy
Proper field care of your harvested turkey is crucial for a quality mount. As soon as you kill your bird, prevent it from flopping around and damaging its feathers. Carefully wrap its head in paper towels secured with a plastic bag and tape to absorb fluids. Place the wrapped head inside a plastic trash bag along with the whole turkey. Keep the bird cool until you can get it to a taxidermist or freezer.
If hunting outside the US you’ll need to skin your turkey while retaining the feathers according to USDA regulations. Carefully remove the legs, fan and skin without cutting into the feathers. Follow tutorials for proper skinning technique.
Mounting the Cape and Fan
A turkey cape mount featuring the fan, wings, and beard is a classic display. Here’s how to create one:
- Flesh the cape of any leftover tissue. Remove the wings and tail. Discard the carcass.
- Spread out the cleaned cape on a flat surface like cardboard or wax paper. Sprinkle it generously with salt or borax.
- Center the cape on your wooden backboard. Position the wings nicely with the fan fanned out attractively. Pin the wings and fan in place through the skin.
- Use additional pins to secure the cape around the edge of the backboard. Attach the beard(s) using pins.
- Allow the mounted cape to dry completely for several days or weeks.
- When totally dry, brush off any remaining salt/borax. Apply sealant if desired.
- Place the mounted cape in an enclosed display case to protect it. Hang on wall or set on shelf.
Other Turkey Mounting Options
While capes are common, there are other creative ways to mount your memorial turkey. Consider these options:
- Tail fan mount – Isolate and mount just the tail fan using a method similar to the cape.
- Beard box display – Arrange beards in a shadowbox with spurs and photos.
- Drumstick mounts – Skin a leg and foot and mount on a small plaque.
- Full turkey replicas – Hire a taxidermist to create a life-like full turkey model.
Finding a Professional Taxidermist
To ensure quality, utilize a taxidermist who specializes in turkeys. View examples of their work. Ask questions about their mounting techniques and preservation methods. Provide them with your cleanly harvested turkey as soon as possible after your hunt. Be prepared to pay $300-$700 or more for a professional turkey mount.
Do It Yourself Turkey Taxidermy Tips
If tackling a DIY turkey mount:
- Work slowly and carefully to avoid damaging feathers.
- Follow tutorials from experienced taxidermists.
- Use the best materials like quality boards, dust-free cases, etc.
- Take your time and don’t rush drying/curing stages.
- Keep notes on each step to improve techniques over time.
- Be prepared to not get it perfect on your first try.
While hiring a pro may be ideal, a do-it-yourself turkey mount can still make for a meaningful trophy. With research and care, you can create a beautiful souvenir of your memorable hunt. From cape mounts to beard boxes, take time to display your harvested turkey in a way that celebrates the experience.
Prepping a turkey for your taxidermist
Beard suggests doing the following with your harvest for the best taxidermic product:
- Bring three paper towels folded up in a sandwich bag with a roll of black electrical tape and one large black trash bag. All this easily folds up and compacts perfectly into a hunting vest.
- Right after harvest, immediately get on the bird and prevent him from flopping and causing feather loss and damage.
- Once the bird is dead, take out the three paper towels, stick one down the birds throat and use the other two to wrap around the head, and then cover all that with the sandwich bag and seal with tape.
- Place the bird head first in the large trash bag, and then get it to the taxidermist as soon as possible or freeze it immediately.
Whether it was your first gobbler, one that was from a memorable trip with family and friends or maybe you were even lucky enough to hunt a Gould’s or Ocellated, there are many reasons that you may consider taxidermy.
If you do plan on getting your bird mounted, there are some tips you should know ahead of time.
First, it’s good to schedule with a taxidermist before your hunt, so all logistics can be arranged accordingly, allowing you to get your bird there as smoothly and hassle-free as possible. This is especially true if you plan to use a taxidermist out of state. Since this could be the bird of a lifetime, it would also behoove you to use a taxidermist specializing solely in turkeys.
“Ive seen a lot of good taxidermists over the years that do a lot of different animals but specialize in maybe one of them,” said John Beard, 27-year taxidermy veteran and the NWTF’s 2019 Grand National Champion in the Master of Masters turkey division. “From my experience, that guarantees you quantity but costs you quality. I do not want quantity, I want quality. I recommend finding someone who specializes in your species to be mounted. For turkey, find a turkey guy. For deer, find a deer guy. For duck, find a duck guy.”
In addition to finding a taxidermist that solely focuses on turkeys, Beard offered some other tips when looking for a taxidermist.
“If they dont have any current work in their shop, then that is a red flag,” said Beard. “If they do have current work and you like their quality and price, then you found your taxidermist.”
What separates well-done taxidermy from poorly done is how life-like the bird looks, longevity of the mount and overall quality of the finished product, and to ensure these attributes, there are a couple of things you should remember when bringing a bird back from the field.
“The most talked about process I explain to hunters on how to ensure their birds get back to me in good shape for taxidermy is, first and foremost, cut nothing; do not get breast meat out,” said Beard. “I want the bird whole as needed for the taxidermy process.”
(Hunters wishing to keep meat and have the bird mounted can follow steps for “prepping a bird from outside the U.S.”)
How To Mount A Turkey Fan * THE EASY WAY *
FAQ
How much does it cost to mount a full turkey?
| Turkey Options | |
|---|---|
| Hen Decoy Mount | $450.00 |
| Flying Turkey (Full Body) | $650.00 |
| Dead hang Turkey (Full Body) | $650.00 |
| Strutting Turkey (Full Body) | $695.00 |