Sheep Caping

[Wild Images]

For all those heading up for the opening here are a couple pics of a stone sheep cape. If you bring this much cape out your taxidermist can put it on any shoulder form that is out there.
Extra cape can be trimmed off but not added on. Also in the early season it is important to split the lips and turn the ears and salt as soon as possible to stop bacteria from making the cape slip.
Two pounds of salt is plenty to get you out, but I would suggest that you have more salt at your drop off point, main camp or truck and resalt before making the trip home.

Hope everyone has a safe trip and Good Luck :smile:

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/5075.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=10300&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=2692)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/90145.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=10301&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=2692)

[Ambush]

Thanks WI. We have buried our capes in snow with good results. What's your thoughts on that as compared to salting? Especialy if a person is not really confident in getting the lips done right.

[srupp]

Thanks WI..appreciate the heads up post...sheesh only 20 hrs left before I leave but WHOS COUNTING....

steven

[budismyhorse]

Can I quickly add:

This sounds simple, but.....get the blood out of the cape ASAP, and I mean all of it.

I ASSUMED that the remailing blood could come out at a later date, possibly with some kind of cleaning agent at the tanner so I did a pretty piss-poor job of getting all the blood out of my lightly colored sheep cape.....well, I wish I had stayed up until 4am cleaning it that first night, put it that way :(

[Wild Images]

Salt is the only way to stop the bacteria, keeping the cape cool will slow it but if you have to wait for a plane or a long hike out salt it your best bet.
As for turning lips and ears practice is the key, i suggest to many people to do it on as many deer or what ever you can get your hands on. If a friend gets a small buck ask if you can have the head and cape it out.
This practice will pay off in the long run with your sheep hunts and salted cape weighs a lot less than a wet one for the hike out.

[Ambush]

Salt is the only way to stop the bacteria, keeping the cape cool will slow it but if you have to wait for a plane or a long hike out salt it your best bet.

Is there a prefered salt? Fine table salt ok?

[blackbart]

Thanks for the advice Wild Images pehaps I will try it out in a bit???

Does anyone have an idea on the market for a stones sheep cape? If a ram is shot that is not being head mounted I am curious as to whether or not it would be worth it to cape it out, tend to it and pack it home.

[mainland hunter]

fine salt is best. go to Costco and pick up a 44 lb bag. they're around 5$.
As for not mounting a stone, it is worth your while to cape it out and pack it back.

turning lips, ears, nose etc. isn't that difficult. people are intimidated to do it but if you take your time and preferably get some practice prior to your trip it's doable. small cuts are easier to repair than hair slippage from not salting.

[Wild Images]

Anouther good place to pick up salt is at your local feed store, farmers buy it to put on feed and damp hay. It is finer than table salt and is in bulk, I pick up 100 kg at a time for about $30.
Sheep capes are well worth packing out, will pay for your trip no problem !

[bigwhiteys]

I did what mainland hunter suggested and bought 44lbs from costco and it was $4.99 I think a few months ago. I'm pretty confident in doing the lips and nose, we'll see how the ears go! Tiny cuts, take my time, keep the cape cool and salt the shit out of it. Now I need the ram!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i46-oq9ksaY&feature=related

This youtube video was helpful and he has a few more in the sidebar for the lips, nose and eyes. I am sure everyone may have a little different technique but this guy has some really good detail in his closeups.

What is that little knife he is using? Boxcutter?

Carl

[Robert]

A taxidermist recommended I buy a box of razor blades ($25) to cape out ears, lips etc. You get a 100 in a box, bring 10 with you on the hunt, You can buy the handle for $10. A razor is what i think he is using

RR

[Wild Images]

Carl
He has developed his own little razor knife holder, slik little units, I have delt with him before and was thinking of getting a few of these to try out.
With a little practice a razor is a great tool, but can easily cut many holes in thin ear skin.

[bwhnter]

A small exacto knife with few extra blades works very well.

[willy442]

A small exacto knife with few extra blades works very well.

The ears on sheep are actually very easily done with just your thumb for the most part. A knife is only required to start and get into the right layer, then to complete the final touches. Careful though it is possible to shove your thumb right through the ear.

[sako_300]

Careful though it is possible to shove your thumb right through the ear.

Hopefully you're not speaking from experience...

[Wild Images]

Willie is right, once you carefully get past the ear butt you can get your thumb or finger in and slowly seperate the cartlage and ear skin towards the edge and tip. Don't push to hard and you don't have to get right to the very edge, anything under 1/4 inch is fine the salt will penatrate the rest and you won't blow out the ear.
I have had them come in torn all the way around which is not much fun to work with but still better than having the slip.

[leadpillproductions]

oh man i cant wait

[eastkoot]

Willie is right, once you carefully get past the ear butt you can get your thumb or finger in and slowly seperate the cartlage and ear skin towards the edge and tip. Don't push to hard and you don't have to get right to the very edge, anything under 1/4 inch is fine the salt will penatrate the rest and you won't blow out the ear.
I have had them come in torn all the way around which is not much fun to work with but still better than having the slip.


Just take a plastic spoon, knife or fork and cut the business end off, smooth out the edges and round off the handle part making sure it's not too sharp or jagged. You then have a perfect tool to "pry" the ear skin from the cartilage and it won't cut into or thru the skin.. Carefully of course..Everyone has plastic knives or forks when your backpacking, right???

[Wild Images]

With the sheep count down on I thought it might be a good time to bring this post out again.
Best of luck to all you sheep nuts :-D

[Brett]

Great info guys and gals!

[fullcurl33]

very timely, that reminds me salt!!

[ytlogger]

Pickling salt... olfa knife where needed... other end of fork or spoon... patience.

[BiG Boar]

Pickling salt... olfa knife where needed... other end of fork or spoon... patience.

You forgot the....... Glass glass glass glasss glass glass glass check if it's legal and bang

[ytlogger]

You forgot the....... Glass glass glass glasss glass glass glass check if it's legal and bang

We're already caping... too late for that

[squirrelmonkey]

Suggestion:

Find a taxidermist who is willing to guide you through the caping process
(very soon) even if you have to pay him a couple of bucks..

2. Get a small goat from a local farmer which will become the subject.

3.Dispatch the animal shortly before visiting the taxidermy shop so it will still be warm by the time you get there and then go to processing the game.
He'll show you all you need to know about caping and trophy care.

Oh yes, Another suggestion that most people have never heard of is, when in the field and you have a fast flowing stream nearby ,you can secure the cape / hide to boulders etc. and allow the fast flowing water to flush out blood from within the tissue.
It only takes a day or two for the hide to be totaly free of blood and thus not prone to decay and hair slip

One thing for sure is you must remove as much flesh as possible from the hide without scraping through to the hair folicles. hitting the folicles will wreck the hide/cape (same difference) no matter what you do to preserve it.

[JDR]

Great thread...thanks guys!

[bridger]

s small stick about 3/4" wide that is rounded on the end also works well when doing the ears.

[ytlogger]

Suggestion:

Find a taxidermist who is willing to guide you through the caping process
(very soon) even if you have to pay him a couple of bucks..

2. Get a small goat from a local farmer which will become the subject.

3.Dispatch the animal shortly before visiting the taxidermy shop so it will still be warm by the time you get there and then go to processing the game.
He'll show you all you need to know about caping and trophy care.

Oh yes, Another suggestion that most people have never heard of is, when in the field and you have a fast flowing stream nearby ,you can secure the cape / hide to boulders etc. and allow the fast flowing water to flush out blood from within the tissue.
It only takes a day or two for the hide to be totaly free of blood and thus not prone to decay and hair slip

One thing for sure is you must remove as much flesh as possible from the hide without scraping through to the hair folicles. hitting the folicles will wreck the hide/cape (same difference) no matter what you do to preserve it.

Interesting idea, but a domestic goat cape on a nice pair of sheep horns wouldn't fool me for long.

[Wild Images]

Time to bring this up again

[buford19]

Do you have to split the eye lids in the field, or can that wait?

[Wild Images]

Eyelids can wait, salt will take care of them

[Buck]

Eyelids can wait, salt will take care of them

I have a sheep tag goat and Grizz for Spatsizi.How much salt will i have to carry for a Grizz (rug)while backpacking.I will have plenty at our drop point when we get back.

[6.5x55mm]

I dont carry salt anymore. New product recommended by taxidermist called "stop rot". Have a look great product.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I have a sheep tag goat and Grizz for Spatsizi.How much salt will i have to carry for a Grizz (rug)while backpacking.I will have plenty at our drop point when we get back.

A backpack grizz/combo hunt is a tough one to do. A good grizz will fill an entire large pack on it's own.
Bagging a ram or goat won't end your hunt but bagging a grizz will.

SSS

[Wild Images]

A backpack grizz/combo hunt is a tough one to do. A good grizz will fill an entire large pack on it's own.
Bagging a ram or goat won't end your hunt but bagging a grizz will.

SSS
Packing enough salt to do a lifesize griz will not be fun, If he is close to your drop spot is great otherwise cool the skin and head back to salt asap as bears slip
way to easy in warmer weather

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Packing enough salt to do a lifesize griz will not be fun, If he is close to your drop spot is great otherwise cool the skin and head back to salt asap as bears slip
way to easy in warmer weather


Another option is to bury it in snowpack for a day or so. Snowpack should be easy enough to find this yr.
Wouldn't want to dump a bear more than a day's hike away from salt.

SSS

[Ghillie]

So if I get an elk worth getting shoulder mounted will I have to salt it? Ive never shoulder mounted / caped anything before, just skinned!

[Slee]

Not if your close to a freezer, then you can just freeze it. Before salting a hide, you have to turn lips, ears, nose, rough flesh...... If you can't do that, then don't salt it!

[moose2]

Really good thread Ken thanks to everyone for the info
Mike

[Wild Images]

Not if your close to a freezer, then you can just freeze it. Before salting a hide, you have to turn lips, ears, nose, rough flesh...... If you can't do that, then don't salt it!

Totally agree, nothing worse than getting something in that has not been turned but has been pounded with salt.
Ear butts, nose, feet are a real bugger when they turn to jerky, its not hard to do a good clean job when skinning so
that you don't bring in an extra 10 lbs of meat on the cape

[Wild Images]

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/wildimages/AaronsStone2010138.jpg

When you get back to your spike camp take your time and do a good job caping, turning and salting
The better you take care of your ram the better the mount will turn out
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o309/wildimages/ArronsRamMount156.jpg

[Rodd]

Wow what a beauty Ram... Love those white capes!!

[SHAKER]

I have a sheep tag goat and Grizz for Spatsizi.How much salt will i have to carry for a Grizz (rug)while backpacking.I will have plenty at our drop point when we get back.

I figure one 44lb bag per salting... 2 bags will get the whole thing done twice.

[kuiu]

44lbs of salt in camp would be more then enough if you shot all three...... going to be tough task to get all 3 on the ground. I wouldn't pack any with me in my pack, I would leave it in camp. As long as you skin it really well with 0 meat on the hide, turn the ears, lips, nose right away, you can let it air dry until you get back to your main camp and then salt it. As long as you do a good job caping a hide will be fine in +15C weather for many days if you can stretch it out in the shade and let the wind dry it out.

[leadpillproductions]

Im taking up a freezer this yr , i will be a day hike out from base camp .The cape should be ok if i walk it out and freeze it and then head back up.

[Buck]

Sheep are the priority but we have 14+ days so if we score early we will finish off with a Grizz hunt. 44lbs it is.Will take a small amount in the pack so we can cape a ram and stay out for another.Thanks

[Wild Images]

20 to 25 kilos fits in a 5 gal pail and you have a seat in base camp, make sure your cape is in a safe place, I have mounted two that were stolen by bears and had the salt licked off

[Buck]

20 to 25 kilos fits in a 5 gal pail and you have a seat in base camp, make sure your cape is in a safe place, I have mounted two that were stolen by bears and had the salt licked off

Good tip on the pail. We got the Grizz tag for payback on stolen capes.Lol

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Good tip on the pail. We got the Grizz tag for payback on stolen capes.Lol

Somehow, it always seems to be the sow with cubs that are carcass and cape thieves:-?.

SSS

[Buck]

Somehow, it always seems to be the sow with cubs that are carcass and cape thieves:-?.

SSS

If thats the case it will be a Euro mount.

[moose2]

If thats the case it will be a Euro mount.

I never really thought of doing a Euro mount on a ram before, nor have I seen one. I found this picture on google it looks OK , but personally I would try to keep the cape safe and properly cared for. I far perfer them as a sheep mount. ( IMO )
Mike


http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/rams_skull_mount_Medium_.jpg

[moose2]

A buddy of mine shot a heavy 42' stone years ago and when he was salting the cape his dog ate both ears completly off it so now those horns are just sitting on a shelf.
Mike

[BCBear]

A buddy of mine shot a heavy 42' stone years ago and when he was salting the cape his dog ate both ears completly off it so now those horns are just sitting on a shelf.
Mike

...right next to the dog

[moose2]

...right next to the dog

That would be my guess as well
Mike

[greenhorn]

A buddy of mine shot a heavy 42' stone years ago and when he was salting the cape his dog ate both ears completly off it so now those horns are just sitting on a shelf.
Mike

Bummer. My dog did something similar.
Last year I shot a blacktail that had the nicest, thickest fur. I decided to skin and tan it up myself. I kept the tail on because it had unique colors. The extra work to split and preserve the tail then stitch it back together really paid off, it looked great.

The day after it was done my dog, that usually doesn't chew anything, decided to eat the tail!! I was pretty PO-d because he showed no interest in the hide up until that point, he would actually shy away from it. Looks like he was just messing with me...

[Buck]

A buddy of mine shot a heavy 42' stone years ago and when he was salting the cape his dog ate both ears completly off it so now those horns are just sitting on a shelf.
Mike

Loks like i need a dog tag as well.

[moose2]

Loks like i need a dog tag as well.

You could always drop it at Whistler on the way home . I here there's a guy there that can take care of dogs.
Mike

[Wild Images]

Seeing sheep opens soon :-D

[Caveman]

Thanks Ken!

[rudysteelhead]

Yes it sure does!!!! Yippee!

[calvin L]

I myself would think over the European mount and pack out a life size cape and pay for next years hunt and mount by selling the cape

[NORTHERN HUNTER]

What exactly does a sheep cape go????

[Remmy]

It's that time again. I would like to hear from anyone who has used Stop Rot in the field. How much did you take? What did you use to apply?
Thanks in advance, and good luck to all the Sheep hunters this year.
20 more sleeps!!

[pitbell]

Good how to DVD on caping mountain game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1TILut2zaI

[Wild Images]

Better late than never

Good luck to those heading up !

[decker9]

Question about caping fellas. Iv skinned a lot of heads on the trapline, but have never split lips or eyelids, or turned ears really. For someone inexperienced in doing the fine detail work like this, would he be better off leaving the head intact? Or would he be further ahead caping out the head for salt, but leaving the ears lips and eyes for the taxidermist? The most we will be is about 3 days from home, assuming the plane can pick us up. Is 3 days pushing it for an august sheep cape?

good luck to all ya sheep guys out there.

[Wild Images]

Gotta split and turn, aug temps will cause ears to slip
Need to get salt in there to stop the bacteria

[decker9]

Thanks wild. I have turned a couple wolves, but never split lips before, are the lips as important as the ears?

[Andrewh]

http://www.journalofmountainhunting.com/pro-insight---caping-101.html

worth a read

[Wild Images]

Thanks wild. I have turned a couple wolves, but never split lips before, are the lips as important as the ears?
Lips are pretty easy, leave lots of inner lip and just run your knife to open them up without cutting right through then
hit with salt

[NorBC]

Use your fingers Ed, you'll feel exactly how far you have to go. You can cut off a couple inches of that excess on the corner of the mouth too. I've been at my taxidermists the past month making sure I don't mess it up on the mountain this year! A good stick for the ears is nice. I'm pretty green, but just wanted you to know it's actually not that bad doing it all yourself.

[BCbillies]

The same long handled plastic spoon (from Canadian Tire) that I use to eat my Mountain House works great for turning the ears.

[decker9]

http://www.journalofmountainhunting.com/pro-insight---caping-101.html

worth a read

Thanks a lot for the input fellas!! This little article explains pretty good, and pictures!! Lol. Thanks Andrew. Last day of work today, cheers all!.

[Seth]

How about a 3 year volley to the top? Counting the days now and trying to squeeze in every last bit of last minute info. Can’t wait. Good luck to those headed out for opener.

[walks with deer]

and again lol