Three Ways to Keep Whitetail Mounts Looking Great
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You spent time and effort to bag a trophy whitetail. Then you spent hard-earned cash on a shoulder mount to honor the animal and have a ready reminder of the hunt. So don’t let it collect dust and cobwebs. Here are three tips from world-class taxidermist Devin Amelunke, owner of Missouri’s Ozark Mountain Taxidermy, for keeping your whitetail mounts in excellent condition.
1. Bring the shine back to a mount that has lost its luster by applying Laser Sheen equine hair polish, available at feed stores. To maintain a sheen, lightly spray your mount occasionally with Skin So Soft Bath Oil, which you can find at drugstores. With either product, use a soft-bristled brush, and stroke with the grain of the hair, never against.
2. If your trophy whitetail is in a room with several other big-game mounts, you need to be vigilant about checking for dermestid (or carpet) beetles. Inspect your mounts at least twice a year for perfectly round holes the size of an ink-pen tube. If you find them, especially if you have lots of mounts, call an exterminator and get on a pest-spray program.
3. Finally, restore and maintain a lifelike look to your mount’s face by occasionally misting some Windex onto a Q-tip and rubbing the eyes and nose pad to make them glisten realistically. Then just wipe down the antlers with a rag sprayed lightly with Armor All, and your mounted buck will look like he just stepped through the wall.