Field Care

Proper field care is vital. The quality of your finished mount is determined by the way each species is cared for in the field. Take a picture of the specimen if possible.

Keep the specimen cool and aired. Once the birds are cooled, handle birds carefully by holding firmly keeping the feathers against the body.

Fold the head under the wing and then insert the bird into a ladies nylon stocking head first. This will keep the feathers close to the body.

Do not put in a plastic bag out in the field or gut the bird. More damage is done in the field through gutting than most hunters realize.

Storage

Some simple but critically important steps can ensure a quality mount. More specimens are destroyed during freezer storage than at any other stage. The following instructions will ensure long life in freezer storage.

Eliminate as much contact as possible with air. We want to protect from freezer burn.
Birds must be wrapped in plastic. The best way is to double or triple bag them.

You do this by first folding the head back under one wing and placing the specimen in a plastic sack.

Lay the sack down and fold the feet tightly against the body. Force all the air out of the feathers and the bag by carefully rolling the sack up tightly and securing with masking tape. Take care with this very important step. Air is the enemy here.

The package is then placed into the bottom corner of a large plastic garbage sack and rolled up again, once more forcing all the air out of the sack. Secure with masking tape.

This process may be repeated one more time. The final package should be labeled and dated so you know what you have.

Immediately place the package in a freezer. Do not store in a frost-free type freezer because such freezers create too dry an environment. If properly wrapped, a bird will last up to ten years or more in storage!

Under no circumstances use newspaper, paper bags, aluminum or tin foil, freezer wrap, waxed paper or cloth. None of these materials protect from freezer burn.