# 2012 Turkey Mount - Season Officially Over



## protectionisamust (Nov 9, 2010)

Finally got done with the mount of my 2012 Huron County opening day bird. 

What do you think? 


Before









After




































I cannot wait until next spring so I can try and add another to the wall!!


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## mrsocko33 (Sep 28, 2007)

That's awesome looking. How did u do it


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## TScott27 (Jun 1, 2012)

Just awesome! Can you please share how you were able to make that? Thanks!


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## old graybeard (Jan 19, 2006)

I've never seen one like that before.


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## protectionisamust (Nov 9, 2010)

Actually it was quite easy. It all starts by the careful preparation of the feathers to make sure they don't get damaged. When I shot him opening day, I rushed out of the blind to hold the bird down so it wasn't flopping around damaging the tail feathers (was so excited, I was shaking and could hardly talk:lol. Upon field dressing, I started by carefully removing the tail feathers off the bird while slightly leaving the tailbone attached. This allowed me to transport the tail home while not risking any feathers getting pulled out. I then carefully removed the tail bone and scrapped and excess tissue from the "base" of the tail feathers. 

Once I removed as much as I could, I SLOWLY started pinning the tail feathers to a large peice of cardboard. 6000 pins later, I was complete :lol:.

To pin the tail, I started by pinning the 2 main tail feathers so they where pinned at 12 0'clock. I then started pinning each feather going down in each direction to make sure the feathers overlapped and stayed straight through to the bottom. I then started pinning the next row toward the inside and so on until I was right to the base. Once the pinning was complete, I packed the base with borax so it would pull the remaining moisture from the flesh around the base.

To help keep it flat, I covered the tail feathers with another price of cardboard and gently laid a brick over the top of the "base" of the tail to help keep that flat. 

I did allow the fan to dry for 7 weeks so when I removed the pins, It was completely dried. I dusted the remaing borax off the base and proceeded with teh mount.

I purchased the mount from Cabella's for $49.99 which was online. The mount was easy and came with directions which where easy to follow and self explanatory. For $49.99, it came with the body, painted head and wall hanger for the back.

Below is the one I ordered and used. I went this direction instead of the wood plaque to go with the 3d look which looks great on the wall.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Van-...turkey+mount&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

Overall, very time consuming but very rewarding in the end. Its nice to scout, take such a great bird on opening day morning, taking the time to prep and mount your self. Its all part of the sport we love and are very fortunate to take part in such a rewarding hunt from start to finish.

Can't wait for the spring to try and do it all over again


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