Dreaming big this season.....how much room does a nice (280-320) bull elk cape take cooler and ice wise?? If I score on one I am planning on cooling the cape overnight then putting it in a garbage bag then putting it in a cooler with ice to hopefully keep it from slipping. I do plan on having the ice in heavy duty zip lock bags so the cape does not get wet if the garbage bag leaks. Will this idea work?? Any other suggestions?? Wish dry ice would keep longer....or does it if its in a sealed container. I have never used dry ice before.
how much room for a cape??
- Thread starter tom338
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I have put a bunch of elk capes in a 70 quart cooler and a 54 quart cooler. I wrapped then around dry ice which I wrapped with card board and then put some dry ice on top of the cape and more card board between the cape and the dry ice. Let them air cool in the shade before icing them down in the cooler. I hope that helps. All capes were fine and the taxi was very happy.
LopeHunter
Well-known member
A wet cape will be more likely to result in more of the bacteria that causes hair to slip. Get the cape cool and dry for best results.
My nephew and I learned this lesson the hard way on his first 6 point a few years ago. We shoved a Contractor bagged and taped 10lb ice bag up into the cape like a burrito. The cape was cool and shaded throughout the next 1.5 days (we had pretty high temps that year), but it got damp with leakage/condensation and the hair slipped and it wasn’t usable. It made a pretty Euro Mount, but keep it dry.
Laelkhunter
Well-known member
I have read somewhere that the dry ice will burn the hide and cause hair to slip if the ice comes in direct contact with the skin. Put something between the skin and ice (newspaper, towels, etc) to protect the skin if using dry ice.
mevertsen
Well-known member
I would call the Taxidermist you plan to use, maybe two or three, and see exactly how they want it cut and stored. That will save a little headache by communicating with them before the hunt. It would suck if the Taxidermist wasn't available on the day of brought in an elk hide with no other back up plan.
If you give the cape a healthy coating of a fine grain non-iodized salt that will help dry it out and delay the rotting process until you can get it to the butcher. I kept an antelope hide in a cooler over ice for a week in 80+ weather and the taxidermist said it was as good as a cape that had been pulled of that morning, thanks to the salt.
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PrairieHunter
Well-known member
And this is why you as your taxidermist how he wants it done as they all have a little different method it seems.
Good advice!
I brought a fresh but dried out deer hide to my taxidermist once. He wouldn’t work on it. Since then I just roll them flesh side in to keep the flesh side moist and then I keep the roll somewhere cool. Has worked great for elk, muleys and whitetail. Drying it or salting before fleshing is a bad idea as it makes fleshing very difficult.
I should have included this earlier but I wouldn’t salt a hide you wanted a shoulder mount on. I only salt hides I want rugs out of! Sorry for the lack of clarification!
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