What if

[RobbyW]

What if I decide to go and do get a velvet buck. What do I need to do to protect the velvet until I get it to a taxidermist? I haven't decided if I am going and today is a bad day to think about it with it being so hot, but if I do go I want to be prepared

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Good call with thinking ahead and being prepared. You should contact your taxidermist and see how he'd like it to be done. That's the best bet. It may be as simple as icing down the cape and antlers and getting it to him ASAP.

I plan on injecting Velvet Tan in the antlers, cutting halfway through the pedicle, breaking the antler off, boiling the skull, then remounting the antlers.

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[JCDEERMAN]

Last year, my taxidermist just told me to get the head in the freezer ASAP. It was like Chinese fire drill figuring out what to do after I shot LOL...I was so worried about the velvet and the meat spoiling. Velvet is tougher than you think. Only time will tell, but mines holding up well

 

[fairchaser]

I asked my taxidermist last year and he recommended not worry about the velvet. Artificial velvet is added during the taxidermy process that actually looks better than the real thing. He said that even if you save it and preserve it, you can't get all the blood preserved and eventually it will get insects and ruin. FWIW

 

[Mike Belt]

Typically when archery season opens the velvet on bucks has shrunk and is tight against the antler. It's not the thick, blood filled velvet that you see on them during prime antler growth. I really don't think there's a lot of special care required at this time. On the early buck hunts as scheduled now you may have to contend with "thicker" velvet and be a little more concerned but I'd think if it was frozen the velvet would shrink somewhat on it's own anyway. I'd ask a taxidermist for directions.

 

[AT Hiker]

I agree with Buzzard Breath. Just contact your taxidermist or find one now, then ask them how to proceed.

Personally, you cannot go wrong with wrapping the face and cake in heavy duty trash bags and placing the whole thing in a freezer. Use cardboard to separate the velvet from the freezer wall. Don't wrap velvet in plastic yet as it could cause bacteria growth.

Taxidermist do different preservation methods. Here is one I did last year that was freeze dried which is also the most costly method but arguably the "best".

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