Antelope cape care

Best procedure is to skin to the base of the skull as quickly as possible after harvest and et the skin in a cooler and allow it to cool for a couple hrs then carefully fold and freeze in a large bag. Double or triple bagging is recommended to prevent leakage on the trip home, then get to your taxi.as soon as possible. Unfortunately a cooler is not easily accessible most times so the animal is caped as quickly after the kill as possible and then frozen or salted. The most important thing is getting the skin as cool as possible and keeping it cool. Antelope (like deer,elk,ect...) have hollow hair which insulates very well, add to this the fact they are sometimes killed in warm or hot weather and lots of problems are possible. Cooling as soon as possible should be your primary concern. Even caping helps begin cooling the skin. Get ahold of your chosen taxi.and have them discuss caping and how much cape prep they would like you to do before bringing them the skin. Most will just want the skin frozen so they can prep the skin like they prefer for tanning. Many pre-tanning steps are difficult on an antelope in the field-opening the ears and removing the cheek gland are areas that should be left to an experienced taxi.as these areas are very susceptible to slippage if not properly prepped. Good luck chasing those speed goats. If you have any questions feel free to give me a call and I can discuss them in more detail.