How to Make a Wall Mount for a Turkey

It's easy to make a turkey wall mount to commemorate your hunt.

After a turkey hunt and the feast to follow, there's nothing more rewarding than commemorating your hunt with a wall mount. Getting a licensed taxidermist to do the work costs a lot of money and takes a long time. Instead, you can make beautiful and fairly inexpensive wall mounts yourself to show off your turkey and to remind you of your hunt.

Things You'll Need

• Knife
• Straight pins
• Corrugated cardboard
• Borax
• Gloves
• Turkey

Instructions

Making a Cape Mount

1. Hang the dead turkey by its head and cut the skin around the neck. Remove the skin along the back, cutting it into about a two-inch wide strip. This strip holds a large amount of beautiful feathers. Cut off the feet and remove the head.

2. Clean the fleshy side of the skin carefully. Scrape downward with a knife to trim off remaining fat, blood, flesh or debris. A spoon can also be used to accomplish the majority of this work, in order to avoid cutting too deeply into the turkey's thin skin.

3. Cover the cleaned side of the skin with Borax, making sure to cover every bit of cleaned flesh to avoid spoiling or decomposition.

4. Spread the skin onto a piece of sturdy cardboard or thin wood, Borax-covered side down. Pin the neck down and spread out the feathers in a fan design. Pin each tail feather in place according to how you will want them in the final display, because they will stay in this position once dry.

5. Dry the cape for three to four weeks. Do not place it in direct sunlight. A garage, shed or barn is best to avoid creatures getting curious. Check it frequently to see if the pins are still in place and to make sure no animals have gotten to it.

6. Remove the pins and wipe or shake off the Borax. Hang your homemade cape mount.

Tips & Warnings

• Tack your mount onto a piece of wood so it's less likely to get damaged when moved.

• You can also make a fan mount, which just displays the tail. Look at the Wild Turkey Zone resource below for more information on this slightly easier method.

• Do not attempt to make a full-body mount on your own, as it takes years of training and experience to accomplish this successfully. An amateur's result will be stinky at best and a biohazard at worst.

References

• National Wild Turkey Federation: Making a Turkey Cape

Resources

• Wild Turkey Zone: How to Make a Turkey Fan Mount