Turkey Tail

[wolleybugger]

Shot a little jake and wanted to mount the tail. I salted the heck out of it where there was a little meat left on, someone told me to use Borax. Hope it turns out, anyone ever done one???

[Adam]

I did and it worked well.  There's an article on the NWTF website that does a great job explaining the process.  I used Bondo car body putty to help hold the feathers together and give a base to screw the mounting hardwear on.  It was a fun project.

[raghorns]

Salt draws out the moisture....change it a couple of times.

Lyle

[gstoneberg]

Here's what I do.  I'm terminally cheap so I try not to buy anything.  First I remove as much meat and fat out of the tail as I can, salt it good and tack it to a piece of drywall.  You can see 2 nails holding the fan open in this picture while it dries.  You have to do this right after the meat is removed and the salt is applied.



While it's drying I prepare a round of cedar wood to form the plaque.  They're chain sawed about an inch thick.  I get them mostly flat with a hand belt sander, then finish it on the stationary belt sander.  It gets a couple coats of poly to seal it up and make it shiny.  Then a round piece of plywood is cut and painted black to cover the base of the tail.  After the tail is dry I use drywall screws to attach the tail to the plaque and the plywood to the tail.  It looks like this when it's done.





Hope this helps.

George

[soy]

Nice bird George  i have not used salt, just cleaned fat/ meat ,and borax them .spread out to dry like George said to. I have only done 6 so im open to better ways i may throw salt on the next before the borax

[beetlebailey1977]

remove all the meat and fat down to the quills if possible.  Spread out fan and pin in place  then borax heavy.  I will change the borax with fresh borax after a few weeks.  I let the tail dry like this for 4 or 5 months or longer.  The I make a special plaques for them to sit in.  Usually out of cypress or red cedar.

[mullet]

I've done the Borax route and then took a tip from a Taxidermist. I made a frame from a close hanger and used multiple layers of leather to make a nice plaque. When I get back from bow fishing tomorrow I'll post some pictures.