caping out a turkey....

[bad0351]

I was wondering if any of you guys have any knowledge of how to do a turkey cape?
I think they really look good and wanted to try it myself.
Thanks,
Dale

[whiskey]

They do look great, but they are a bit of work. There are several good articles on the internet about how to do it. You got to tack it out and cover it in a mix of salt and borax. The wings and tail require a bit of knife work to get as much flesh out as you can.

[4Pointer]

HOPE THIS HELPS...
www.nwtf.org/tips_adventures/tips.php?id=10192

[bad0351]

yea...looks a little tedeous removing the bones from the wings but I might give it a try....I really like it...
Now all I need is some luck this may!

[grizz1]

bad0351, the link 4pointer posted is a good read and info. I will add a couple of tips you might find useful.
A turkey skin is much tougher than most people think, you can pull quite hard on it when skinning the bird. A scalpel or other small razor sharp knife is good for cutting next to bone or the quills of the tail feathers.

When removing the meat and fat from the tail, get as much as you can with the knife. A wire brush on a bench grinder or drill motor can than be used to remove all the rest and it is quick. I know this sounds too rough but it works. Pay attention to the direction of rotation of the brush so as not to throw the fat on you or the feathers. After the meat is removed cover it with the powdered borax.
If you separate the tail and work on it alone it will be much easier to do.
To speed up the process, take the tail by itself after it is clean, lay it out on cardboard forming the fan. Pay attention as to how the feathers overlap, spread the fan out as you want it to be.Cut a piece of wire about 2 inches long, bend it like the letter C, lay it on the quills. Then using about 1/4 cup of body filler with the right amount of hardener added, stir this mixture and drizzle over the quills and wire. They will set up in about 1 to 2 minutes and at this time any imperfections in the molded body filler can be shaved off with a knife. It will be hot to touch so be careful. In 15 minutes it is too late to cut and only grinding can be done so if you use this method, be ready in all your steps and no answering the phone, it is a done deal in 5 minutes basically.
If you want a whole cape, I imagine the tail lying flat is the best way to form it. If a tail is done alone or even on the cape it can have a slight crown or bow in it to give it kind of a 3D look. This is done by placing the fan on the cardboard , spread the feathers then carefully place an arched piece of cardboard under the quills prior to adding the body filler.

If you want this process to go smoothly, it starts right after you pull the trigger. Hours of work can be saved and a better job done if you don't allow the bird to flop around in mud, water, sand and do not allow any blood to get on the feathers if it can be helped at all. The natural shining colors a mature gobbler has will be greatly dulled by blood and mud and sand won't do them any good either. The skin can be washed but that is another project in and of itself.

Good luck hunting and killing a big gobbler, that is the hard part anyway.

[bad0351]

Thankyou sooo much Grizz.....that was a very good tutorial of how to do it.
I appreciate the help...now comes the fun part, hunting these bad boys!