The Pronghorn is unique in many ways, and from the standpoint of the taxidermist, requires special knowledge and skills. These how to articles, by Dennis Behn, are a summary of a few things that have to be taken into consideration to do your best work when dealing with a Pronghorn.

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I: Thoughts on Tanning

A: Hair-slip common

1. If raw skin is in poor condition, add 1 pound of powdered alum per 5 pounds of salt.

B: Very little hide stretch ("Dry" Leather)

1. Choose the tannery or tanning method wisely.

C: Odor Possible

1. Commercial tan decreases odor problems.

2. Add 2 ounces concentrated Lysol per 5 gallons of water in soak. Liqua-Tan Deodorizer also works quite well. Use 1 ounce per gallon of water.

3. Mount "dry" (drum, spin, compressed air).

4. Hair conditioner (last mounting step).

II: Horn and Skull Preparation:

A. Saw skull flush with front of horn downward to rear center of eye socket, and from rear "point" of skull forward through center of eye socket (see diagrams 1A and 1B).

Diagram 1A

Diagram 1B

B. The horns must be removed from the skull core, to prepare the horns for this procedure:

1. First drill four holes (x) through the horn base, (two outside, two inside) into the inner core (Diagram 2).

2. Also, for most accurate repositioning of the horns on the core, you may desire to record several measurements (before boiling), such as tip to tip, distance between prongs, inside spread, etc.

Diagram 2

Diagram 3

C. Boil to remove horns from skull core.

1. Boil for as short a period of time as possible (submerge skull and at least half the horn) until horns can be twisted off the core (about 30 minutes), then continue to boil skull only until the meat / gristle can be scraped off.

2. Allow skull and horns to dry (over night) then Bondo the horns into position and insert nails into the holes. (Diagram 3).

3. As a guideline, if no holes were drilled in the horn bases, the bottom of the horns will normally be about 1/4" to 3/8" above the eye socket (Diagram 4).

Diagram 4

4. Some horns sit forward over eye sockets more than others, caused by horn width and / or core position on the skull. (See diagrams 5A and 5B). If the cape to be used is not the original cape, you may need to move skull plate/horns into a position to suit the cape, regardless of the eye socket.

Diagram 5A

Diagram 5B

Please Note: If horns are suspected to make the Record Book, do not boil them. Contact your local Measurer.