If you are going out to bag a turkey this year and thinking you will want to preserve some memories of the hunt for years to come, then there is no better way to do it than by preserving the tail feathers, commonly called the “fan” of turkey.
To mount turkey tail feathers you will need a few key items. This includes a knife, wire brush, fan-mounting kit, borax, bondo, and epoxy. After cleaning the tail from excess tissue, you will spread the fan out and with the assistance of these items, and you will fix the fan to a board that you can mount on your wall.
But first thing is first. The whole process starts when you are field-dressing the bird. Ensure you don’t destroy the tail or the beard of the turkey.
How To Field Dress A Turkey
Without getting into all of the specifics like breasting out the turkey and cutting off the wings and legs for the meat, let’s focus on what you will need to do in relation to your mount. First, you will want to grab the tail feathers in one hand with all the feathers folded in on each other. Then bend the tail back so that it is at a right angle with the body of the bird. At the base of the tail feathers, you will be able to feel a socket where the tail connects to the body. You will want to start cutting into this socket area and cut all the way through it.
The tail should be connected by some tissue and at this point you can fan out the feathers and they should stay connected. Well done.
Now bring your attention to the chest of the bird. The beard of the turkey will be obvious and you can actually just pluck it out. I say pluck because the beard is actually a feather, not hair, and it is connected to the skin just like all the other feathers. So with a slow steady tug, grab the beard at the base, close to the skin, and pull it out.
Another trophy some turkey hunters keep are the spurs that are on the feet of the turkey. You can tell things like the approximate age of the bird by how long the spur is. There may be many ways people preserve the spur, but the easiest way is to just cut the whole foot off. I would only keep this in the garage or shop to show friends when they come over, but to each his own here.
Alright, you should have 3 trophy items from your turkey.
- Beard
- Feet (Spurs)
- Tail Feathers (Fan)
Next, let’s get into how to mount the fan and beard.
Mount Your Turkey Tail Feathers (Fan)
You just got your fan off the turkey and back to the house. Now you need to cut in between the base of the feathers since there is bound to be some meat and tissue holding the feathers together here. Once you cut in between the feathers you can use a wire brush to finish removing the meat that is in the area.
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Once that is completed, then you can spread out the fan. Once the fan is spread out into the position in which you want to mount it, put a tablespoon or two of Borax on the front and back of the base of the feathers. This will help preserve the binding tissue and repel bugs that may find it tempting.
Next, get a good tablespoon-sized glob of Bondo (auto body filler), smear it into the base of the feathers so all the ends will be bound together for good. Repeat this step on the other side as well.
The final step is to place the fan in the mounting kit and screw it together. Many kits will also have a place where you take the beard and epoxy it into place below the tail feathers. And that’s it. It really is not that complicated. Take a look at the videos on this post to help guide you through this process.
Here is a list of the items you will need and where you can find them:
- Borax
- Mount Kit
- Bondo: Auto Body Filler
- Epoxy (For the beard)
- Wire Brush
If you enjoyed this article, check out these articles from Pinetreesandsolitude.com:
- 3 Tips For Hunting Western Turkeys
- Where To Find Turkeys: Tips For This Season
- What’s The Best Turkey Call? Top Picks
(This article was originally published on Pintreesandsolitude.com. If it is now published on any other site, it was done without permission from the copyright owner.)