Turkey tail fan mounts...pics please

[wtpops]

Hello all I am about to embark on my first turkey hunt next weekend, plan on getting a nice tom   :rolleyes:   , anyway if i do get lucky i would like to mount the tail fan and do somthing with the beard.

Could i get some ideas in the way of pics and also some tips on how to take care of the parts in the field that i want to mount and if this mount is something i can do myself? I already have plans for the wing feathers and wing bones.

Thanks in advance for your ideas and tips.

Ill have some pics of the hunt when i get back weather i score or not.

[DRR324]

I'm sure you'll get plenty of responses....
I cut the tail off- leaving enough skin for trimming if needed later.  I rinse any dirt etc. off- then fan the tail and pin it to a cardboard backer.  Cover the butt section in 20 mule team borax.  Shake off the borax and add fresh in a week, do this 3 times.  By then the meat should be dry and hard- ready to mount.

[mastin03]

i do prett much the same thing as DRR, except i use salt....never tried the borax.  Just cut the tail and beard off, trimming as much meat as possible without cutting so much off that the beard falls apart. fan out completely and pin down with puch pins on cardbboard, plywood, etc. and cover any exposed meat with the salt.  Really pack it in there good...same with the beard (outside of the fanning part).  Reapply salt every week until dry and hard.

[Doc Nock]

This is my first bird.  my "host" called it in an then took me through the process...

1) Spread out the fan and pinned to cardboard like others here did
2)Scraped off meat from base of fan
3) covered in Borax... removed and repeated daily for a week.
4) When dried hard, I coated "meat area" with polyurathane varnish to ensure no bugs get in it.

I found a guy that had cut up a wind-damaged cherry tree and already had cut the big round trunk base into halves. I got him to cut me a 1/2" thick half-round.

I put satin polyurathane on the front of the half-round... used a pin vise to drill tiny holes at the head end of the check cracks as it was still semi-green wood.

Varnished (poly) the bark edge on both sides and surface to adhere so no bark came off.

Mounted the fan, beard and the feet w/ spurs pointed up after they dried as well.

Found some industrial grade velcro 2" square and mounted it to the plaque and the fan base...figuring if I have to move it, I can more easily remove the fan from the plaque and pack it separate.

 

[bretto]

Very nice Doc, I like how that one looks.

[Mallardstacker]

Here is one that I got a couple yrs ago in AL.  It is similar to the one above, but I decided to cut the legs on either side of the spur and mount on small nails.  And I will second the use of Borax!  
 
   

[melsdad]

Here is one I have in the works now. I used cardboard, borax, and pins as mentioned above. This is a hen fan from my first turkey.
 

[Guru]

Here's one I did for TG'er "hntrdfk"...a bearded hen he shot with the LDB....

 

 

[Bowhunter4life]

Eastern taken this past spring in Oklahoma, 9 1/2" beard.  Bought the plaque off the internet auction site not to be named.  Came with everything needed to dry the fan and simple mounting instructions.

[mastin03]

those look great guys...the only ones i have ever mounted were just simply with the mounting kits that the beard slides through in the bottom and the tali fan sits above....I really like the look of some of those mounts though.  Might have to give em a try after the spring gobbler goes down this year. Nice work everyone!

[Doc Nock]

Nice job on yours Guru and others... I see you opted to mount the fan "behind" a much smaller plaque...never thought of that... just advised to do the fan, legs and beard together... might have looked better with the fan behind it and a smaller plaque...

It doesn't show but I was told my bird's beard was 'unique" in that it had a "double rainbow" across it of much lighter color red stripes...

Dunno if it will ever happen again, but now I have options!

Thanks for sharing!

[Talondale]

I don't have a picture of it because it's at my hunting lodge but I did one where I caped the turkey.  I left the fan attached to the skin and skinned his whole back, treated with borax and dried.  I tied the beard at the end of the skin.  So you have the fan and then a long section of dark irridecent feathers about 6" wide flowing down below.  I've also mounted the wings spread out below the tail, primaries pointed down.  It got damaged in storage while building my house.

A quick google search will show you some nice versions.  I'd post it but they aren't trad kills.

[Dustin Waters]

This was my very first attempt at ever doing this.

 


Then in this picture you can see... the 1st one on the left, the second one in the middle, and the latest one I have done on the far right.

 

[melsdad]

Wow fellas, after looking at some of these tail feather mounts, you can sure tell mine is the first one I have ever done. Great job everyone!!

[acolobowhunter]

Don't have a camera with me at the time, but mine are similar.  The main difference is I make the wood portion out of old weathered wood, then spray it with poly spray.  Little more of a rustic look.

[acolobowhunter]

[MJB]