For heads that are to be mounted, the skinning process is a bit different. Begin the same as a standard skinning job, but hang the deer from his rear leg tendons and work down each rear quarter and the back. When the rib cage is encountered, the process changes. Cut a line through the hide all the way around the deer following the line of the last rib/sternum. Unlike a normal skinning/gutting job make no cuts through the brisket/sternum area of the deer. Instead, start top dead center, right along the spine of the deer. Cut through the hide all the way to the back of the skull. Skin the hide away from the back and remove it all the way down to the forelegs. Cut hide off, halfway down the forelegs.

Now that the hide is removed from the body and legs, the head can be removed at the last joint between the spine and skull either with a knife or saw. If you are not sure of your caping abilities, this is a good place to stop. Put the entire cape and head into the freezer and get to a taxidermist as soon as possible. If you are in hot weather and a remote location or you are confident in your skinning ability, the hide will have to be caped off the head in order to prevent the hair from slipping.

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Start by cutting a "Y" from the centerline at the base of the skull to each antler pedicle. Once at the pedicle use a blunt instrument like a flat screwdriver to separate the hair/hide from the pedicle. After that is done on each antler, skin the hide away from the skull. When the ears are reached, cut the ear cartilage off next to the skull - they will need to be fully skinned out later. Keep skinning down the skull towards the nose paying careful attention around the eyes, lips and nose itself. When the cape is skinned all the way down, cut the nose loose from the skull and the inside of the lips away from the gums. At this point, separate the ear cartilage away from the ear skin and split the inside of the lips. To temporarily preserve the cape until it can reach the taxidermist, salt it down with non-iodized salt. Be sure to get all surface covered and pay close attention to the inside of the lips, around the eyes and the inside of the ears. As it starts to wick moisture out of the cape, apply more salt as necessary.