High Quality Commercial Whitetail Ears by Gene Smith

Eppley 360 Ear Liners with inner ear inserts

In this article, I will explain how to incorporate High Quality Commercial (HQC) ears into a mount. In today’s commercial taxidermy studio/shops, I think it is important to offer different grades of taxidermy. Most taxidermists I know use the “bondo method” for general commercial taxidermy. The ear liner method is by far the best at creating a natural life-like ear that will not curl or drum when done properly. Here is a step-by-step process that will give you competition results on a commercial mount.

First, you need a good quality tan. This particular skin was wet tanned at Carolina Fur Dressing. It has excellent stretch and softness. Once your cape has been final fleshed and ready for mounting, select the proper ear liners for mounting. I always keep all sizes of ear liners on hand for a good fit. The ear liners I chose for this mount are the Eppley 360 ear liners with inner ear inserts.

Download the full tutorial courtesy of Taxidermy Today Magazine