A deer head trophy is an excellent conversation piece on a hunter’s fireplace wall. Every hunting aficionado will surely love to see an animal head in his cabin-style home. When shipping a mounted deer head trophy, certain postal regulations regarding the shipping of animal carcasses must be followed. The trophy must also be properly packed and padded for protection. Here are a few tips on how to pack and ship a deer head trophy.
Because of its size and bulk, shipping a mounted deer head requires placing it in a appropriately-size shipping crate with enough room for packing materials to keep it in place during transit and prevent damage due to bumps. A sturdy cardboard shipping box will also work as a shipping container for smaller trophies but a wooden crate is still the best option. Also prepare thick sheets of bubble wrap, a roll of heavy brown wrapping paper, packaging peanuts and heavy-duty packing tape.
Wrap the entire head, including the antlers and mounting base, with several layers of brown wrapping paper. This will prevent the other packing materials from sticking to and damaging the trophy’s fur and other parts. Make sure that the antlers are well-wrapped and cannot stab through the paper.
Then, wrap the entire head with bubble wrap. Use a generous amount of packing tape to secure both the brown paper and the bubble wrap.
Layer at least three inches of packaging popcorn at the bottom of the wooden crate then add a layer of brown paper on top of the packing material. Carefully place the well-wrapped deer head inside the crate and fill empty spaces with crumpled up brown paper to secure the trophy and prevent shifting. Fill the remaining spaces with more packing peanuts up to the top of the crate. Close the crate flaps and secure with several strips of packing tape.
Attach address and labels on the crate and take to a reputable shipping company.
Choose a first-class shipping option to ensure that the package is given utmost care. You may also want to consider buying insurance for the trophy.