Spring Cleaning

Bowhunting.net

John Keltgen
Spring Cleaning
By John Keltgen
Apr 26, 2005, 18:50

Spring Cleaning, by: John Keltgen

Ah, spring. The waterfowl are returning, the air is clean, the carp are almost ready to be shot with a bow, the sun’s rays are beginning to warm up, and the air is crisp and clean. What is an outdoorsman to do? Why, clean of course!

I know what you’re thinking: “Clean? What the heck to do I have to clean? I don’t want to clean; I have important stuff to do!” You’re dang right you have important stuff to do and cleaning is an important part of it. Your mounts have been sitting in stale air all winter long, your guns are sitting in your cabinet (or rack), unused during the off-season, and your tackle box? Your tackle box has been a mess since the ice first formed on the lakes. So put on your apron and your game face… it’s time to clean.

Look at your mounts! All that time, energy, and money you put into those trophies and you let them get into that kind of shape? You should be ashamed of yourself. But don’t despair; they can look as good as new again with a little time and tender loving care. Now, I’m not a taxidermist so you should consult your local one before trying these techniques. These techniques were taught to me by an old-school taxidermist, but who knows what the long range consequences may be? The first step is to take all your mounts, rugs, and hides off the wall.

Do you smoke in your house? If you do, I’ll bet that nice buck you have on the wall is looking kinda sick. Well, he would if he wasn’t dead anyway. The antlers may have some yellowish build-up on them and the hide may be starting to turn either yellow or green. What’s the right way to make him look good again? Don’t ask me, ask your taxidermist.

Me, I get a tiny bit of White Gas and put some on a clean and lint-free white rag. Being very gentle, I rub with the grain of the hair until it comes clean. It takes a long time to do this, but I am pleased with the results afterwards. You can be a little more aggressive with the antlers, but do it the same way. After the antlers are clean, I like to shine them up with a light coating of WD-40 on another clean rag. I’ve never had any problems cleaning mammals like this, but I want to be real clear that you should ask your taxidermist first.

If you have birds in your house, chances are good that they acquired a fair amount of dust. For instance, I have a flying Tundra Swan hanging on my wall that I am quite ashamed of. I do not use any kind of cleaner on them, but I’ve found that those new cloth deals that don’t need any spray work really well (even better than my old feather duster after running it across the TV screen for static). Gently run one of these things across the feathers until the dust is gone, pretty simple. For the bill and feet (or beak and feet, depending on the species) I use a cotton swab dipped in warm, soapy water.

For all those dusty hides I have hanging around, I take them outside and dust them off with one of those no-spray duster things, using the same soapy water to clean around the claws and nose (and eyes in the case of my rugs). If you’re waiting for fish cleaning tips, keep waiting, I don’t have any and have no clue how to clean them.

Now that your mounts are clean you can clean the wall behind them. It doesn’t need to be cleaned? Bear with me here and get another clean white rag and, using warm, soapy water again, wipe down the wall where your mount used to hang. I’ll bet that white rag turned out to be kinda nasty, didn’t it? If it didn’t get dirty, you’re lucky. Most of us end up with a lot of dust trapped behind those mounts. After the wall and the mounts are cleaned, you can re-hang everything and look upon them once more with pride.

Now, I’m not going to bore you with other cleaning tips. You know how to take care of your guns, your bows, and your fishing rods. But I will give you a tip on re-organizing your tackle box: When you have all your lures spread out on the floor, keep an eye on that new lab pup of yours. Vets, even when your wife works for one, are expensive. On top of the vet bill, you’ll have to replace a lot of lures since the vet cut all the hooks to take them out of your dog.

Well, carp season is just around the corner, so I’d better get my arrows, my bow, and my camera ready. Until next time…