• Whitetail deer mounts memorialize your hunt and display your trophy deer.whitetail buck image by Bruce MacQueen from Fotolia.com
  
  Whitetail deer flourish across the United States and are hunted for meat, trophies and population management. They are beautiful deer that make great mounts of all kinds to decorate your home and to display the animal's natural beauty. There are lots of options for whitetail deer mounts from the conventional mount to fun and interesting conversation pieces.
  
  

Shoulder Mounts

• The most common type of whitetail deer mount is the shoulder or cape mount that displays the deer from the shoulders forward. Only trained and experienced taxidermists should make shoulder mounts, but it is possible to do it yourself. Shoulder mounts are great for displaying trophy racks because the head stands or turns in a natural position and the mounts don't take up a huge amount of room.
  
  

Tail Mounts

• When whitetail deer run or are spooked, their tails lift up and display the bright white underside. Some people simply cut off the tail, dry it out, and hang it from the wall, removing as much flesh and meat as possible to prevent spoilage. You can also mount the rear-end of the deer to display the tail upright. As a humorous mount, you could hang the mounted rear-end on the other side of the wall from the shoulder mount so it looks like the deer is stuck in the wall.
  
  

Leg Mounts

• Whitetail legs are small and fairly inexpensive to mount. They can be skinned and fitted to a form. Mount the legs in L-shapes to make a rugged gun rack or mount them straight up to hold up a lamp or a chandelier. Some people mount the legs on the plaque with the shoulder mount to give a better idea of the overall size of the deer. Usually only the forelegs are mounted since the upper legs are rather large and meaty.
  
  

Antlers

• Simply remove the antlers with a hacksaw and display them around your house for a rustic touch. Use them for wall hangings, curio displays or make something out of them to add style to your house. You can also use whitetail antlers for hunting purposes. Whitetail bucks scratch their horns against tree bark to remove the yearly velvet and to mark their territory. Use antlers to make artificial scrapes so bucks will come around to protect their territory.
  
  

Skull Mounts

• Skull mounts or European mounts are cheaper than full shoulder mounts. A skull mount is just the skull and antlers attached to a board. You can do this at home by removing all the flesh, brains and skin from the skull and cleaning the bone with borax or other strong cleaner and letting it dry for a few weeks until it's white and doesn't smell.