Hunting Tip 1 As a turkey hunter you have had many sleepless nights dreaming about opening day, your family has also survived countless hours of you practicing your callin' techniques along with large amounts of money (of which the wife has counted) for all the necessary turkey huntin' gear. The truck has several thousand more miles on it due to all the scouting trips you have been on just to make sure that you are in the right area when the day finally arrives, at last it is opening day and you can finally put all that effort and money to the test! All the nerves in your body have surfaced at the same time as you start to shake and your heart is racing as if you had just finished the Boston marathon, your prize is 28 yards right in front of you and he's down, all the work has paid off with a nice gobbler…BUT now what? This is what this article is about…After the hunt, what you do next will last a lifetime so take a few more minutes, consider your options, and you will have captured this moment forever. Always where required by law, tag your bird before doing anything else. PICTURES When taking a picture of your harvest put a little thought into the finished product, take a camera out in the field with you so that you can take some pictures out in the natural setting that the hunt took place and if you forgot your camera think seriously of going to get your camera as the setting in which the picture is being taken will make all the difference between a ordinary picture and an outstanding one that you would be proud to display in your home. We have all seen pictures of guys and there harvest with the garage door as the background and while it does help record the harvest it is not something that lends itself to be framed and hanging on a wall in the house! Look around you what do you see that would make a great back stop for the picture maybe a fallen tree where you can lay the gobbler on or perhaps you are hunting on farmland and you can have the crop behind you, also lay the bird down on the ground and spread the tail feathers to form the gobbles fan or sling the tom over your shoulder while holding him by the feet try not to take the picture when you are holding the bird by the neck as this does not lend itself to a quality picture opportunity. Also try not to let the tag show on the pictures, and if you are to far from home and forgot your camera take a picture when you get home but using the same idea as out in the woods, use your garden or front yard as a background so that there is no evidence of your residence in the photo. Take more than one picture to ensure you will have a quality photograph with no closed eyes etc. With these few tips you will be able to look back at your hunt many years in the future and when your memory of the event is hazy, the picture will bring it back to life! TROPHIES Trophies are limited only by the imagination of the person who is creating it. Here are a few ideas to think on to help preserve the memories and most ideas can be done by yourself for little or no money, but I do suggest if you are thinking of a having a bird mounted it is best to leave that type of project to the people who have the correct tools and know-how. THE BEARD Cut the beard off just under the skin line where you feel mass growth (take care not to cut above the mass as this will result in all the beard strands separating) it helps if you are pulling the beard toward you as you cut this will ensure that the beard will be intact after you have cut it off. Cure the meat with salt to dry then take the shot shell used to harvest the bird and glue the beard into the shell opening now you can leave it like that or take a small brass eye hook and insert it into the spent primer cavity using a leather strip etc to hang your trophy. THE TAIL FAN With the tail there are a few things that can be done either use the individual feathers for crafts or you can find a piece of cardboard, plywood, Styrofoam larger than the fan itself and some pushpins and some borax, borax can be found at the grocery store under the product name "20 mule team borax" it will be in the soap powder isle. Carefully cut the tail away from the rest of the bird making sure that you are not cutting any of the tail feathers or the knuckle holding the feathers together. Try to recruit someone who has experience in this, as the first time can prove tricky. After that is done, flesh out the knuckle to get rid of any meat that will spoil and ruin your trophy then spread the fan onto your backing and put pins in several feather quill locations to hold the fan spread out, at this time liberally spread the borax over the knuckle to dry and preserve everything, let stand for a few months then decide on how you want to display it as you can make or purchase many different style fan display kits to make the job complete. THE SPURS Spurs can be displayed in a few different ways but the preparation is the same, take the leg and cut off the spurs approximately a ½ inch above and below the spur itself clean out the bone marrow and remove all the scales from the leg do not touch the spur itself! The spur is made up of a small protrusion of bone covered by a spur cap if the cap falls off while cleaning the spur just glue it back on and it will be fine, when you have cleaned all scales meat etc from the bone get a small cup and fill it with bleach …just enough to cover the bone without touching the spur itself and let the bone soak for a while this will make the bone nice and white then dry it off and let it sit for a day or two, now you can run a piece of leather thru the bone and make either a necklace or a hat band made from your spurs, both look real nice and are an excellent way to remember your days afield. I hope this has given you a few ideas on what you can do to remember your harvest for many years to come and to remind you that your work is only half done after you harvest your bird so take some time to ensure you will have memories that will last a lifetime! Good luck and hunt safe