Photo by Luke Nilsson
You might not have room on your walls for the tailfans of every gobbler you shoot, but you certainly have space for the beards and spurs. Here’s how to honor the turkeys you take.
1. Detach the beard, trim the base, and then cure the base in Borax for 1 week.
2. Saw off the spurs, leaving a 1 ½- to 1 ¾-inch piece of leg bone (skin on).
3. Poke or blow out the marrow from the bone and use pliers to pull out the tendons, then cure in Borax for 1 week.
4. Thread the leather lace through both leg bones.
5. Place the ends of the leather lace over the dried base of beard.
6. Wrap the base of beard tightly with cross-stitch floss, covering all exposed areas. Wrap in different directions to achieve full coverage.
7. Seal the floss with a dab of craft glue.