Good points already made by others. FWIW, let me add my .02:
CAPE OUT YOUR BUCK ASAP! You need to cool off the hide immediately in warm weather --- you're inviting hair slippage if you delay (bacteria grows like wildfire at the fatty roots of a hide's hair). This would be my immediate guess as to a possible cause for your cape's scarred appearance, though you can't rule out acid rot.
A few more thoughts:
a) Treat your caped out hide like prime steak (can you say C-O-L-D?); C-O-L-D and wet is MUCH better than dry and air temperature, as long as it's KEPT cold!
b) If you don't actually cape out the skull in the field, drop the attached hide in a medium-sized ice chest (with ice in and around the hide), letting the head and rack stick out the top of the chest; you can cover the head with an old pillow case or sheet, then wrap with a sleeping bag and tie shut.
c) DON'T wrap in airtight plastic during transportation home; you want air circulation!
d) NEVER transport your animal directly on the bed of your truck (exhaust heat radiated to the vehicle's bed will COOK your trophy)! A wood pallet is great to have along; if not available, use some smaller logs/branches to get the carcass OFF the truck's bed. Again, wrap in a sleeping bag (out of the sun!).
e) If you do decide to put your cape in the freezer, DON'T put it in while still warm (spread it out and cool it down a bit first). Make sure the head is on the INSIDE when you wrap up your cape (this will help protect the ears and eyelids from freezer burn), then put in a heavy plastic bag and tape up tightly.
This isn't new info; learned over the years from personal experience and others' input --- hope it helps ...
Lv2hnt