Disappointing taxidermy vent

[Troubles Trees]

This is my 3rd taxidermist and I’ve only had 3 deer shoulder mounts in my life mostly due to cost (I’m a single dad with custody, and a homeowner). Every taxidermist I’ve used came with a strong recommendation with friend(s) advice. All 3 of them gave me the runaround completion date, “it will definitely be done by the end of the month”. At the beginning of the next month I’d call again and get only a similar answer. Of course I’m excited and drooling with anticipation to get a mount back, I haven’t laid eyes on the rack for well over a year each time and it’s like a late Christmas present to us hunters! I honestly don’t care if it is going to take 2 years to do, just tell me straight up and I can be patient, this end of the month story has gone on for 8 months now with this latest mount :(
This is my (opening day of gun) 2018 buck. Body wise it is the heaviest (190# dressed) and the most mature buck I’ve ever shot, and I’ve harvested my share of 3-4 year olds, which is old for our high pressure heavily hunted area. The meat was wicked tough and gamey tasting despite a quick clean kill. It’s an older buck that was definitely in prime rut so I had low expectations with the meat and grinder most of it. When I dropped it off to the taxidermist I sent him a picture of the buck (below) while I was in his shop. I didn’t take many pictures because I was hunting solo and had just dragged it roughly a 1/4 mile and had to cross a brutal ravine (20’ rope wrapped around a tree above, pull the deer with one hand and pull the rope at the same time to not lose that 4-6” I would gain between pulls), I was exhausted and I just wanted to get it in the truck and get home at that point.
Anyway, he just now sent me these pictures to show some progress and I am again disappointed. The neck on this thing was basically a straight line from the bottom of his jaw to the top of the lump on the brisket. I VERY much stressed how important it was to make the neck look like the deer did in real life (in the picture).





The rack isn’t even on straight, and although it wasn’t perfectly even on the deer it appears he tilted it way more than the deer had grown it :(

 

[Troubles Trees]

Sorry that was so long winded with unnecessary details, get me talking deer stories and I become a run on sentence lol

 

[roymunson]

that is frustrating.

The neck on the "In the field" picture is almost as impressive as the rack. The mount itself doesn't look terrible, but that's too long to wait and not get exactly what you wanted.

I killed a late season buck once Feb 1, got it back by august i think?
Sorry about your hassle man. For what its' worth, the mount will always remind you of the memory of the hunt, and that's the silver lining.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I have done taxidermy for close to 20 years now. Full time for a good many of those. A couple of things. Hard to tell on the angle of the antlers from just the one picture of the dead deer, but the antlers on the mount look acceptable. As a typical rule the beam of the antlers follow the upper plane of the nose in terms of angle. That mount is wet and will fluff up a bit, especially if he back brushes it and blow dries it. It does look like the neck on the manniken is probably a bit under sized. I take the actual carcass measurements when I can from the skinned deer, some taxidermists dont and sometimes it is not possible. The size of the neck on the dead deer is also a result of the "relaxed" hair in the skin. Tanning typically locks the shaft of the hair into the hide and makes getting that full, fluffy hair look much more challenging on a mount. Not making excuses and will be willing to throw out my 2 cents again for what it is worth when you get the finished mount home.

 

[MRBB]

I will say this, I have 40+ deer heads most all done by a buddy that did Outstanding work, and attention to detail, won countless competitions for his work
then, he one day decided to give it up?
I searched HIGH and low to find a new taxidermist
and I went to about 25 different shops, and almost every shop, had a mix of good heads and BAD one they did
it sure sems like a lot of taxidermist count on the customer, NOT knowing any better and be JUST happy with what ever work they turn out
and the work they turn out is based on a lot of HOW Busy they are or how much effort they want to put into"X" mount at the time they do it

from MY experience very few taxidermist do GREAT work EVERY TIME!


things I suggest anyone do, if they want a GOOD mount back, is learn how to take measurements yourself
and write them down, TELL "X" taxidermist you did so, and will be expecting things CLOSE to them
them them straight up, you know the difference in good and bad work and know what to look for(this is where you NEED to also learn to know what to look for in GOOD work over shabby short cut work!)
and THEN HOPE and pray when you get it back it is done well!

My last Alberta, field dressed at 305 lbs on a certified scale) buck I shot, went to a guy I searched out, a yr in advance, spent hours at his shop, even helped him skin and other things(as I used to help my buddy)
explained to him I knew the difference in GOOD work and bad, said, DON"T worry I got you!!

deer came back, on a small form, not even close to the neck the deer had!
then the excuses came out,
he complained AFTER the fact, he couldn't find a form with a larger enough neck
, but could the head, so he MADE what he HAD work
rather than ordering the correct size, , many taxidermist I find do this, they buy one sized form to get bulk pricing, hoping they fit MOST deer they get,
a shame, !! IMO!

so my 300+ lb buck now has a HUGE head now on a small neck, worst mount I have , on one of the biggest deer I ever killed??
SO I feel your pain
again'
a good taxidermist is like a GOOD wife, far and few LOL
so, as I said, even knowing things can still be a gamble with some taxidermist!

 

[Tree Spud]

I do not think that neck on your mount is any where near what you show in the ground photo of him. As pictures can be deceiving you are the best judge of your deer.

The form you select has a lot to do with the final mount. Like stated above, taking measurements helps as sometimes our memories see more that what we thought we remembered.

At the end of the day, let the memories of the hunt let you enjoy the mount, don't let the mount take away from the hunt.

 

[MRBB]

I agree its the memories that matter most, but it sure sucks to spend all that time and money on a hunt, and then have a taxidermist screw you, due to being either lazy or unskilled to do the work they claimed they knew how to!

 

[g squared 23]

IMO the pose you picked won’t be flattering for the neck size no matter what. I do agree that it doesn’t look great. I’d be disappointed, especially after waiting so long. How much did you pay?


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[S.T.Fanatic]

It takes approx 8 hours for a good taxidermist to mount a buck. (Not including drying time) Ask them how many deer they get in on an average year. Do they do birds, fish, bears, etc? Are they a FULL time taxidermist? This will give you some sort of an idea on timeframe.

Everyone is different but I feel 1 year is acceptable turn around time. Much longer than that is not.


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[bigbendmarine]

Much like judging the fairer sex, beauty is often in the eye of the beholder... so not looking to upset anyone with what's just my own personal preference... but I'm just not a fan of the full-sneak pose. Again, just my own .02 and sure wouldn't dictate my preference on others, but a well done upright or semi-sneak just seems more... for lack of better words... masculine.

So I'm kind of with g squared 23 -- just don't think the full-sneak pose makes for the easiest job giving the neck a full appearance.

Will also say I'm optimistic for your sake once he's completely finished touching things up I bet it will look a bit fuller / better.

Picked the taxidermist for the only shoulder mount I've ever had done (have done euro myself on all others) based on seeing lots of nice examples of his work and getting to know him fairly well before giving him the work.

He SERIOUSLY just about gave me a heart attack when he sent me a starting wet-work pick! Think he just wanted me to be excited it was finally in queue to be worked after a year or so wait... but instead I couldn't help but wonder if it was going to look like Frankenstein when finished!



Maybe he just did it so no matter what I'd be happy with the end result, but after seeing the wet-work picture I couldn't help but be thrilled with the final results !

 

[Mortenson]

Agree with above. My dad and I each have a full sneak and they do look more slender. It's just the nature of the pose. They're kinda "stretching" forward. I also agree it's not the best form to use, but when you're looking for something different, but still not too crazy, there's only so much that's offered. I've read some taxidermy forums before, and it seems the majority of expert, award-winning taxidermists tend to avoid the really muscular, striated forms. They think it often doesn't look natural. Of my dad's biggest 2 bucks, 1 is mounted too fat, and the other is a full sneak and it looks somewhat skinny in the neck, but the shoulders still look solid.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

New thread on good/bad taxidermist much like the outfitter thread?


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[BC Buck]

What these guys say I agree. I also do taxidermy and his nose, eyes, ears and ear butts look very good. Neck does appear smaller than picture and he might have picked a smaller form to keep from fighting stretch or drumming while mount dries. Rack looks lopsided only because deer was not square in pic.

 

[buckdeer1]

If he would have used a form to fit that neck it would have shown skin rolls which would have been natural for that big of neck,always measure for tip of nose to corner of eye and around neck,call your state taxidermy assc. and ask for their winners then talk to them

 

[Mortenson]

Love those bladed brows too! Great buck

 

[Troubles Trees]

IMO the pose you picked won’t be flattering for the neck size no matter what. I do agree that it doesn’t look great. I’d be disappointed, especially after waiting so long. How much did you pay?


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He charges $480 for a shoulder mount. I don’t mind the cost as long as I’m getting a good finished product. This deer was a tank and like I said, I specifically asked to make the neck resemble the deer in the picture. I sent him other pictures of the whole deee. I only have this picture on this phone to post here.

 

[BC Buck]

He charges $480 for a shoulder mount. I don’t mind the cost as long as I’m getting a good finished product. This deer was a tank and like I said, I specifically asked to make the neck resemble the deer in the picture. I sent him other pictures of the whole deee. I only have this picture on this phone to post here.

What iv found is its almost impossible to get a tanned cape to give to give the taxidermist the stretch needed when bucks are in that phase of the rut. When I first started mounting whitetail I would struggle with getting hair to line up anatomically correct on forms no matter how thin cape was shaved.As cape dries it shrinks considerably and on too big of form will create drumming( where cape pulls away from form in low spots). $480 is two cheap to make a living with $180 in materials and 16 hours labor. Let us see pics after dry and painted at pickup. With the virus I will be lucky to get my capes back from the tannery by November this year.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Beautiful deer. I can understand your disappointment Troubled Trees. The neck on that deer is just brutal! It is not reflected in the mount.

 

[Bill]

He SERIOUSLY just about gave me a heart attack when he sent me a starting wet-work pick! Think he just wanted me to be excited it was finally in queue to be worked after a year or so wait... but instead I couldn't help but wonder if it was going to look like Frankenstein when finished!

the first one I mounted gave me that same heart attack. When I put the hide on the form wet I thought there is no way I’m making this look good.
It turned out ok. I haven’t mounted one in years myself.

It’s not worth it!! I’ll The $550 and be happy.

I’m curious what that mount looks like dry and painted also.

 

[SWIFFY]

Ive done taxidermy for 22 years. I now only do deer heads for return customers and I only take in 10 or less each season. I do this to keep it from feeling like a job (because its not for me) and I can focus on each head and get them done in a timely manner.

I will 2nd what a few guys have said... first a head-up, sneak position is the single worst form you can choose to show off the size of a deers neck. A Semi-upright or semi-sneak are going to have the largest swell and there are a few companies that make forms that display this far better than others as well. Second, the hide is still wet. It will dry and he should backbrush it which will fluff the hair up. Think of a wet dog before it shakes, that is what your head feels like in that picture. Another thing thats possible is that this guy tans his own capes (which is fine) but he doesnt know how to shave them down? If that hide is too thick it just doesnt have the stretch it needs to get back to how it was.

I wouldnt sweat it just yet. But next time, there are a lot more things you should research before picking a form, and maybe a taxidermists, to make your buck look the best it can be.