Finally getting around to mounting last years buck

[dipper]

I caught up on my 450 pound black bear this spring....he's been hanging over me for a couple years now. Now I'm able to move on to my Minnesota buck from last year, than my wi bow buck. I can't tell you how relieved I am to start working on these guys. Between everything going on it is getting harder and harder for me to play around with my taxidermy.

Hopefully I'll have this same problem next year!

 

[huntall]

nice!

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Nice buck. I tinker in taxidermy a little as well. I worked at a taxidermy studio part time for a couple years. I haven't had time to fool with it with all the irons I have in the fire. Hope to pick it back up some day.

 

[bat man]

Did you hit that with your truck in MN?

State Farm claims deer vehicle BOOM CRAP OUCH is up 41%, while Pope and Young and Dept of Public Safety numbers are down 50%.

Guessing you likely shot it. Nice work Dip-

What the hell is a Dipper anyhow?

 

[phil@thesidehill]

What the hell is a Dipper anyhow?

One who chews some 'backy?

 

[dipper]

 

[dipper]

With all the complaining you Vikings do, there is some excellent hunting in mn. ;)
You also use it to clean your ice fishing holes. Big Dipper.....
Now he's got to dry. Came together pretty good, with routine form modifications. I'm not super happy with the eyes, but I hardly ever am.
I spent a lot of $$ getting trained by world award winners pat Wagner and mark gonnering. I'm no where near them, but I hold my own.

 

[Tree Spud]

Dipper ... pretty cool, you are definitely a "do it your selfer" ... I have no where near the patience ...

 

[dipper]

My take on taxidermy, especially tanned skins-leather, they have to be properly prepped. By that I mean-thinned. Remember oj Simpson and the bloody leather glove. The blood and leather dried, when oj went to put it on, what did it do? It shrunk! Got him off on murder. Same thing with mounts, tanned skins shrink when they dry. A quality taxidermist takes the time and has the skill to thin the leather. So there is minimal shrinkage. Anyone have mounts with those bugged out eyes. The leather pulled away from the form. No offense I've seen them on this site, I hate to say anything. IMO- its a shame guys don't know more about this. There is a lot of bad taxidermy out there.

 

[dipper]

You can see how thin the skin is, on the first picture with the cape on the form. That black is the nose, you can see the color through the skin. When I said I'm not satisfied about the eyes I mean the expression. The skin around the eyes has to be super thin to hold that expression I'm trying to convey. If is is t thin, you have ojs glove....
Just a few taxi tips for you guys. You put just as much time and work into shooting a big buck as me, you have to have a skilled taxidermist.

 

[scott44]

Good looking mount! You did a great job

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Nice job, Dipper. I guess you have to have the patience - I don't - even if I had the knowledge. What's harder - a deer or a bear?

 

[dipper]

Nice job, Dipper. I guess you have to have the patience - I don't - even if I had the knowledge. What's harder - a deer or a bear?

Haha bears are like humans. Some have bigger a$$es, bigger chests, etc. I had that bear form in 40 pieces, with all the sizing and modifications I made. There are 1000s of deer forms, and I go with a sculpter that fits upper Midwestern deer nicely.
A shoulder mount is a walk in the park compared to a full sized bear. That's why there's $5400 price difference. Haha

 

[Bill]

Do you send your hides out for tanning or do it yourself?

Years ago I spent hours fleshing hides with a knife with the hide wrapped around a 2 liter soda bottle. The nose and eyes always did me in. Somehow I always cut them. Now I just pay the $450 bucks to have a pro do them.

Did this 15 years ago. Haven't mounted a thing since.

 

[dipper]

I use wolf river tannery in shiocton wi.
That's not a bad looking bird, the bill looks like it was painted though. If you are paying less than $550 and it is quality work you are getting a bargain.

 

[Bill]

the bill looks like it was painted though.

Yep, paint brush and the same paint I used on my Decoys.

 

[dipper]

Sorry bill, it just stick out like a sore thumb to me.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

You ever use krowtann dipper? I uses a few times an was pretty happy with it.

 

[Bill]

Sorry bill, it just stick out like a sore thumb to me.

No apologize needed. I knew what i was doing. To cheap to buy an air brush. That's the difference between A pro and me :)

Today id buy an air brush

 

[dipper]

You ever use krowtann dipper? I uses a few times an was pretty happy with it.

You could call Krowtan taboo In the taxidermy world. I used it one time, with no real complaints. It's going on ten yeArs and the mount still looks the same. It still is about $15 a tan.
I pay $45 and the tannery shaves or thins the leather down to a certain extent like I was talking about earlier. I also don't care to be messing around with acids. I'm not going to buy a shaving machine for the few critters I do a year. When I do a couple mounts for friends, they are paying the tannery cost anyway.
If I was a customer I would want my cape professionally tanned. Unless the guy really knew a lot about the chemicals used and the tannery process.