Dawg, 17 months? I'd have to pay him/her a visit, see what's up. $400-$800 here. Last 3 my son mounted had them back to him within 6 months. Same guy, single guy doing his thing, just making a living.
Only had 2 fish mounted, both by a reputable company, and both took well over a year.. I'd about forgotten about them until UPS showed up one day.
There was another country guy in our area years ago doing mounts for cheap, job nicely done, and he got popular pretty quick. Then, word got out that some clients racks, in his possession, were 'lost'. Last I heard, he had sold some of them, and got caught by the wildlife dept.
Do you go with the good ole boy, who'd you'd love to support his living, and get a mount back fairly quick and pay a low amount? Or, go with the company, taking twice as long, charging a lot more?
I'm still going to roll the dice with the single guy, and do the deal on handshake.