This isn't meant to be a taxi bashing thread at all, so please don't take it that way. I was talking to a friend tonight about how people travel to the Western states to hunt animals they don't have at home, kill something (like an antelope) and then take it back to "their" taxidermist to have it mounted. I know several people that have done this and their mounts turn our sub-par, not because the taxidermist doesn't know what they're doing, but because they don't ever do any of that particular animal. Call me crazy but I'm not going to shoot an Alligator in Flordia and have my taxidermist in Oklahoma mount it. By the same token, I'm not going to shoot a goat or a bull elk in Wyoming and have my taxidermist in Delaware mount it. Any thoughts? I know there are a couple of guys on here that have had a couple of pretty nice mounts done out of area and I'm not saying it can't be done. I just like my taxidermist to have at least a little bit of a clue.
If I shoot anything in CO, I'll have a local taxi do the prep work, then ship the parts to a local taxi. There's enough people around here who've donw elk ....that I'm not too worried. And a muley isn't too different from a whitetail (I wouldn't think).
Most taxidermists will let you see some of their work before you leave an animal with them. I like to have taxidermists who are experienced with that certain species work it out. Sometimes this means leaving an animal in the state that you killed it. With the Internet you can research different taxidermists to make sure your animal will look the way you want it to. You will have to make a special trip to pick it up but that's just a reason to go back for next years season. Lol
The taxidermist I work for has done african animals, deer, alligator, pronghorn, you name it. He does absolutely amazing work. Being as that we are in Alaska we usually dont get those but when we do, Time is taken and animals are studied to make sure they are done right and look great.
Just want to make sure the taxi your bringing it to has enough experience.... I've walked into mine (in the mid-west) and any given time seen full body African mounts, grizzly, sheep mounts etc.... He's got enough experience and being a full time master taxidermist - believe he could do anything... But I'm sure that's not always the case with every person doing taxidermy work....
I think there are a LOT of reputable Taxidermists that have the skills to do about anything you put in front of them and make it look good. There's a local guy that I know that has done many species of animals, and I'm yet to see one that doesn't look GREAT!!!
My cousin has done most of the deer I want to get mounted. It is just kind of a side job, and anymore he only takes a few close friends and family members. Still does a dang good job though. He has mounted elk, caribou, and pronghorn I believe. If I ever went out west and brought something back that I wanted to get mounted then I'm sure he would be able to do it for me. If not then my friend's dad is one heck of a taxi and I would take it to him.
Will would probably be the one to talk to about such things I only ever left one at an out of state Taxidermists, :D Ha Ha you didn't see this one Dubbs, it's 1 of the ones we left at our house in Michigan. Good thing for him my Daughter picked it up and I didn't get to see it for 2 years or we would have went to the dirt. This is a 22 1/2" wide 133" 8pt, and you would never know it by the looks of this picture. I'll touch on a few things wrong with it. 1. It's rack is laid back around 20 to 25% more than it should be 2, It ears are not only T boned, they are flattened out which makes them bigger than they were. 3. Glue clumps visible under the skin. 4. Brisket is not only off center its wadded up in a clump 5 He let the hair slip on it. I could go on but you can see how bad it is. And yes I checked this guys work befor I left it with him. I have taken a few deer out of state to have someone do them that I trusted
I'd rather have someone I know do my out of state stuff, close to home. My friend has done just about any animal you could think of and I trust him to do a fantastic job on anything I bring him.
Back in '95 I went killed a ram and boar in Tennessee at one of those exotic ranches and had a taxi in that area do the work. Disaster. First he sends me a different ram than the one I killed, then I get my beautiful cinnamon boar in the mail only to find it had been dyed black b/c he had "spilt some ink on it accidentally". It finally got worked out but it was a HUGE headache. I killed a mulie in CO back in '05 and brought it home to have it mounted by someone I trust.
Do what your comfortable with but a taxidermist should be able to mount anything, unless he says I'm done dealing with this or that. He should do the research, get good referance photos, and even make some phone calls, pryor to starting. Most guys that I know would actually like to try something different, and would look at it like fun. If my buddies had something different come in I would be at thier shop, and them with me, those are the nights you get to sit back and drink a couple beers and watch!
Like anything it all depends. One local shop here does animals from all over the globe and does them well. Another told me to take my caribou somewhere else (great taxi and I appreciated his honesty). Out west my dad has used the same guy for 20+ years and he is phenominal with mule deer and elk. His mule deer look like they could walk out of the wall. However, just for convenience he brought a mule deer back to the first place I mentioned and they too did a fantastic job on the mule deer. So, in the end it just all comes down to the specific taxi in question. As a side note, that first place I mentioned also totally screwed up a buck of mine in 2006, but the guys wife was in serious medical trouble so I'm not really judging him by that one. Sometimes even the best taxidermists have "bad days". It just stinks when it is on our animals.
A few of the good taxi's around here do everything so that Isn't an Issue with me. The Issue Is, me not getting something for them to mount!
my taxi has done all kinds of work - and his Elk are excellent. ...but before I ever get an Elk or Moose done I think I need some vaulted ceilings so I don't have to mount them at ground level...
AGREED'!!! Make sure you have the space, for the mount... Other than making the room seem sooo much smaller. It would be like putting a big LCD tv in a small quarters... It makes the tv look like crap, when you sit too close, right? My Grandfather had a bear mount in his apartment, when I was a real little one... It seriously scared me. It was like half way across the room, when mounted on the wall. lol. just aweful.
I killed a Kudu, Red Heartebeast and 2 Gembok in Africa, had the mounts done here in Wisconsin. No problems, my guy is one of the best in the country for any animal, he's that good!
Funny you mention this... as I thought long and hard about it before going on my antelope trip last summer. Asked quite a few questions of my taxidermist before heading out, even though he's taken 2nd in the world three different times at the World Taxidermy Show in the Master's Division (should have won it twice, IMO...) After I felt at ease that he was comfortable with the ins and outs of a speedgoat, my questions centered more around CARE of my trophy from the moment he was down.... which actually led to me shooting him further back than I would have otherwise done in an attempt to not get blood on his cape. Of course, Rob messed that up when he killed within five minutes of me and his carotid-artery shot goat bled all the heck over mine anyway... I've got an upcoming feature article in the works on the subject actually...
Greg speaks a truthful tounge FIELD CARE is a BIG thing also for a qualty mount. I didnt even drag my buck 10 ft this year. It went out behing a quad on a sled all in thoughts of the mount.
