Taxidermy_woman23
New member
I've had about 1/2 a dozen folks from here E-mail me asking: What I used to mount animals?, How I learned to do Taxidermy?, What got me interested in Taxidermy?, Are their any Taxidermy Schools and how long were they, etc, etc. So I'm making a post so you can ask your questions on.As for the questions I was asked via E-mail. Well..... I learned Taxidermy through videos I ordered from Taxidermy supply company. I also have a freind that does taxidermy and I ask him questions every now and again. Yes their are taxidermy schools out their but I have not herd of more than a dozen or so, but their are more I'm sure. As for their length, that would depend on the school.
As for what I use to mount an animal. Let's use a Deer Head for example. We order compressed foam forms. They give the deer most of the muscle detail after they are mounted and facial expression. We also use glass eye's, clay, staples, brads, Hide past (glue), bondo (yes I'm talking bout car filler, LOL) or ear linners, T-pins, and needles and thread.
That doesn't seem like a lot of stuff to be charging $300 - $500 for a shoulder mount? Well, those are just all of the supplies we buy for a deer head. It take about 7 to 10 hours all together to mount a deer from start to finnish. When you bring us a deer to mount. We have to skin it off of the skull, turn the ears inside out, and turn the lips, eyes, and nose skin so we will have something to tuck into the slots we have pre dremaled into the manikin. We also have to flesh all of the meat and membrane off of the hide befor we can even begin to mount the deer.
After all of that is complete we can either tan it or Dry Preserve it. If you are going to Dry Preserve (DP) it than we apply the DP and begin mounting. If we are going to tan it we have to salt the hide down and after 24 hours change and reaply new salt then we have to put it in a pick solution for atleast 4 days. This will make the hide swell up so after 3 days we will pull it out of the pickle and shave the skin down to make it thinner and then put it back in the pickle for 24 hours. Than we pull the cape out and neutralize it and put it in the tanning solution for 24 hours. Once it's been 24 hours we pull it out dry it with a towel and add tanning oil to it, roll it up and let it set over night. Now we can begin to mount the tanned cape.
The mounting process takes about 3 to 4 hours. Once the mount is dry we start doing the finninshing work. Filling in voids with epoxy, painting, and grooming. It takes a deer head atleast 2 weeks to dry properly.
You get what you pay for when it comes to taxidermy. I'm not, by any means, saying take your deer head to the most expensive Taxidermist out their! I've seen work come from Taxidermists who charge more than I do and I would have been ashamed to claim it, if it were mine
. The price range varies from one location to the next. In my area (Albany and Leesburg, Ga) the average here is between $250 and $350 dollars for a basic shoulder mount. Up in Atlanta It will run you anywhere from $300 to $450 dollars. Up in New York state I have herd of Taxidermist charging any where from $400 to $700 dollars
. My advise to the hunters is don't wait til you shoot a trophy buck befor you start shopping around for a taxidermist. Finding a good taxidermist requires some pre-season scouting. Just like hunting. You don't go into your hunting area the day befor the hunt and expect to know where the deer are moving and where you are going to put up a stand.
Once you shoot a deer that you want to get mounted you don't want to be driving around with it in the back of your truck while looking for a taxidermist. This can cause bacteria to set in the hide and cause your cape to slip (hair falling out). If that happens you will need a replacement cape. You want to be able to get your Trophy to a taxidermist as soon as posible. To help the taxidermist out record the time you shot your deer and let him know once you take it to him.
When you go to a Taxidermy Shop too look for a potential taxidermist always ask to see his customer mounts.....NOT his competition mounts. Their is a world of difference between the 2. A competition Piece is one that he is trying to win awards with and he will spend anywhere between 30 and 40 hours on just a deer head.....customer mounts will only get between 7 and 10 hours worth of work. Competition work is usually what ends up in the show rooms...Customer pieces are usually hung on the wall in the shop. Unless it is a specialty mount for a customer....than it usually goes into the show room because those usually get a lot more time put into them.
Hope this answeres some of your questions and helps you out a little...Feel free to ask me any more questions you might have and I will answere them the beast i can!
