My Buck from 2011.....Finally

[Brandi]

Wow...that is a NICE one, congrats! Sadly I've never gotten a buck I'm very jealous!

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Very nice buck!

 

[DEER 24/7]

great buck congrats

 

[Sticky Stokes]

Nice buck and looks like a great mount.

I saw this thread earlier and was curious to the details myself. Care to share the readers digest version?

Oh, and your taxidermist must be a friend or you won this in a raffle. If it were me, I'd be calling every day after a year and driving by every week.

Here is the story I posted in this forum on 11/29/2011, my first post ever after lurking for several months.

Sunday morning of the rifle opener I hunted a new farm I just recently got permission to hunt on, have seen some does out there and 1 decent 8 point while bow hunting. I made me a little ground blind in a blown down tree and was just covered up in deer from first light on. It was one of the best mornings for deer movement I have had in a long time, a bunch of does and several different bucks, a forkie, a spike, a six point, what would have been a shooter 9 or 10 but his whole left side was broken off, a big 8 that I could not get stopped and then this fella that came in about 9 am with a hot doe. She stepped out of an oak flat into the clearing I was sitting on, I could tell immediately she had somebody behind her, she kept taking those nervous looks over her shoulder, he steps out and that doe had his full attention. He gave me a shot at 85 yds and the old Remington model 788 in .308 put him down on the spot. I love that rifle. He is not the biggest buck by any means but I am happy to have him. 157 pounds dressed, 5x7 12 point. It was a really fun morning.

And yes I do consider my taxidermist a friend, I wouldn't say we are close and I was getting anxious for him to finish this buck, but he had a back surgery that put him way behind on his work so I tried to be patient. It was a really long wait....I really do like his work though!

Brandi, thanks! You will get that buck eventually...thats one of the cool things to me about hunting....you are always just one hunt away from the buck of a lifetime.

Porter, Bassin and Deer24/7 thanks for the compliments, I appreciate it.

 

[r00s7a]

That's a good looking mount Sticky! All I can say is you are a patient man. Now that I have a couple on the wall, I have learned a few things about taxidermists. A good one is hard to find! I can't even get a call back from the one that has last year's buck. After a week of daily calls, he finally called me back to say it is at the tannery and he could get the cape back tomorrow, or two months from now. So for the last 8 months, all he is done is removed the cape and sent it off to the tannery. Does it really take that long to take a cape off and send it to the tannery? The guy is a "part time" taxidermist, which is about all I know of, I don't know of any full time taxidermists. If there are full time taxidermists, are they any quicker? I'm not expecting a turnaround job in two months, but after 8 months, only a couple of hours of work has been completed? I hope that I am wrong and should be more understanding and patient, but all I am is irritated.

 

[ElkStalkR]

r00s7a

Once they send it to the tannery it is really out of their hands. Different tanneries have different turn around times, and those times flucauate depending on how busy those tanneries are! Furthermore, most taxidermist wait until they have enough hides on hand to justify shipping them to the tannery, why ship just one hide at a time? That gets expensive. So sometimes its a couple of months before the taxidermist even ships your hide off to the tannery.

"After a week of daily calls", taxidermists love this (note my sarcasm)! Actually its a good way to piss them off and while they won't turn down your business next time they may qoute you a higher price on your next mount, knowing they will get to deal with phone calls if you accept their "bid"!

IMO, if you plan on having a lot of taxidermy done find a taxidermist that does quality work at a fair price. (Trust me, I realize from experience this part is not easy) Next, be patient! Who cares if it takes him 18 months to get your animals back! They are dead, they aren't going anywhere! Plus, if you find the right guy he is doing great work at fair/good prices. When/If you do find that person, build a relationship with him!!!! Call him when you don't have animals/business just to chat. See how things are going. How is his hunting season going? Stop by in person and do the same thing!! Trust me, this will pay dividends. You may end up getting the "good customer" price instead of the "not-so good customer price" LOL I have called mine several times and got the "oh for you I would do it for $$". The other guys were paying $$$$

I like my taxidermist A LOT. He is great guy and sincerely enjoy just chatting with him when I do stop by. BUT he is extremely slow!! For the service he provides and the amount he charges I am just fine with that.

Another tip.....when you drop your animal off ask the taxidermist how long it will be before you get your mount back and DO NOT bother him about it until that time has elapsed! If you wanna know how much work he has got done on it before said time, swing by his shop, chat for a while, if he brings up the subject of your mount that's great, if not then leave it alone and chalk it up as "building a relationship". Let him know you just came by to "say hi", "ask about his deer season", "see any new work", etc..........

Granted I get a ton of taxidermy done, so the average joe that only does one or two heads in a lifetime can take this info and flush it down the toilet, but if you plan on getting a lot of taxidermy done it will pay off!

Sticky,

Didn't mean to hi-jack your thread. Thats a really nice buck. CONGRATS!

 

[dennishoddy]

Great looking buck Sticky Stokes!

 

[r00s7a]

I agree Elk, and that is precisely what I did. I told him he would not hear a word from me until a date that he gave me, and at that time I would call and check up, not expecting it to be done, but just to get a better estimate. He told me to check back around July 3rd to get an estimate of when it would be done. So I did not call him back until July 3rd. But on July 3rd I was on the phone, not hounding him, but just following his directions. I don't care if it does take 18 months, but that's all you have to say. Won't hear from me until 18 months later. But don't dodge my phone call when you told me to call. I completely get what you are saying though, people that hound you to death do not get as good customer service. I also have the mindset that if I get the impression that I am being put off, I'm going to motivate you to do what you said you would do in the first place. Last taxi just lied to my face, I checked back as instructed and he told me one more week, call me then. Called in a week, said one more week, still drying. This went on for 6 months. Don't piss down my back and tell me its raining. I don't expect a fast job, but I expect you to be a man of your word.

Yeah, sorry about the hijacking Sticky. We're just trying to keep your thread on top!

 

[Sticky Stokes]

No worries, hijack away. I have used a few different taxidermists over the years....generally the ones that have been really fast, the quality of the work was a little sketchy, my current taxidermist tans all his own hides on site, which is cool, and he has usually been faster than this, the back issue being the main reason he was slow this time, he usually gives me a discount and I am really impressed with his work. Another big plus is he usually doesn't give excuses, he will just tell me where I am on the list.

 

[two-click]

very nice