finfeathr

Ship it in a large flat rate box usps..$18.75...pack it in 2 plastic bags and insulation around it. If it thaws, just put it back in the freezer, a scoter is a tough bird, it won't spoil in the 2-3 days it will take in transit. I gift birds all over the country with this method.

Hahahaah I have had many deer brought to me that way over the years... I would rather have that than too short..

Well, making phone calls takes forever, believe it or not...say I have 10 calls to make that week to let people know thier critter is done. Usually I get a cell #, whick rings a jillion times, then I get the generic 5 minute "you have reached the voicemail of"...message that takes forever to get to the actual message taking.At which point the person will frequently call back without even listening to the message because they see a missed call, and I have to repeat the same message I just left on voicemail all over again. Or the guys who never check thier voicemail and hence, never get the message it took forever to leave in the first place. Or, the message is left on the home phone, where the wife quickly deletes it so that she doesn't have another mounted animal in her house for a little while longer.... I learned a long time ago that it is less time consuming to sit down in front of the tube for a few minutes , fill out a pre-printed completion letter with the customer's balance info as well as my 30 day pickup policy, stick a stamp on it, and raise the flag on my mailbox, than it was to play the phone tag game. This way, the customer gets his notice in the mail a day or so after completion and calls ME when he is ready to schedule a pickup. Like I said, I've been at this awhile and this is the system that works for me.

As a full time taxidermist that has been in business since 1985, I will try to clear up some things that have come up in this thread. I personally want every mount that comes through the shop to be finished and paid for as quickly as possible. That being said, I prefer to do all the big game in one block, birds in another block, etc., as they are different processes, and if I ping-ponged back and forth, I would never get anything done. When bears and deer start coming in , they are skinned, eyes,ears, noses turned, fleshed and salted. Then commercially tanned. This usually takes a few months to get back from the tannery. Then the mounting process starts with the first one dropped off, continuing until the last one dropped off. I try to do them in this order with a few exceptions, like if someone needs it back due to illness, special occasion, etc. What some people don't realize, is that there are quite a few steps in the process per mount. We don't just pop a head outta the freezer and mount it up monday, and it's ready tuesday. Here's how it goes in my shop: 1. Customer drop off, write reciept, choose pose. 2. Skin animal, turn ears, lips, eyes, nostrils, flesh and salt. 3. Deliver hides to tannery. 4. Pickup hides from tannery. 5. Match up capes with antlers. Arrange order of mounting, first in, first out. 6. Order appropriate forms,eyes, etc., for weeks worth of heads. 7. Match forms to customers animal as they arrive. 8. Actual mounting process. 9. Drying time. 10. finish work: pull pins, fix blemishes, etc. 11. airbrush eyes, nose, etc. 12. Groom mount. 13. Mail completion letter to customer. Thats just for big game, and that's if everything goes smoothly, not taking into account that some guys cut the cape wrong/short, slit the throat, shoot it in the head,..the list goes on. Multiply this time frame for 100 deer heads per year, plus bears, small game, ducks, upland, turkeys, etc...as you can see, time is a rare commodity While I am waiting for my tanning to be completed, I normally start working on birds: 1. Customer drop off, choose pose, properly tag waterfowl. 2. skin bird, de-fat, de-grease. 3.. Wash bird. 4. Tumble/dry bird skin. 5. Actual mounting process/carding. 6. Drying time. 7. Pull pins/carding. 8. Paint bills/feet. 9. Mail completion letter to customer. Keep in mind that customer drop offs/pick ups take time out of the day also, as well as display base work,and getting supplies. There isn't alot of down time in running a taxidermy studio. Besides deer and birds, You also have bears, turkeys, african, exotic, rugs, and fish. There is ALWAYS work being done on SOMETHING.. Keep in mind that if you have a week of deer heads planned, and 3 guys show up at the shop on Monday afternoon after a boar hunt with a bunch of hogs they want mounted, everything else just got bumped. Those animals need to be caped/prepped for the tannery before they spoil. Don't feel bad though, because when you dropped off your archery buck in October, somebody else got bumped so I could prep your critter. I usually tell my customers that drop off a deer during rifle season that it will be ready over the summer. Then of course there are the problem customers that you have to chase around for weeks/months/years to pickup and pay for thier mounts. The time I wasted on thier mount could have been better spent on yours. Some guys get in over thier head by charging low prices and they get bombarded with work and cannot keep up. These guys usually don't stay in the business long. Hope this clears up some of the time frame questions...

Had a big one come into the shop this week from Rocky Point.. Rich Fins to Feathers.

I charge $425 per ft. plus base. Most bears are skinned ventrally for a lifesize or rug. If you aren't sure about it, let the taxidermist skin it. We are right down the road from you in Farmingdale...516 847-0087

Yes, I am a sponsor here.

Actually, it's pretty easy...the reciept number is written on a tag that gets affixed to the animal's rear leg. That leg/tag stays with the animal through the entire process, and the tag is put in the box with your meat. The tag# is then written on the box. I have butchered 200 deer per season for 20 years now, and have never mixed up any deer. That's my system, but I can't speak for how others do it. Personally, I think hunters are overly paranoid that thier deer is going to be switched with another somehow...like I said, if you have a decent system, it's all good.

I own Fins to Feathers. I am the one you spoke to...I process about 200 deer per season, and all my regular customers leave deer at any time back by the garage. I can't possibly be home at all hours between October 1st and January 31, so if you need to drop off a deer and I'm not there at the time, just make sure you leave your phone # with the animal so I can call you when it's ready, usually same day or next. Not alot of processers on the island, be careful where you take your deer. Just because somebody has a big shop filled with mounts bought at estate auctions doesn't mean he is trustworthy...Good Hunting...Rich

OK, I wouldn't listen too much to what this guy has to say. He is all over the internet trying to drum up business. He thinks that you will be impressed that he gets all of these deer in daily. I would bet it is nowhere near the actual amount. You got in 40 deer in one day, 15 p&y bucks, and you have time to post on the internet about it? It's marketing, nothing more.

non toxic shot is required for all waterfowl hunting, no matter where you are hunting, over water, fields, etc...

haha, I'm a dinosaur that shuns technology....I only use the cell in an emergency.

I'll call again tomorrow..

Actually yes, but they have not returned my call as of yet..maybe govt. shutdown?

Unfortunately, this kind of stuff is rampant, especially on LI. Not alot of public access, Everyone thinks that when they discover a place to hunt, that it's "thier spot", and don't consider the possibility that others may be hunting there as well. Then they do things to discourage the other hunters. Case in point: Last Saturday I get up at 3am, drive to the spot I bowhunt. I have hunted this land since I was 14 years old, so thats 31 years. Always kinda had the place to myself, but over the last 5 years or so, have encountered alot more people, so I make sure I get there early. Anyway, I get to my spot in the overgrown field, and wait for light. I am all settled in, when suddenly a pickup truck and a jeep come ripping through the field, busting every living thing out of the area. Thier headlights were bouncing all over, and they passed within 15 feet of me, tore up the hill, and parked there, got out, and started discussing thier hunting plans, readying gear, etc..this is all a 1/2 hour before shooting light. I shake my head and groan, realizing that someone else has discovered the spot. the unbelievable part is that they parked thier vehicles in the middle of the hunting area.... I decide to stick it out since I have had good luck in my spot in the past. I see absolutely zilch except for tweety birds, so when I prepare to leave, I do a little scouting on the way out. That's when I discover that they have cut many branches and shrubs to clear an easy path to thier "parking spot". I just could not believe that anyone who locates a hunting spot on LI could be so naeive to think that they are the only ones that hunt/know about it. I then find another spot where they have been driving into the field, at the end of which is a flattened out area [repeatedly driven over] , a brand new ladder stand, and......wait for it..........wait for it........... SEVERAL BUSHELS OF SHUCKED CORN UNDERNEATH!!! Imagine the audacity of creating driving trails, driving through areas hunted by other people, and BAITING in an obvious spot, about 20 yards from a known access road on county land. I can almost forgive them the driving through the field thing, being that they probably think they are the only guys to find this spot, and just ignorant to the fact that others hunt there as well, but BAITING??? ON COUNTY LAND? Thats just plain stupid. The moral of the story is, as space gets tighter and tighter, and hunters get more and more demonized, guys are taking any and all shotcuts to get to the bottom line. If that includes stealing gear, ruining spots, baiting, etc, there are many, many slob hunters out there willing to step up to the challenge....