Dinsdale

Good stuff Nice edit job and filming.

On this thread, several of your questions are answered. Some of the posters are ACGG members. I don't know if Doug Turnbull is one but he's on par with them too. He is busy because he is a leading authority on lever guns and does the best color case work in the US. Read D'Arcy Echols,"gunmaker"James Anderson;Duane Weibe posts..... http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9411043/m/7881017641/p/1 The two schools being refered to are Trinadad; http://www.trinidadstate.edu/ and Colorado school of trades; http://www.schooloftrades.com/about.php Both are where some gun makers have learned the trade. Some guys are parts assemblers and some craftsmen; and you can decide where you want to fit in.

You can do Caribou and Moose in Quebec doing what outfitters consider semi guided. Other than a cabin and sometimes depending, a boat, you get to play on your own and bring your own supplies(fly-in drop camp). Moose are a party permit for everyone I have delt with, allocating one Moose per group(2 req'd). Caribou can be done in fall migration or in wintering grounds. Winter hunt does not typically yield good trophies as the big bulls knock their antlers off when they get south to the tree line in general. Its a long drive..... I did Caribou semi that included meals; but hunted on my own 4 days, one day with another hunter, and two days with one of the guides that wanted to get out for a few days and scout for incoming hunters that were doing fully guided. Took a nice Bou' out on my own and one when with the guide. Made a friend with that guide and visit him off season in St. John's most years. Fun hunts and good eating.

Good stuff I've done guided/semi guided/DIY; The DIY always make for good memories.

More than a few hunters "do it themselves" in remote locations. And there are few hotels to be had in some locations. You do not need an atv to hunt; nor pack out game. And if you need an outfitter to field dress and butcher game, you need more experience.

Read this...... Now.... read it again.....

No reason a good guy wouldn't let you get close. If you are that interested and their work is solid, most will be happy and proud to have you exam their work. I can say every good one has me, anyway. At the brisket; the line of the chest hair should be centered and follow the form. Strait or curving depends on the mannikin selected. The white of arm pit hair shouldn't spill outside the form on to the fronts of the legs. At the nose the black band from the nose should line up top to lower jaw. There should be some nodules on the nose, not just a glossy smooth surface, but some texture. You should see a bit of bottom lip, but not like its puckering for a kiss. The upper lip is just bigger than the lower and the line should be a nice tucked fur. When looking strait on; Notice if the eyes sit at the same height across, are of the same shape, and are not "sunk" into the form. Deer see 280* and the cornea of there eyes sit "out" to see behind them to their flanks. Eye work is very important, it makes a mount come alive. Here is one of the top deer guys vids on what a deer should look like; just watch the first few minutes and you can see some pics and see what you also can look at. The top of the ear butts, the muscular base of an ear, sit up tight to the antler base, not back and down the neck. The ears should be thin and the edge of brown hair just comes to the edge, not curl inside; nor the inner white hair spill out. The butts should also be symmetrical in size, even if in different positions. I think your $500 should get you a fine mount that will last a lifetime.

Those are some good responces Rich. I'm sure you can tell us of the guys who wanted mounted cheap cause it is BIG. :D And they will tell their friends you mounted it I have more than a few mounts and you want to make a friend in the taxidermy business? Don't call every day to see if its done.(but do ask for a rough idea when it will be at drop off) Give a deposit on drop off; and not when you get around to it. Pick up and pay for it when called. Treat the animal with care to keep the quality of the skin and hair best for mounting. (not driving around a few days showing your buddies while it lays in the bed of the truck) You get back what you give. I have roughly 20 game heads, a few life sizes, and horns/rugs/antler mounts done in the last 10 years and I don't get a discount. But I get prompt courteous service and been helped out for some repairs and custom alterations that were above and beyond included for the "regular" price. I do my part by not trying to be a PIA (not entirely successful at that yet ;D ) I think the OP was far ahead of the game asking before he may shoot a deer to get a feel for prices. Now just look at some work and see what you like to pick the artist. Take note of work around the muzzle,eyes, and ears....and overall composition (horn/antler set,hair patterns/grooming).

I'm sure after Smith&Wesson bought TC, he can afford it. ;D

Some where along the line I have seen a good video on a washing of a deer from smoking damage.....maybe somewhere on Taxidermy.net forums or a link through that site to a You-Tube. I'll see if I can't find it.

Never thought about it that way; but I would say its similar. You use just enough on a rag to wipe the mount down and leave a very lite coating behind. Acts as an insect repellent and stays active for a long time. I suspect it has a Pyrethrin in it, as clothing sprays and Buzz-off type products are the same way.

The next time I get scoped by some idiot; I'm just gonna start firing back since they are pointing a gun at me. Thats why they sell binoculars you @#$%*^&'s.

You can wash a mount; BUT its not a hose down operation, just enough to wet the surface. More like a fine mist of water. You may need to repeat a soiled mount several times to pull the dirt out, between you can used compressed air or the blower side of a shop vac to get rid of the excess water. You want to avoid soaking the skin. Think sponge bath; not shower. Take extra care around the eye work and ears. You can have a mount touched up with fresh airbrush work if you lift any original paint work for a minimal fee most times. Watch the direction of your washing; its not a car. Always follow the lay of the hair for strokes and never go against it. You'll break the folicles off at the base. Gently side to side and along it to reset the hair to the proper direction. Good tip on the vacuum use above....blowing is good or vacuum with light suction, a regular shop vac will pull the hair and crease the folicles. Good read hear for more cleaning tips and how to done by a very qualified taxidermist; http://www.africahunting.com/taxidermy-preservation/507-care-your-mounted-trophy.html I wipe my mounts with this once a year; http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/K859-P3988C203.aspx I bought a quart and split it with a few friends; I put mine in a misting type pump spray (windex bottle or similar) It has a strong odor for a few days, so I do them in summer on a screen porch to let them vent before bringing them inside. A little goes a long way.

My rifle has both frame and barrel serials too.... In the US its the receiver; anywhere else in the world, the barrel. In parts of Europe you can own as many barrels as you want; but you are limited for receivers; switch barrel guns are popular there to get around applying for multiple guns; which they are limited in owning.

I help out on occasion at a few booths; Maybe not this year, waiting on a call. It's by far the longest run of consecutive days for any show; I pity the exhibitors that have to do a 10 day run alone ??? They have redone the entrance locations this year; supposed to be a bit quicker and will wait inside, not around the building.

I never can remember my brothers birthday..... I can give the dates I brought them home and the days they were lost.

Not a hunting dog but she has killed a few squirrels and a crow; Mine mostly does this;

Interesting.... I also shoot a switch barrel gun. These were at one time availible as a hand rifle format. When consulting a Federally licensed arms manufacturer (not FFL or gunsmith).....I was told a rifle cannot be modified to assume a hand gun role; as the rifle reciever serial number is recorded as just that, and a shortning of a barrel would not be able to register as a new gun and be recorded properly. I know I can't walk into my county gun permit office to register what is now a rifle to a hand gun as their is no origin of paperwork for the reciever. The only receipt is for a rifle serial number.

and the average life span was about 30-35 years. Want a good read find Nathaniel Philbrick's "Mayflower"; good few chapters on Indiginous life styles, puts some of the romantic notions in a better context. I guess on the woods deer around home the "alone" thing I can grasp; But I'm sure glad I'm not hung up on it for a bunch of hunts I have done and plan too. Sure starts to limit the possibilities. :

Shes not all that hot....now at least we would have some eye candy if he was dating Giada de Laurentiis...... Just sayin'

I think I had in mind one of these African safaris where the guide and his trackers locate the game for you, tell you what to shoot, when to shoot and even set up the shooting sticks for you ..... ha-ha. And then if the animal doesn't fall right on the spot, they do all the tracking. So how much of the "true hunting" does that client actually do? How about the New Zealand hunts for tar, chamois (sp?), red stag, fallow deer, etc. All occur with free range animals, but how much hunting do the clients actually do? Mountain goat hunts? ..... sheep hunts? ..... brown bear hunts? ...... Alaskan moose hunts? How about a fully guided and outfitted elk hunt? ....Not a whole lot different than that African safari. All these clients proudly display the mounts, but if those hunts were guided, how much true hunting was involved by the shooter. Are those guys "true hunters"? I think there are a lot of guides that might be the true hunters and they didn't even pull the trigger. Now let's consider one of those Texas "box-blind" hunts with the feeder just outside the camera view. Even without any fences, are those guys "true hunters"? This question of "true hunters" goes a lot farther than just fences. For the most part, this question about being a true hunter is probably a question that we shouldn't dwell on a whole lot. It really is a question that produces a lot more heat than it does unity. Except for the most extreme, offensive practices, it's probably best not to get involved with trying to decide who is the true hunter and who is not. No matter which way you move on that one, you are going to step on toes. Doc As someone who has done unguided and guided hunts.....thats why you shop for the guide as much as the hunt. Or should. It doesn't take long for a pro to see if the hunter had a clue, and those that show more initiative are often given a longer rope. I learned early on fortunately that you can find guides that still allow you to play out the hunt and have you make decisions as required. The reason you see may guys get led around is most are not prepared for judging a trophy and get caught up with shooting tiny groups off a bench, instead of learning field condition shooting and trophy evaluation. There are some trophies however that are very difficult and require expert decisions, hunters would have a very difficult time calling the shot on, especially once in a lifetime hunts for most(Elephant ivory weight; male Leopard, mature Lion). A wrong decision in some of these cases results in a fine and loss of the guides license if done incorrect and not up to standard.The difference in a male Tahr for a "trophy" vs average animal is about 1 1/2" on a 12-13" horn. Judged at 400 yds typically, sometimes longer. Since some of these hunts are top dollar and quota for yearly take off is very tight....the outfitter must shoot only trophy animals, otherwise he screws himself in subsequent years depleting his resource for a finite area(although some are huge,and general animals plenty,trophy males are always in tight supply; true here in the US and abroad) I did a self guided Caribou and most guy's in camp shot under sized animals because they were used to average Whitetail hunting; ALL the antlers looked big to them.(one idiot shot a cow! Legal,any 2 Bou', but on a fly-in trophy hunt?) I had well over 200 pics of antlers and scores and not one of them bothered to look at what was a real shooter. And there was ample supply to chase. LOL Pick the right guide and/or outfit and I can guarantee you felt like you hunted. I can say I have learned more from 2 guides I know hunting as pro's then any other way.....good guides can plain hunt and it doesn't really matter where they are.

I am most familiar with hunting as it relates to African wildlife; Here is a good start; http://www.americanhunter.org/articles/hunting-saving-african-wildlife/ A specific project to site as reference; http://www.wwf.org.za/what_we_do/green_trust/?2483/Support-from-the-Green-Trust-enables-community-conservation-in-KwaZulu-Natal You can find more of these on the World Wildlife Fund web-site. Here is a link to Conservation Force. This is a legal group based in Washington DC that uses its resources to promote sport hunting as a economic benefit and to fight for hunters rights on an international scale. There are some research papers here that will spell out the crash of game populations in Kenya after the close of hunting there. Among these links and on their site you will find more info on the economic benefit to hunting; http://www.conservationforce.org/links.html and this page is all scientific based papers on the role of hunting as it helps save wildlife and as an economic engine; http://www.conservationforce.org/conservationforce.org/role.html This lists those benefits; http://www.conservationforce.org/conservationforce.org/rolevalueoftouristsafarihunting.html#tourist How about a title; If it pays; it stays.

From what I read brassiacs are like this. It takes time for the deer to adjust as a food source and sometimes they will not if other forage exists. I did several test plots and for me in a non-agricultural area the deer have gone after everything but the turnip bulbs in one season. Pulled the radishes out of the ground to eat. A friend who I split the seed with is in farmland and the deer haven't touched any of his plots; they walk by moving to the cut fields. Tried seed from "Seedland" as samples and diakons did well and deer hit them hard for the tops and the roots late this fall and early winter.

So Wes now that you are quiting Hudson Valley Sportsman; just think all the time you have here to stalk Backstrapper around. Just so you know this site is private too and you get to post here at the privilege of the owner(s) Good luck

Well done T-M.... I kill more than a few a year and skin like this; How to Skin a Squirrel Video If your just keeping the back and front legs you can cut them off thru the joints and not gut them. I carry a gallon zip look bag in my fanny pack for the meat and another for the tails.