World Record, Worlds Worst Mount?

[dave6x6]

The King buck may have lost it's chance at being the new typical world record holder but at least it will have another record in my eyes anyway. The worst mount i've ever seen on a world class deer. Now maybe i'm missing something that you tax. experts can point out, but I'm just not seeing anything I like about this at all. What the heck were they thinking.

[RTF]

Who mounted it? Is there any other pics?

[dave6x6]

I'm not sure who mounted it. I found this pic when i googled kig buck and clicked on the images. There are a couple more on there if you want a better look. I picked this one because it was particularly ugly. I'm sure i could find out who did it with alittle google work but I wouldn't be braggin' if i did it. And taxidermy guys know what this mount is called? ( So I know what not to choose on my next mount) And whats with the right eye peaking sideways like a frightened dog thats just been kicked in the fanny?

[WNYBuckHunter]

That looks like the same basic form as I had my first buck done with, which is the semi-sneak mount if its a McKenzie form. Mine looks nice, Im thinking the reason that looks bad isnt due to the form itself.

[dave6x6]

That does not look like a semi-sneak to me, unless he's hanging on the wall totally cock-eyed. Look how the head is cocked. Here's a semi-sneak done by a pro.

[wdswtr]

Well I guess it depends on the your likes. Really not easy to tell from a picture. What I do not like in a mount is one that is all prettied up and looks so flawless its fake looking. I actually like mounts better that show a more realistic view of them in the wild with there scars or any flaws not touched up. If lots of pictures where taken and this is how the buck looked then its a great mount in my eyes. On another note how is this not a typical buck? After seeing the picture of the mount what is the big debate about? What am I missing? Sure looks typical to me.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Its cockeyed on the wall.

I dont like the extra wrinkly and exaggerated looking muscle tone look, etc, but we wont start that argument again lol.

[dave6x6]

Here is the issue. Maybe it is just a crooked semi sneak. Whats with the scared look?

Edited June 19, 2012 by dave6x6

[aoudadhunter]

I think thats a stretch to say he's a non-typical

[Culvercreek hunt club]

The controversy is all about the "common base" of the G2&3's.

What I don't like about the mount is the orientation of the ears. They aren't rotated the same. i am sure they can do that naturally but I would like them both at alert.

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Different view.

[nyantler]

I think thats a stretch to say he's a non-typical

Nobody is saying he is a non-typical... just that the point in question is abnormal.. making it a deduction. The buck was still scored as a typical.

[nyantler]

Well I guess it depends on the your likes. Really not easy to tell from a picture. What I do not like in a mount is one that is all prettied up and looks so flawless its fake looking. I actually like mounts better that show a more realistic view of them in the wild with there scars or any flaws not touched up. If lots of pictures where taken and this is how the buck looked then its a great mount in my eyes. On another note how is this not a typical buck? After seeing the picture of the mount what is the big debate about? What am I missing? Sure looks typical to me.

I agree that the mounts look better with all the battle scars, but the positioning of the mount doesn't look natural. It is typical.. refer to previous post.

[ny hunter]

That first pic just looks like deer deer is cocked a bit.

[dave6x6]

I am sort of a fan of the ears in different positions but not the position this guy did. It just seems like a few small mistakes add up to an odd looking deer. Here's an example of a deer in the wild that i would like to try on my next mount. If the ears followed the main beam alittle closer, i think it wouldn't look so shotty. Then the eyes with one fully black, looking forward, and the other with whites in the corner like he's looking sideways..??

[wdswtr]

All good points Dave but without seeing live pictures of it or soon after the kill, how do we know his eyes were not just what are reproduced in the mount? I honestly think this is a great mount if indeed it replicates its more natural state than a just glamoured up deer mount. Its a tad different but not so much at the same time as well. Either way I would be proud to have that hanging on my wall. But and I say But lol the ears do look a tad funny the way they are, and I say that cause I keep looking at the darn thing and the more I look the more the ears stand out LMAO

Edited June 20, 2012 by wdswtr

[finfeathr]

Trying to judge a mount by a photo alone is difficult at best..you really have to look at it in person. Camera angles and flash settings can make a great mount look dopey sometimes. The ear position is ok. Alot of guys want thier ears in different poses, and whitetails can and do rotate thier ears independently. The eyes are rotated one rearward, one forward. This is correct for a deer looking toward the rear like the one pictured. Like I said, the photography is probably more "off" than the mount. I know that I sometimes take quick photos of mounts before customers pick them up, and they don't look as good as the mount on the wall sometimes to me.....

Dave, your mount does not seem like a semi-sneak from your photo at all. I would classify that as an upright or semi-upright. A semi-sneak is like the mount you don't care for, head more even with the shoulder.

General rule of thumb:

Head above the shoulders...upright

Head even with shoulders...semi-sneak

Head below the shoulder...Full sneak

Of course, with each new catalog, there are new positions, such as: semi-upright,flehmen, pedestal, wall pedestal, full sneak head up/down, 90% turn, offset shoulder, aggressive, hooking, and on and on....

Rich

[landtracdeerhunter]

Would like to see the mount in person, for a more accurate assessment. Pictures don't do them any justice. Agreed

Edited June 20, 2012 by landtracdeerhunter

[WNYBuckHunter]

Rich, hers a pic of mine that was done using the McKenzie semi-sneak RT (right turn) form. The head is above the shoulders...

Looks like its the same or similar mount and position to me.

[dave6x6]

Rich, Thanks for your expert views and your right about pics. I know I've tried to get pics of my mounts to show people and it sometimes takes 20 shots to find one that looks decent. LOL Taxidermy certainly is evolving into more realistic looking mounts and maybe because it's so different then what were accustom to, it sometimes looks odd. I'm admittedly a semi-sneak guy (as far as I know all 6 on the wall were ordered Semi sneak, left or right), and I'm set in my ways about a few things . No whites in the eyes, to me it makes the deer look scared even if it's more natural. Ears forward, not like a race horse that you shot running across a field. And i like the ears to follow just below the beams but follow the shape of the beams. To each his own.

[dave6x6]

By the way, dispite everything i told the very reputable taxidermist in Wyoming, I was a bit disappointed with his mount he did on my mulie. The guide told me when i shot him that it was one of the largest neck he's ever seen on a mulie and i really stressed that i wanted that displayed. Well here's the pics and when i look at it it doesn't even look at all likie the day i wrapped my hands around him.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Same thing happened on my 12 point. Even after my comments and pictures and measurements and having HIM cape it our. THe neck was not even close to the size it was in real life. Looks good but not the same.

[wdswtr]

That is just sick to even see Dave. Even the skull cap is more rounded than whats in the picture. Makes you wonder how much hide he trimmed off when he sewed the darn thing up. Hope you beat him up on the price. I have had that very same thing happen on a buck. Boy Im still pissed off about it. I even took the neck measurements with the guy and made sure it was correct before he ordered the form. Yeah not even close and what pissed me off even worse was he was starting to cape out a buck he had shot and the neck was no where's near the size of the one I brought in. Funny how when the two mounts were done his neck was exaggerated drastically and mine lost alot of inches. I looked on the back of his deers mount and yep you guessed it two seams where he cut in more hide to get it around the form, mine had a big bunched up pile of skin on the seam where it should have been fitted to a larger form. I ended up paying cost of materials and thats it.

Edited June 21, 2012 by wdswtr

[dave6x6]

I didn't have much choice but to pay him up front and then head to the airport. I even payed to ship it when he was done so I didn't know anything til the crate showed up 6 months later. We dropped off 4 mulies that day and i think he just ordered the same form for all of them. Anyway, I have the pics and memories and i hunted with my dad and brothers so i can't complain too much. Here's one more picture to show just how big this guy was. Funny thing is, if the guy had done a mount exactly as he was, no one would have believed it and I would have been acused of stretching it on a bloated form. LOL

[finfeathr]

A semi sneak is supposed to be just that..SEMI sneak, meaning head close to even with the shoulders. Mckenzie even sends out a poster for taxidermists to keep in the shop to show customers, and explain the difference to them. It clearly shows a dotted line going through the form between the head and shoulders to illustrate the differences of the three main poses..roughly even with the shoulders is a semisneak, below shoulders is fullsneak, and well above is an upright. WNY buckhunters deer looks more upright or semiupright to me...do you know what series# from mckenzie it is? Like I said, there are lots of different classifications of forms nowadays, but a semisneak always had the head roughly even with the shoulders. I will try to show a photo of a semi I did last week when I get a chance. The head is much closer to the shoulder height than the photos you guys have posted..I will try to post something up...