Got my mount back

[SweetMike]

I got my mount back on sunday. here are a few pics. i had it mounted on a McKenzie 8000 series semi up right. This years is the one on the left

[burmjohn]

Wow, nice man!

[letinmfly]

Looks good!!

Tuck in the hair, using the back edge of a knife, all the way around the back of the deer.  It'll give it a better/neater look. IMO

[skyzmine]

real nice ;D

[erussell]

time for a bigger house, your running out of room. 

[Geno C]

nice mounts! cant tell on the new one if its just the hair pattern of the deer or if the mount  on the facial looks a little weird? either way nice!

[Fletch]

Looking good!

[Karpteach]

Looks great!

[SteveMcD]

Congrats! Very Nice!

[SweetMike]

yeah i agree Geno. im not really crazy about the face shape. under the jaw is to square and the top of the nose should have the "roman" shape to it. but i guess theres nothing i can do about it now.. I guess ill know for this years mounter lol. optimism at its best..

[Dinsdale]

Remember next time - a good mount should take at least 6 months to get back. If it takes any less, the Taxidermist didn't have the hide tanned properly. This is what my Taxidermist told me and he does competition taxidermy.

This is not necessarily true......

Some of the best taxidermists can and do in-house tanning that is on par with commercial dry or wet tans. Tanning time has nothing to do with quality of putting together the mount.

Most commercial tanning turn around time with taxidermists is based on waiting to send in multiple skins on the taxidermist end and then the tanning company doing a batch at once on their end. Some taxidermists send in multiple batches and other wait to the end of the season, and that changes the return schedual.

In addition you can pay to have a cape expedited through tanning (usually at 2x the standard price) at commercial tanneries. Turn around is often a few weeks.

I will however state that there are folks who use what are considered dry preservatives that are not true tanning. These mounts can last 20 years but moisture from the air can degrade them sometimes. These mounts are often at the lower price range due to the lesser amount of time they take to apply and they reduce turn around time.

[Geno C]

yeah i agree Geno. im not really crazy about the face shape. under the jaw is to square and the top of the nose should have the "roman" shape to it. but i guess theres nothing i can do about it now.. I guess ill know for this years mounter lol. optimism at its best..

lol ok it wasnt just me then... but it looks good none the less, i would be very happy with it on my wall!

[SweetMike]

By the sounds of it this taxidermist splits his tannery shipments into 4 deliveries.  one early bow season, one at the end of bow. and the same with gun.. as far as the head looking a little off i think it is the form itself not the taxidermist. looking at the Mckenzie catalog the mounts look the same.

[Dinsdale]

Remember next time - a good mount should take at least 6 months to get back. If it takes any less, the Taxidermist didn't have the hide tanned properly. This is what my Taxidermist told me and he does competition taxidermy.

This is not necessarily true......

Some of the best taxidermists can and do in-house tanning that is on par with commercial dry or wet tans. Tanning time has nothing to do with quality of putting together the mount.

Most commercial tanning turn around time with taxidermists is based on waiting to send in multiple skins on the taxidermist end and then the tanning company doing a batch at once on their end. Some taxidermists send in multiple batches and other wait to the end of the season, and that changes the return schedual.

In addition you can pay to have a cape expedited through tanning (usually at 2x the standard price) at commercial tanneries. Turn around is often a few weeks.

I will however state that there are folks who use what are considered dry preservatives that are not true tanning. These mounts can last 20 years but moisture from the air can degrade them sometimes. These mounts are often at the lower price range due to the lesser amount of time they take to apply and they reduce turn around time.

Are you a Taxidermist? If so, i have a question that I would like to PM to ya.

Sent you a PM.....

No I am not a pro taxidermist. I am however involved with several as a supplier; and I have a working relationship with a few tanneries for my own skins (hunting and cattle) and others from the cattle industry. I have also assisted in the taxidermy of some of my own mounts from skinning to paint with a good friend who is a pro, and have been "exposed" to the industry a bit more than most hunters.

[letinmfly]

Remember next time - a good mount should take at least 6 months to get back. If it takes any less, the Taxidermist didn't have the hide tanned properly. This is what my Taxidermist told me and he does competition taxidermy.

That's not true.  My friend is a taxidermist and it all depends on when capes go out to the tannery and when they get back from the tannery.  It also depends on the individual taxidermist's schedule.  They don't just work on deer heads all the time.  They'll switch things around just not to be doing only one species or mount all the time.  I've had deer head mounts back in 2 months and they all look good. 

Sounds like your taxidermist just told you that to give himself leeway in returning customers work, and there's nothing wrong with giving yourself a little cushion.

[G-Man]

As for the face looking a little wierd...the taxidermist probably just used the form and didn't modify it to fit the exact hide,(most fits all) the top taxidermists will take many measurments and ask for pics of your game, every deer is different done have longer noses or shorter noses,the rack may sit higher or lower on hte skull, that causes big difference in prices as well,if they take the time to modify the form. As for the turn around time lots of factors come into play..full time/ part time taxidemist? commercially tanned or in house? how many heads taken in?

[Geno C]

yeah there are many variables that come into play at that point...

i think mine took about 4 months when my cousin did mine and it came out mint and still looks mint to this day. so i dont think the 6 month rule applies every situation.