Newarcher Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 I got the deer off a lifetime (well of my lifetime to date anyway) last season...missed him the week before and came back to finish the job one week later. In fact, he was standing in the same shooting lane but 15 yards closer when I got him. I took it to the taxidermist here in town who others have had good luck with. Here's the result. Am I just being picky or does it look as bad as I think? I was in a hurry and the lighting wasn't good when I picked it up so it wasn't until I got it home that I really had a chance to look at it. First, the original deer, freshly dead: Overall mount: His left eye and tear duct: His right eye and tear duct: His left nostril: His right nostril: Mouth front on: Right side of mouth: Left side of mouth: Back of mount's head: Left profile: Right profile: Thanks, New Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebohio Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 looks ok to me but when i put photos of my mount up everyone hated it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kat Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 How much you pay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newarcher Posted June 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 $325 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leochbattery Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 not so exp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newarcher Posted June 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 Not so exp means what....not so experienced or not so expensive? That's the going rate in my area so it wasn't that I was bargain shopping or something. Please by all means take a look at the mount pictures and let me know everything you see. I plan to compile a list and call this lady back and demand my money back. If she won't give it back, I will just take her to small claims court. There's plenty of evidence that this mount was screwed up. But since this is my first, I need to give her a list of what's wrong. Can you guys just post what you see that looks bad? Thanks, New Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) New...the pics show some obvious mistakes..eye lids are sagging, mouth looks like an 80 year old man without teeth..nostrals.are not right either..back of the head looks like hide is bunched up, and i bet the seam is sticking up along the top of neck too..I would have liked to see a pic of the ears...I bet they are going to seperate and split in time...overall I see a lack of detail....take it to another taxidermist that is repitable, and ask what they see wrong...your mount looks like an amatuer did it. When I compared your pics to my mounts by (Wallhanger Taxidermy Cable WI.)...it is pretty clear the shoddy workmanship If this was her first mount I'd cut her some slack..it may be fit to hang in a hunting shack..I would not have paid for that job. Edited June 3, 2011 by Mathews XT Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newarcher Posted June 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 I took it to a taxidermist who competes in national shows and did a bass for me that was just the bomb. I thought he had closed after we moved from that town but he's still there. He has some African game which are just sick crazy in both workmanship and beauty. Now I know why guys want to go there. He's going to either replace the eyeballs or hit them with some brown paint to give them some depth instead of just being stone black--I get that look enough from my wife's eyes! He's going to fix the back of the skull. He is going to paint the tear ducts a creme/tan mix to lighten them up and get rid of that charcoal/ash color/texture she put on it. Lastly, he is going to wet and relax the nose and redo it to be correct, including adding some lighter color (peach/orange/tan) to make it look more lifelike. Oh yeah, he's also going to fix the ears, something I didn't notice. He noticed that the inside of the ears were a tan/orange color from where she didn't paint them. She just left them sort of a tanned rawhide color. He's doing it all for $100. Thanks, New Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Honestly seen much worse New, and think a suit is a bit overboard. Might have asked the taxidermist who originally did the work if they were aware of those things you are not happy with. For $325 would not expect to get a mount that looked like what you see that wins awards, however would expect to get a mount that was at least respectable and that compared to others in the area that charged the same. Then again different taxidermists seem to have different styles and different ways of doing things and the work will not look exactly the same as the next. Details should be as realistic as possible, when I get to looking at trail cam closeups I notice that detail on live deer can be pretty darned different from each other. We paid an award winning taxidermist for the animals my oldest daughter and I took in Wyoming and to be honest the quality is not all that different than what we have seen in the taxidermist who did most of my mounts. That said the detail is a bit different. We have had 3 different taxidermists mount animals for us and the detail work is not exactly the same with them. Hope all works out with the taxi doing the repair work, still think if it were me and I had an issue I would probably get in touch with the person who did the original work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 If I you had just asked how does it look? I would have said it looks real good for 325.00! In my area that level of work (I'd classify as respectable) goes for about 300.00. A good mount is in the 400's and a detailed mount by the best in this area goes for 5-6 hundred. I don't see the problems everyone has mentioned from the pictures, but pictures rarely show a mount for what it is. No way would I say a law suit is in order, but let you're friends know to go elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Personally think a law suit is way overboard too. I don't think it looks that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alisha Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Personally think a law suit is way overboard too. I don't think it looks that bad. Ditto this. Also, as mentioned before, the sewing on the back of the head does look a tad "bunched up", the ears need painted a tad and a little touch up on the nose. Overall though, I think it looks pretty good for the price you paid. Would like to see some pictures of it hanging up on the wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kat Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 The ears were the first thing I noticed. 325$ is not really worth a law suit in my opinion, but if your not happy I'd definitely let the taxidermist know. I will say the mount doesn't look shabby, but I do see your points on things they could have done better. Best of luck in however you pursue it bud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 New...The right thing to do is what you did in your last post...not a lawsuit. As you discovered, a good, experienced taxidermist can see the errors and he can fix it. I sure wouldn't trust the one who mounted it to fix it...even though it would be free. They had their 1 chance and blew it. OK so it will cost you $100 to get it right for the wall but you'll still just have $425 in it. The taxidermist I use here in MS charges ~$450 for a deer shoulder mount now. He's the same taxidermist that has mounted animals for the MS Natural History Museum. I've been using him for many years and wouldn't dream of changing no matter what the competition charges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newarcher Posted June 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yeah you are all right....I am not suing her and have given up even on doing a chargeback. I've communicated with her by phone and email when I emailed her the pictures of it. She said that was exactly the same as the 350 others she did this year and she gets no complaints. However, when the taxi's in the area don't need to know who did the work to guess who's work it is, that says a lot. The forums for our local hunting rag is full of complaints about her--something I didn't know. Trashy job but it is what it is. I've learned a lesson, I never knew there were competition taxidermists and cheapos. I will say that none of the mounts I have seen from other similiarly priced taxi's were this bad. Oh well, I took the head to a master taxi to fix it and I think they will do a much better job with it. New Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 She said that was exactly the same as the 350 others she did this year and she gets no complaints. 350 in a year.:jaw: Wow, thought the guy we used to use took on too much with doing around 200 and he only does deer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierhunter Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 New- I've seen a lot and I mean a lot worse. My 2nd buck mount looks the same way. I'm slightly dissapointed in the lack of detail but then again I paid 325 for mine as well. No worries you'll shoot one bigger next year and spend the money on him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugleward Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 got your money's worth Sad as it may be in today's market for mounts the amount you paid is about right for a slap-happy job from a commercial taxidermist like you obviously used. How many mounts is she doing in a year? Holy cow. No wonder it looks kinda crappy. All of our quality taxidermists out west here are $500 plus for deer with an average of probably $550. At $325 I would have to say you got what you paid for. I try to tell all my clients the Taxidermist is not a good place to skimp on a once in a lifetime trophy. Just like using a $100 scope on a rifle you intend to take on a $25,000 sheep hunt. You may get lucky a time or two but for sure -- unhappiness is in your future. If you want good quality you need to do your research and then tell the Taxidermist you want a competition quality mount and ask how much he/she charges for that. Good luck with it. Maybe you can hang it in a corner with subtle lighting and it will still look OK then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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