Not happy with my mount

usahoe18 · 01-10-2009, 07:16 AM

I'm no expert, but I know whats right from wrong, especially when it concerns me. Deer do not have pink nostrils, and their eyes don't look like this.

To me, it seems as if the form was to big for the hide, and as the taxidermist stretched it on the form, it pulled the nostrils almost inside out, and the same for the eyes. The nostrils should be closed more and the eyes shouldn't have so much gray around them.

And on top of this, the ears seemed to have been sliced when removing the hide from the actual deer, and you can actually see the form for the ears where the ear was sliced.

CAMPFOURCORNERS · 01-10-2009, 08:36 AM

How much did that mount run you?

usahoe18 · 01-10-2009, 08:51 AM

$350 What do you guys see wrong with it? I'm going to call the guy and get him to fix it.

CAMPFOURCORNERS · 01-10-2009, 08:54 AM

the mount is dry now there isnt much he can do with it. the clays is dry around the eyes now. did you check out any of the guys work before you took it to him?

vapredhunter · 01-10-2009, 09:10 AM

All i can say is i would demand my $350.00 back + the cost of a cape or he could order one and i would go to another taxidermy.and if that didn't work for him i would get pics of acceptable deer and take him to cival court.

this deer that i have posted was mounted in the 70's and your's does not look much better i would be upset too.

wingchaser_labs · 01-10-2009, 09:13 AM

Definitly not good but I've seen alot worse. Can't domuch about it except have him paint the nose more. A shot of buckskin and then dark brown leaving a touch of pink in the back of the nostril. Thats about all you can do ecept take it in the butt and do some better research and looking next time you find a new taxi. WCL

WestVirginiaBrent · 01-10-2009, 09:47 AM

Not much you can do other than have him subdue the nose. I've seen worse but obviously the taxidermist hasn't spent much time in the field or even looked at a lot of whitetail deer pictures.

Rickmur · 01-10-2009, 06:23 PM

Paint will fix the nose and the pic is too small to really see what you are talking about with the eyes and ears. Why did you accept the mount in the first place? I dought you will get any money back but remind the guy who did this work that word of mouth advertizing is the best advertizing you can buy and you just bought some for him.

Primetime/IL · 01-10-2009, 07:23 PM

First off, the pic is a bit hard to go by. If you can post a picture of the whole mount and closeup of the face region we could help you better judge the mount quality. As others have said the mount from that pic doesnt seem to be the worst Ive seen by no means but could use some improvement in areas. The eye shape does seem a bit off and the ear butts need more detail & shape. As far as the inner nose goes...deer do have pink inside them but maybe not quite as high of a tone as it has.

As far as getting your refund most likely not, this is a prime example of why it is very important to look around before you settle on a taxidermist. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. However, I will say some $350 taxis can do just as good if not better work then one charging $450+ and vise versa. You just have to get out and look and know what a good quality mount is from a bad. Check out real pictures of deer and see how they reference compared to your mount. Pay close attention to eyes, ears, and nose as that is what brings out a quality mount. Find one that TANS the hides not DP (dry preservative) Also find out how many years they have been in the industry and if they are part of their states taxidermy association. More then likely if they compete for ribbons it tells yah someone that stays up to date on their latest tricks & techniques thus resulting in higher quality work.

usahoe18 · 01-10-2009, 09:42 PM

The ones I've seen he has done look fine.