TimberlandTaxidermy

I can't speak to your taxidermist and situation, but often when a deer is killed and pics are taken with the deer lying on the ground, the neck is relaxed and the head sits way down on it making the neck look bigger than it is. Now if the pics are taken with the deer hanging the muscles can sag a bit towards the head, also making the neck look bigger. Most taxidermists either take measurements from the carcass or the tanned skin. Both methods are accurate and should leave you with results similar to that of the living animal. If a taxidermist were to mount a deer on a form that was too small, it would be very difficult to do, and there would most likely be wrinkles in the skin, etc. If they were to use a form that was 1" smaller ("one size smaller") you most likely could not tell the difference because the size is so close, visually there isn't much of a change. Keep in mind I am speaking of competent, quality taxidermists that are good at what they do. I have seen some real hack jobs by cheap hacksidermists that I couldn't begin to tell you how they ended up with the finished product they have. Some pics of your mount might be helpful.