or I could try and stop by his house and talk to him
That's what I would do. I'd just talk to him man to man. Tell him, if he's got too much trouble in his life, I'll take it somewhere else. If he says he can do it, then ask for timelines. No more money, though.
To me, the cape is just as much a part of my deer as the horns. If you caught a 10 foot marlin, would you be happy putting its bill on the body of a 4 foot marlin? What if you shoot a 250-300lb, thick-necked rutting buck? Are you really going to find that cape on the butcher's floor?