NJheadhunter71

Here is the deal son. Start out tinkering while young (now I suppose) and get a feel for it to see if it is something you would like to do. Get some videos, books ect ect ect..... The pay can be good and I know full timers making 50 - 75k or more a year. Here is the catch, they have been in the biz a long time in order to reach that clientele level. Work must be very good to outstanding to compete with the mounts that some guys are getting $600+ for. You will have a job all year long given you have enough mounts with goes back to the latter. As a matter of fact if you get good enough, professional enough and run it right you will have enough work till your blue in the face. Remember some large studio's get work allot of work in the summer too because the hunting seasons on the other side of the planet are opposite of ours. Mount a 10 animal African safari and depending on the mount\type life size\shoulder mount you can make what some guys take a year to make. Also by the time you get your hides back from the tannery in 2-4 months you will be swamped all the time. You are basically working on last years kills the following season (again if you are busy) You will be skinning and mounting all winter long! For your last question about schools, there are many and many good ones. Some go straight to schools and others (like me) max there skills out and feel a professional (competition judge or advanced class) will hone your skills. Some schools have actual reference there (live animals) so you can study anatomy.

Any more questions? LOL