Taxidermy Turnaround Times
A recent posting on taxidermy turnaround times resulted in considerable discussion on what is a reasonable delivery time. The consensus appeared to center around a year, give or take. It was expressed that much shorter turnarounds often entail rush jobs and short cuts that can result in quality problems. Likewise, turnarounds that stretch too much beyond a year are unreasonable for a well run, efficient operation. I think the year or so benchmark is very reasonable, especially for smaller, locally owned operations that concentrate on North American game. Some operations are just one or two man businesses. For a few, taxidermy is even a sideline. Most are dependent on outside tanneries for getting capes tanned. And by depending largely on North American trophies, their work load can be very uneven. The work floods in during October, November and December and falls off drastically at other times of the year.
However, it is very possible to get absolutely top quality award winning taxidermy done in much less time. Just a couple of examples. Animal Artistry in Reno, Nevada promises a 90 day turnaround. The Wildlife Gallery, Blanchard, MI has a standard six month turnaround with a three month premium option. And there are a number of others around the country.
These outfits share some common characteristics. They are large and staffed to handle North American, African, Asian, etc. trophies on a year around basis; and have more uniform work loads. Because of their size, they often have a number of specialists that concentrate on specific tasks such as habitat work, taxidermy form shaping, finishing work such as painting etc. Their efficiency can be better than the "Jack of All Trades". They usually run their own tanning operations and frequently tan for others.
They also share one other commonality: They can be expensive compared to your local taxidermist. So you can get top quality work with short turnarounds. Just be prepared to pay!