Elk Mount
 

Picked up my elk mount from taxidermist today. Scored 330" P&Y taken in unrated New Mexico unit DIY solo backpack. Midwesterner got lucky. :party0005:

Please share yours if you picked one up lately. Did semi-sneak slight turn. But it looks like taxi angled the rack down too far so tips would not hit the wall.

Congrats on the elk. Looks good.

Congrats on a nice bull.

Congrats on a nice bull and a definite hunting achievement. Bet he looks great on the wall. :biggrin:

How long are his main beams if you know?

Main Beams 52 6/8 & 50 0/8
Inside spread 42 5/8
Brow tines avg. 14 4/8
Swords 15 6/8 & 17 1/8

Was looking at this guy tryng to maneuver in home unsuccessfully, then noticed my coming moose rack is 8" wider that this! :( Neither can get past my living room. Good thing I'm already divorced.


When I was at taxidermist he showed me a 425 bull. But then rolls his eyes and mentions it was farm raised in Illinois, then shipped up to a fenced hunting ranch in Saskatchewan to be "hunted".

Magnificent looking mount Zim.

Did he give you any idea how much longer on the moose?
Lotta interest here back East to see it!

Taxidermist told me my moose is scheduled to be done in May. He had 2 full mount turkey in his shop where he did the freeze dried heads which are not easy. They were so incredible I took photos.

Congrats on a great bull and great mount !

He looked long... isn't 50 long and 60 is huge?

I hear ya on the farm raised monster elk Zim, seen a few of those at a taxi myself! It's almost a detriment to hunters to even see so many monsters like that only to find out farm raised... just shows you how rare a true 400" in the wild is.

I'm still looking for my 1st 300"+ with the bow... gonna have to wait at least another year too I believe, as no western elk hunts planned for this fall.

If I draw any tags it'll be a great one at least, only putting in for the sheep/goats this fall, ie. long shots.

Keep up the good work!

btw you either need an addition/wider doorway, or time to move ;) haha. tell the ex you're moving to a bigger house so you have more room for mounts haha!

Nice bull, congrats

Very nice. Congrats. HD.

Great Mount Zim. Not sure if those are your trucks I'm seeing in Chicago lately. Had one right by my place in Madison the other day. Got me scratching my head if it was you or not.

Nice bull! Congrats. I'm going on my first elk hunt in Colorado this fall. 5 day drop camp and hunt from horseback. Really looking forward to it.

Haha no those are not my trucks! :) I was working in the burbs last summer and saw one coming, and had my camera in hand, so I took a photo. Can't believe some company stole my handle! :mad:

Way to go he is a nice one.

Problem
 

Here's a good view of the problem. The taxidermist mounted this on a regular form, instead of an antler clearance form.

I don't know what to do. It is screwed up. The rack should be tilted back at about 30 degrees, rather than parallel to the muzzle. When it is displayed next to my other two elk, this one will look very funny.

awesome mount, elk is on my bucket list. I'm not a huge fan of the mounts where the heads are turned to the side but I'd never seen one done like that. I'm very impressed!

are people actually aware that they're shooting farmed deer that have been moved or do the outfitters do the old switcheroo on em before the hunt and then say to the hunter "Gosh look at that monster we stumbled on"?

I see what you mean. Great definition on the face though of the mount. Nice whitetail in the background too!

Zim,
First off, Congratulations on a Great animal!
I hope you didn't have to pay much for the mount though. You can tell its not good, and its not. You need to take it back and demand he fix it or you will spend the rest of your life looking at it as it is. It was a dream to take him, now don't let the dream be ruined by a bad mount job! Its tough to stand up when talking to a taxidermist, but if he is worth his salt he will fix it, and by the way, offer to give him a(( LITTLE)) (no more than 150 to $200 extra to fix it if you can afford it. In the end everyone will be happy.

Mount
 

Here is mine

Here is mine.It shouldn't be a problem to open stitches on top of head and reposition the skull plate.If it won't clear wall ,maybe a pedistal mount?Just an idea.

CONGRTAS on a fine bull Zim, do you have a picture of your elk dead or alive before skinning?
here is my wife's 2012 P&Y DIY NM bull, just got shipped in last week. Haven't had it officially scored yet but it is a 320ish bull before deductions.

Awesome bull! Done free range and the RIGHT way!

Great animal and I'm sure as heck you smile knowing you actually worked for your prize!

Fixed NM Elk
 

Well, I hung my elk up on the wall but really got tired of looking at the bad rack angle, so I did end up taking it back to the taxidermist and he fixed it. He remounted the antlers and did a pedestal mount. He made the rough sawn barnwood pedestal himself. I'm picking it up Monday.

He does not want me to pay any more, but I am. Because I know it took a lot of time, and I did not pay for a pedestal mount. So I will pay some more maybe $250 or $300.

Pretty darn impressive animal Zim. Looking back at the first mounting job, I can see what you meant about the antler angle now. Much nicer this way.

What up, Jay! Ya I don't have room for a pedestal mount, but it's so good too see this bull mounted correctly. The taxidermist was apologetic, and it's all good now, I hope. We'll see up close when I pick him up, but the photos were big scale and it looked good. It's not my biggest bull, but he's my most special because it was my first solo backpack trip, and I was way back up in the wilderness 5 miles. Then last month I fell down at work and tore cartilage in my left knee. I don't know if I will be able to do this type hunt again. I'll never be able to workout as hard as I used to.

The guy has my NH moose form in and has the rack mounted. Just working on the cape now. Should be done next week. I am departing for Wyoming Sept. 7th.

Hey I drew what could be a very special deer tag last Friday. My county just started allowing hunting on county land last year. This year they opened up their best quality unit, and I drew the first season Oct. 1 - Nov. 16th! It's 280 acres prime habitat and there's only 2 of us with tags, each with our own zones. Slammers live in that area so I am hopeful it's good as advertised.

NM Elk
 

Here's some field photos so you can see the country I had to climb up into above timberline. Shot him at 11,800'.

You can see the correct angle of the rack. The taxi had me send him these field photos so he could try to match that angle.