Off season scouting
 

Not what you thought but for anyone that doesn't have a taxidermist, now is the time to look. Every year someone kills a deer that they want mounted, they take it to someone that they don't know and in the end get ripped. Now is the time to find your new best friend, your taxidermist.
Look around until you find one that you like his work and his price. Even better find one that is maybe higher than you want and start making payments. There is a post in the taxidermy section that brought this to mind, the guy got screwed. Educate yourself, find out what is standard today. Learn about who in your area is good and who isn't. Find out if they tan or dry preserve and which one you want. Don't always go with what they have ontheir walls either, get references and call them.
Talk to them and find out what they expect as far as field care, payments and anything else that you can do to make your trophy better. It all begins the minute that you pull the trigger/release. If you shoot a big one and ride it around for hours showing it off, be prepared to buy a new cape. Some guys may not have a problem with you cutting the breast out of birds, some may.
Now from my side, because I am a taxidermist, the price that you are gonna pay is the price for that guys craft. If a guy pulls up to my shop in a $25,000 truck with a $4,000 4 wheeler in the bed and wearing $300 camo, then he want to beat me down on price or tell me that I'm too high, I tell them that I done bargain. 3 deer are 3 deer, 3x the work of one. Done properly, a mount will last a lifetime and when your 80 and sitting around in your rockin chair you will still have that trophy, even long after that $25,000 truck is done.
I hope that this will help one of you from getting ripped off and end up with a trophy that will be your pride and joy and not something you look at and kick yourself.

RE: Off season scouting
 

This happened to me last year. I knew the buck was in the area but never thought I would kill it with my bow. It was Christmas and I had know idea where to take the deer and could not get a hold of anybody because of the holidays.

RE: Off season scouting
 

I NOW have THREE taxidermists......lol.

nctaxi did my piebald hide....and I've seen his work. VERY nice quality!

I've got a taxi/friend that I shoot with (indoors), some......that came over and picked up my turkey, Friday.

RE: Off season scouting
 

very good advise taxi, excellent post. luckily i have an awesome taxi for deer, BUT he dosent do turkeys anymore, so im shopping around for a turkey taxi right now. Funny you brought this up, i was talking to my father inlaw today about aturkey taxidermist,one thathe and I both hadused in the past. It was brought to my attention that the one heand Iused had gone thru a nasty divorce and she ended up throwing all capes, mounts, and antlers in the dumpster [:@]man i bet there were some pissed off people.

RE: Off season scouting
 

I get calls every year from guys wanting their deer redone. I generally don't have time but it's a real shame. I just wanted to get everyone thinkingabout next season. Right now I am working on an outfitter that is trying to find a new taxidermist because the one he was using isn't doing it for him anymore.

RE: Off season scouting
 

I have a friend who does it full time. I help him out during gun season caping heads just to keep ahead, specially if its warm. I also flip hides for him in my spare time. So I am at his shop a lot. It is amazing how dumb some people are about their deer hides. Letting them hang in warm weather and skinning the deer and not taking care of the hide and expecting a perfect mount. We always tell them to treat the cape just like you treat the meat. Both of them start to rot as soon as the deer is dead.

Great post and I hope it saves someones trophy of a lifetime. If you get a big one do your homework!! Better yet, like nc said do it now!

RE: Off season scouting
 

One other thing that I forgot to mention, learn how to cape a deer out. Yes learn! Every year guys bring me capes frozen telling me that they have caped out "tons of deer". Only to find out that they rung the legs off too short. Replacement capes on big neck deer run upwards of $200, add that onto a mount charge and we're getting up there. Last year 13 of the deer were cut short, form alterations aren't cheap either. When in doubt, find out.

RE: Off season scouting
 

I have a buddy who has a relative's deer head mounted in his basement, and this deer is a 200+ non-typical buck that needs to be re-mounted, will they need to get a new cape or will the taxi use the existing? also, any tips for doing so?

RE: Off season scouting
 

He needs a new cape. If you can't get one yourself you might try ebay, or your taxi can probably find onefor him. They usually have spare capes from people who just want horn mounts.

RE: Off season scouting
 

thanks for the tip!