a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

i have a deer that has a fully upside-down rack. both antlers come down along-side his face and extend past his jaw. i took him to be mounted and the job was horrible. they cut off most of his neck, which was huge, his ears are splitting already and his nose is cracked. the stitching is highly visible around the mouth. i'd like to find a new cape and have him re-done but i'm unsure about how i want him positioned. right now he's in the standard head-on alert pose but with only about half of his neck and i don't like it at all. since he is such a strange deer (also all grey) i'd like to do something different with him. any suggestions?

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

Would be nice to see some close up pics of it. You say the coat was all gray?

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

Did you take any photos after you shot it,prior to skinning it?????
If so,I would like to see them posted! How much did it weigh?

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

That is a weird one, you can het a new cape and have it remounted .

Stitches around the mouth ? havent seeing anyone do that in 40 years.

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

Ive mounted a lot of bucks with long drop tines, so I got a sneeking suspiscion I know why you said he was grey, yet the pic looks like a normal colored deer. Did his drop tines rub the sides of his neck, rubbing the colored tip off the hairs, down to the grey root of the hair? Ill bet Im right, they call this brooming. I see this on really big drop tined bucks capes.

As for the mount, sorry to hear. When guys in these forums (not the taxidermy category though) give me a hard time for being expensive and taking a long time to get the work back, now you see why guys like me do. Its expensive to do better work, and it takes longer, because more guys like the work, and back us up!

As for your question, I think hes an oddity enough not to need anything special to attract attention, he does so already. Id suggest a semi Upright, as the drop tines would run alongside his neck that way, and flow nicely to the eye. Other mounts would make the drop tines stick out below the neck and disrupt that flow, or eye appeal. Just my opinion, though.

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

Thanks Bill. The guy who I had mount him was new and he had some impressive mounts in his shop. I didn't find out until later that he didn't do them. Talk about false advertisement. I got my money back so now to find a cape.

It doesn't show up very well in that picture since its been bouncing around in my truck and on the floorboard for months, but his body did have a lot of grey hairs. It could have been something to do with how I found him and shot him. Somebody had arrowed him in the should during archery season, which was a good month before I found him. He was all gangreen in his leg and his leg had broken off, he was just dragging it. He would take a few steps, fall and use his antlers to get back up. He was still a bit in velvet when he was shot. I was walking through my own property during rifle season when I spotted him coming down a well-used deer trail toward water. Took aim and fired. I had known about him because the local ENCON who is a friend of mine was alerted about the deer by the hunter who lost him. I contacted my friend when I shot him and he contacted the original hunter who told me I could keep him since it was me who finished him. He was malnourished, underweight and definetly suffering.

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

Just my observation from the picture. are the tips of his antlers a dark brown? Hard to describe but do they almost look discolored. From the picture it looks like your deer had that disease that eats away at the rack but it is hard to tell and it might be how the light. I am not sure what the disease is called but it does eat away at the rack and the brow areas will become soft and spongy...

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

Thats the thing about drop tines. They are often porous because the blood pools in them and doesnt circulate as well. They usually retain some of the velvet too. Drop tines that DO have better circulation are harder and pointed at the end. Drop tines that are porous usually are bigger, and soon shrink and also break off. Ive raised many bucks with drops as well as ones coming into my studio, and this is what Ive come to see. Hope this helps you all.

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

the bottoms are very dark brown and they do have a dried-up sponge appearence to them. they have holes in them and clubs where it appears there used to be points or where points failed to grow. strangest deer i've ever seen.

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

If you ever entertain thoughts of giving up that rack to a good collection, let me know!

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

Bill do you know what diseaseI am talking about though?I see quite a few deer down here with it. The tips of the horns turn a real dark brown and almost become spongy. I guess it slowly eats away at the horns.

RE: a taxidermist's opinion needed
 

Michelle, I too hear of such things, disease that affects the density, etc, but I dont happen to agree with the theory. I dont recall what they call it, or who suggested it but you know me, I often have my own opinion! What Ive described Ive seen first hand. But Im sure not saying you are wrong, though, I hope you didntmisinterpret my comments.