How much money do taxidermists make? Is it enough to support a family with 2 growing children? Will you still have time to hunt?

Ooops! I meant "earn" not learn. Sorry.

There's simply no answer to that. It depends on their skills as a taxidermist and a businessman(woman). Some do well, while others barely get by. It will certainly cut into hunting time, but how much depends on how that person schedules their time.

You "earn" more when you "learn" more in taxidermy. ANY good taxidermist'll tell you about studying pictures till your eyes hurt [8D]and learning about proper ear placement, eye structure, attitude, and about a thousand other things you have to learn to make good money at it. Any good taxidermist'll also tell you about how your hunting hours become near nothing[:@], fishing you can all but forget about, working till 11 pm and then starting again at 7 am, never spending the time you wan twith your family and friends. Any good taxidermist'll also tell you they wouldn't change a thing.

Like nctaxi said. It all depends on your skill level as a taxidermist. 90% of your customers will be referals from freinds or previous customers. It doesn't matter if you are a full time taxidermist or do it part time. You are going to work long hours a lot of times. I work as a Heavy Equipment Mechanic durring the day and do taxidermy on the nights and weekends as a part time buisness. Yesterday I was in the shop from 9:30 am to 3 am this morning.

I may be totaly wrong about this and I sure hope i am for a lot of people sakes but.....taxidermy is no longer a guarded secret like it use to be. Lots of people are doing it as part time buisnesses now or a hobby.It won't be long befor cabelas, Bass Pro, and the other big hunting stors will start selling Deer mounting kits and others. In my opinion unless you are an Extremely good taxidermist or the only one in an area it will be difficult to make a living from taxidermy.

I feel that if you can mount something and it looks real, and the GENERAL public likes it, you are half way there. Then you need a marketing plan. Finally you need funds or a full time job to get you by till the work starts coming in. None of this is easy, or is it going to happen overnight. Good luck to all who try, because I wouldn't do anything else. I do what I love and I can't wait to go to work every day.

Rich