I was just wandering if you guys look for a taxidermist that sends their hides off to get professionally tanned, pay a little extra, and get your mount back in several months? Or would you rather have him chemically preserve the hide, pay a little less, and get your mount back in several weeks?

I am a strong supporter of getting my mount professionally tanned and paying a little extra. I believe it pays off in the long run. I have seen way too many mounts that have cracked and looked like crap after 5 or 10 years after they have been chemically preserved. I know they have supposedly come out w/new chemicals, but who's to say they won't do the same thing down the road. I also know from talkiing to several taxidermists, that a chemically preserved hide will shrink compared to a proffesionally tanned hide that won't. I want my deer looking the same size as he did when I shot him. I know that an extra $50-$150 will pay off in the future, especially if someone has to find a new cape to redo their deer. A remount ends up costing more than a single mount b/c you have to find or buy another cape. Just my 2 cents. I just saw this issue come up another post and figured I would make a post just focusing on this subject. Let me know how you feel.

Not trying to start any arguments here but as a part time taxidermist (hobby) I was trained by the local taxidermist here. He has mounted animals both ways, I have seen mounts of his that were chemically tanned that are over 20 years old and still look great. As far as shinking, a chemically tanned hide will shrink, but only where it has room. I can only imagine the hide that could shrink enough to deform the manikin it is mounted on. In my humble opinion, as long as the hide to be chemically tanned is properly fleshed,sewn etc. you should have a quality mount for years to come. The key is quality, I have seen plenty of really Shxtty mounts out there. Find a taxidermist you are comfortable with, look at some of his/her work and ask questions!

Good luck!

Copy and paste:

There seems to be some confusion. The "chemical tan" your talking about that allows such quick turn arounds is actually dry preserve. It is NOT a tan. It just dries the skin. A taxidermist can tan a skin at home just the same as the big tanneries do it, except for a rug tan. The question to ask is not if they send them out, but whether they used a tanned hide or just use dry preserve. There is a one step tan out, Krowtann, but many people aren't convinced of the long term results of an alum tan. Personally, I've used it and liked it, but have since switched. Honestly, a dry preserved mount CAN be done quite well, but I've seldom seen a taxidermist who thinned the cape well enough for results that will match a well tanned and thinned cape. Most who use dry preserve are more interested in getting mounts out the door fast, and don't take the time to produce the best mount possible. Now, this isn't always the case, but if a deer's worth getting mounted, it's worth paying for the best possible work you can find. And in most cases, that means a taxidermist that uses a tanned hide.

Having used both methods ( I totally prefer tanning regardless the time it takes to get tanned) over the years, I know the tanned mounts look better much longer. I shave all my stuff thin. Dry Preserve or tanned. So thats not an issue. But on a few that friends wanted cheap and quick I have these results. Mounted and painted you can't tell the difference going out the door. I use epoxy hide paste and clay where I need to well,etc... IE done correctly, not McDonalds drive through quick style. In fact time wise the only difference in the end is the cost of the tan and waiting to get it back.

Look at same comparison a year down the road. Pretty close but you can start to tell the DP hide is off color a bit. Look 2-3-5 years down the road and hanging both side by side there is no question that DP got you what it got you. A cheap job. And in fact if you shave too thin with DP it'll crack that much easier.

Now keeping the DP mounts hair well oiled seems to help but not totally alleviate the problem later on.

So if its important to you, whats the cost of an occasional good mount? My do it yourself Caribou hunt in Alaska last fall cost me a minimum (bare bones minimum) of 2500 bucks. In reality adding some gear etc... tips and all to pilots, getting meat home, and so on it was more than that.

So do I get a cheapy mount done for say 400-500 or spend 700 for a lifetime mount? When in this business full time I often would not see my repeat customers more than every 2-5 years for another mount. Amoritized out it won't kill ya to get the better quality. But thats IMHO.

Jeff