"Help" info from Taxiderm. needed !!!
 

I have hunted for several years and never got a big, BIG,buck. This year I did. So of course I want to get it mounted. I have never had anything mounted and I just started inquiring around my area for a good price yet quality work. From all that I have been told down through the years and read here on the forum, everyone sends their hides off to be tanned and this is a big part of the time involved. So, I was really shocked when I spoke to this lady on the phone today and she told me she does not send her hides off to be tanned. She says that she has something that she "dips and or puts" them in that cures them out very quickly. She said there is no shrinkage like you sometimes get from tanning and she has been doing it like this for going on 20 years now. She said that it takes her no more than 3 weeks to complete a full shoulder mount, considering she was working on only one at a time. Have any of you ever heard of the process she uses? Does this hold up over time? I have been told by several people that her work looks great and they would continue using her as long as she kept doing it. Just thought maybe I could get some helpful info before I jump into this with all four hoofs.

RE: "Help" info from Taxiderm. needed !!!
 

Whip, this is always a tough call. Most of us have our capes tanned for basic reasons. Its proven, sound, and virtually bugproof. Its gives us better control when mounting the speciman, from a mechanical standpoint. In studios like mine, tanneries are NOT what slows us down, the workload does. Just the numbers makes for a waiting list, plus the number of years in the biz, you develop a backlog. Tanneries actually help me SAVE time, as theyre tanning while Im mounting!

In the industry, many taxidermists look down at alternative methods as less than acceptable. The fact is theres many methods out there, all or most will stabilize, or preserve the cape or skin, not always tanned. There are some who even question the true need to tan them at all. Powders like dry preservative have been popular for many years in certain areas or the country.

Id say to look up some satisfied customers of hers and look at some of the older work. Look at her display too. If it meets your criteria, who cares what anyone else thinks, right? My opinion of that process probably isnt the same as hers. Why, if its that easy, doesnt all of the rest of us do it? Certainly not to be slow, and hold things up. Its a matter of opinion, and preference.

Heck, in the industry, us taxidermist often argue over what the best tanning methods are! Good luck to you!

RE: "Help" info from Taxiderm. needed !!!
 

I Have 3 mounts 1 that was done in the manner. All 3 look good 2 very good 1 is old. I would look at the mounts she has I beleave if they do not look REAL to you get some one else to do it. If they look very real that is my bigest concern.
The tax man I use enters A lot of contest with his mounts. You may check in to this and see if she did this at any time.
I sucks to hand off your bigest animal you have ever killed to some one you do not know good.

good luck

RE: "Help" info from Taxiderm. needed !!!
 

FWIW I have both dry preserved mounts and tanned mounts next to each other. Could not decide which was the better route before I went to school. Now some 15 years later I know a few things. Detail wise you can make both mounts look really good. But the aging process, all the dry preserved mounts look worse than the tanned ones do. Of course if you have one or the other only you'll never know.

As mentioned look at her work. Some folks do super work both ways. Some do horrible work both ways. As mentioned if it makes you happy thats what really counts.

FWIW in theory one could almost mount a deer in 3 weeks and have done the tanning yourself with a good agent. But where would that leave the dry time at? Nill. I like to let mounts dry at least a month before trying to do finish work on them. That way I feel that what limited shrinkage there is, will be finished by that time.

Jeff