My taxidermist shipped my son's pronghorn head from Gillette, Wyoming to my home north of Dallas, Texas, in a wooden framed crate. Basically the crate had four corner uprights, a middle upright on each side, the head was attached by screws to one of the wooden middle uprights, and the sides of the crate was closed with cardboard. The wood was 1x4 material, it appears, or 1x3, yellow pine. It was put together with a staple gun. It was not exactly square all the way around, but it sufficed to its purpose. He billed me $175 for the crate and $50 to ship. I think I could buy the wood for probably $5 and assemble it in 5 minutes myself, and I'm not a carpenter or skilled with wood. Since he said he had some 40 heads, and assume 20 of these heads are shipped like mine and he got a chance to practice on these crates, did I get ripped off? It seems to me $175 for a damn crate is a bit much.

Also, he charged me $10 for a Wyoming game license, but a blue metal tag around the pronghorn horns said 2004 $5. Did I get screwed on that too?

I'm not a judge of taxidermy work, this being the first head I have paid to have mounted, but the work was not super-duper. It might be acceptable, but you don't have to look too far to notice flaws. The eyes are excessively wide open (the lids are pulled too far off the eyes). The mouth of the pronghorn is not centered in the shape of the nose/mouth, but lists slightly to one side. One ear is shorter than the other. The chevrons in the tan/buff pattern on the chest are not centered. I appreciate that I didn't pay for the Mona Lisa, but I wonder if this is just standard grade or lower than standard grade.

I don't mean to be a complainer, but I want to know if this is just the going price for shipping containers.

Alsatian, I charge per job with my crating. The big thing is, I quote those costs up front. If your taxidermist did, and you agreed, no, its not too much. Its already done, but may I suggest that next time, double check beforehand so youre not surprised. Theres plenty of good taxidermists out there who will be glad to show you examples of their work in advance, and quote you prices theyll honor. Hope this helps some. When I charge for crating, Im considering the materials, time and how difficult it is to fasten the mount to the crate. Thats just me...

Bill Yox:

So how much do you charge for a crate, about pronghorn head size? I'm not saying this price is wrong, I'm asking others what their experiences are.

alsatian, if u were told what the cost were before u agreed to use this guy, whats the problem? if u were not told then this guy will probly never get your bussiness again when i have someone thats wants their mount shipped, and their is alot of them being i guarantee that the mount is completed in 6 months. i give them the cost up front, then say if u want to pick it up next year that is also fine. [8D] most of them say i want it as soon as i can get it!
and for the game tag yes it only cost the taxidermist $5 but it should be on your reciept what he charges you for it. i do not like to charge extra for this. i do understand why he does, it is the paper work to the game and fish that cost him time. all of those things add up, and he should show u the charges before you leave the studio. and as far as how it looks, u need to look over his mounts and make sure he does the quality that you are looking for. and as always contact him and let him know what you think of the mount, this will help him and you the next time you have him do work for you. good luck

The deal is done and I won't be asking for my money back or renegotiating with my taxidermist. I certainly would not in anyway question his honesty or disparage his ability. I know that I am an uninformed consumer of the taxidermist's art. This is why I am presenting my querry to this group which I presume is knowledgable.

The next time I approach a taxidermist I would like to know more about typical prices and costs of things. In particular, what experiences have you guys had? What kind of crating prices have you paid? Is this the right forum to ask this question in?

i was charged 200$ for packing and crating and my stuff was put in my brothers crate. he was also charged for his stuff too. its a raquet out there. i dont knoiw too many taxidermists with great reps. they seem to be like a home contractor. just keep charging and promising.

Alsatian, usually if I do crates that are going UPS, I make them from 2x2s and plywood. They are more expensive than crates going truck, as those are usually framed with one plywood side and the rest wrapped. I typically spend about 2 hours on a crate by the time I size it, build it and get the critter in there and secure, real secure. A pronghorn, off the top of my head, would run you close to $100 plus the frieght charge. I just had a deer go UPS to Texas but it fit nicely in a smaller cardboard box that I reinforced, so the crate charge was less. It was still standard oversize, so I paid around $50 for it to go to Texas. I just sent a red fox to Idaho that was in a bigger box. Again, reinforced with double box, 2x2s and plywood top, bottom and one side. Rods were then inserted for support, going into the fox where they wouldnt show, and secured to the cross bracing inside. I was 4 inches over for sending USPS, truck frieght with insurance was over $200, so I again sent UPS, this time for $120 or so. This crate was more difficult and time consuming to build, so it would be more expensive. Unfortunately it was my fault the mount needed to be shipped due to time limits, so I ate the charges for the customer. I sure hope this helps you. Contrary to what some posts here suggest, we as taxidermists are not all crooks, but I prefer to speak just for myself. I am up-front with my clients and explain what Im charging them for. I might not be the lowest price, but theres no surprises either. Crating, like taxidermy itself, is usually based on materials plus time plus desired profit margin. Feel free to contact me if I can ever help you further.

Well, I appreciate all the answers. Let me reiterate, the taxidermist I worked with was pretty up front with me. I think he suggested the package would cost $140, and I personally don't think $175 is far off that mark. While the mount isn't perfect, I didn't pay for perfection. After all . . . it is just the head of a dead animal, not the Mona Lisa. Someone has suggested I was charged $10 for a $5 game tag because the taxidermist had to spend time filling in the paperwork, and I'm willing to buy that argument. Additionally, he may have had to make a special trip to purchase the $5 game tag. I haven't dealt with other taxidermists and can't speak about them, but I wouldn't characterize the guy who did my son's antelope head as dishonest in any sense.

Of all the costs involved in the mount, however, I feel that the cost of the packaging is an area where it ought to be possible to be more efficient, and my making informed choices down the road can probably lead to some costs savings in this area. Some have suggested caping the head, keeping it cold or frozen, and bringing it back to a local taxidermist is a way to cut out the shipping cost and the crate cost. To me it seems I could also build the crate myself, for much less money and not too much time, and carry this crate with me on my next pronghorn hunt. I have a suburban which has sufficient room for such a crate and I can pack things inside of the crate so that the space is not just wasted empty space on the drive up to Wyoming. Since I have a model before me to work with, the crate the pronghorn head arrived in, I don't see why this isn't a viable option.

Another viable option, again I think someone else mentioned it, is to leave the head in Wyoming and just plan to go pick it up the next season. I thought about this quite a bit this time around, but my wife nixed the idea. My thinking was that the cost of box and shipping -- about $225 in my case -- was enough to pay for my gasoline to and from Gillette (1180 mile trip from my house, one way). I might have just gotten myself a cheap doe/fawn permit, drive up, bag a doe or two (I understand that they are readily available over the counter and you can just drive into town and purchase additional tags BEFORE your hunt as you need them), pick up my pronghorn head, and drive back home.

Thanks for all the replies.

$200-$300 sounds about right,
While his cost for the crating may seem high,
His $50 is very cheap,
I would have also charged about $250, less on the crating and more on the freight.
minimum for over the road carriage is usually $87-$100 cost.

Alsatian I JUST GOT A WT DEER BACK FROM CANADA. MY TAXIDERMIST WAS BRIAN DOBSON WHO IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE FINEST WT DEER ARTEST IN THE COUNTRY. HE CHARGED ME $600.00 TO DO MY MOUNT AND THAT INCLUDED A VERY WELL BUILT CRATE NOT TO MENTION A GREAT MOUNT. I AM FROM ALABAMA AND I HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE TAKEN A COUPLE OF PRETTY NICE DEER IN YEARS PAST AND WHEN BRIAN QUOTED ME HIS PRICE I THOUGHT IT WAS HIGH BUT AFTER GETTING IT BACK I CAN HONESTLY SAY YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR IN A MOUNT BECAUSE IT MAKES MY OTHERS LOOK INFERRIOR. HE DID NOT TELL ME HOW MUCH THE CRATE WAS BUT DID SAY IT WAS INCLUDED IN HIS TOTAL PRICE OF $600.00 .... I HATE TO HEAR YOUR MOUNT WAS DAMAGED ...MINE ARRIVED IN PERFECT CONDITION ALL THE WAY FROM ALBERTA AND HAD TO BE INSPECTED IN CANADIAN CUSTOMS, US GAME AND FISH, USDA AND US CUSTOMS SO IT WAS OPENED AT LEAST 4 TIMES AND STILL GOT TO ME IN PERFECT CONDITION,