tbonecpa

I just got my 03' bow buck back from the taxidermist. He got it done in three weeks but held it for another two so he could dislay it during our gun season here. I can see why he displayed it for awhile, he did a great job. It is the highest quality work that I have seen. He ordered a McKenzie form with a 24" neck but it turned out to be way too small. He happened to have a Rinehart form with a 26" neck (the biggest they make) that he ordered for a guy who shot a big buck in Manitoba. It was too big for that cape but fit mine perfectly. It was the same turn and semi-sneak. It never hurts to be lucky. The hide is beautiful and all the details were done perfectly. The only problem is that it dwarfs the other mounts I have so I had to put it closer to the second largest one. The other "problem" is that the rack looks "small" even though he scored almost 140. Thats what you get when they dress 220 lbs. If you have a really big midwest or Canadian buck to mount look at the Rinehart forms. They are based on the bigger species of deer and look very realistic. I'll post some pics later.

The Champ

Bad taxidermy is an ugly thing!

OregunHntr

Got Pics?? Would like to see it.

DamBigBuck

Actually, take pics in a couple years and show us. I'd be more interested in how that mount will last through the years.

atlasman

Great point.

I took my first ever wall hanger in this year to a local guy that has been doing taxidermy for 35 years. He had some gorgeous mounts in his shop and the one I liked the best was a left turn ears alert mount that I hope mine looks EXACTLY like when it's done.

He asked me how old I thought that mount was.........then told me he shot that buck 22 years ago [] WOW. It looked AMAZING.

He sends all his hides out to be commercially tanned so they last forever. Little more money but it's nice to know that my deer of a lifetime will really last a lifetime.

Aught Six

Congratulations on a great buck; I'm glad to hear the mount came out so well. I'm as eager to see pics as everyone else, if you have any.

tbonecpa

Here is the best picture I could get. Hopefully it is detailed enough to see the quality. From the replies it seems that I should worry about the quality of the tanning. He has done this for over 20 years so I am pretty confident in his product. The hides on all of his displays have a nice sheen and look so much better than the "dry" look of the mounts I have from two other taxidermists. I will ask him if he tans them himself but I am pretty sure he does. He mounts over 150 whitetails per year so I could see where he could get pretty good at it. On trick he told me is to dust them with "Pledge" furniture polish. That is what he uses on his mounts to keep the hair from getting dry and brittle over time. I recently dusted all of mine and then "Pledged" them. Even the 10 and 11 yr old mounts had better looking hair when I was done.

tbonecpa

Here is another one.

RATDAWG

Youve got a really nice buck there.
I completely disaagree on your staements about the choice of form companies. I am a taxidermist. In illinois. Iprefer anything over rhinehart. I cannot make them look realistic.
Ben Mears makes a 28" neck and are beutiful and realistic.
Mckenzie and their offspring companies such as Tom Powell make large forms as well.
I do not mean to give rhinehart down the road. But I am afraid if guys take their deer to a taxidermist and insist on a rhinehart form they will be disapointed.

Mod70

Dry Tan or paste methods of tanning will start to crack , peel and shed hair after a few years. The only way is to soft tan the hide and that takes longer than 3 weeks. Nice looking mount. I hope it stays that way.