average cost for a mount???
03-16-2004, 04:44 PM
#4
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Raven Creek, PA
Posts: 304
RE: average cost for a mount???
It all depends on where you are. Here in PA it's about $450 for a good mount. And about $250-$300 for just a mount which is really nothing to look at. Now I'm goin to taxidermy school in a month, and I was just want to ask struttin tom where he is from. Because all of the taxidermist Ive talked to in PA told me that you cant really make a living if you dont charge the money and that anything under $400 is too cheap. But I dont know, cuz Im not a taxidermist yet.
03-16-2004, 05:57 PM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: East Yapank NY USA
Posts: 3,457
RE: average cost for a mount???
Because all of the taxidermist Ive talked to in PA told me that you cant really make a living if you dont charge the money and that anything under $400 is too cheap
Tan the skin about $30
glue, eyes and other stuff $20
Skin / prep the cape 2 hours
Mount deer 8 hours
You do the math
Neither the price or the time you wait have anything to do with the quality of the mount. Even when you wait for a year - that cape is sitting in a box for 11 months.
The quality comes from skill and pride - and IMO that is worth every penny you pay.
03-17-2004, 06:26 AM
#7
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Cambridge Ohio USA
Posts: 744
RE: average cost for a mount???
Rack-attack, your times and prices are a little off. Most good forms these days run around $40 after shipping, as does having a cape tanned (after shipping). All in all, a top quality mount usually has over $100 in materials. With everything included, I spend about 15 hours on every mount, but I do my own tanning. When you factor in all the other indirect costs, a person almost HAS to charge $400 to make a decent living. But, your absolutely correct, you get what you pay for in quality and it should be well worth it.
03-17-2004, 11:28 AM
#9
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 330
RE: average cost for a mount???
The taxidermist I use is in the $400 range. There are others who charge much less, but look at the eyes, ears, nostrils, (in other words, detail) and I will gladly pay the extra$$.
I have a buddy who took a dandy 165" two years ago, and a "friend" who is "getting into" taxidermy screwed up the cape and he is still waiting for it. Sorry, but I will gladly pay extra to have a "professional" job done.
Rack, you make a valid point, but if you look at "anyting" you buy and strip it down to "raw" costs, there is typically a BIG swing, from "cost" to "sell price".
I have a buddy who took a dandy 165" two years ago, and a "friend" who is "getting into" taxidermy screwed up the cape and he is still waiting for it. Sorry, but I will gladly pay extra to have a "professional" job done.
Rack, you make a valid point, but if you look at "anyting" you buy and strip it down to "raw" costs, there is typically a BIG swing, from "cost" to "sell price".
03-17-2004, 11:49 AM
#10
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: East Yapank NY USA
Posts: 3,457
RE: average cost for a mount???
Rack, you make a valid point, but if you look at "anyting" you buy and strip it down to "raw" costs, there is typically a BIG swing, from "cost" to "sell price".
The price he "needs" to "make a living" is very dependant on the volume of work he has, and not necessarily due to the quality of his work.
