swwildlife

My boys both shoot .270WSM, one has a Howa, the other LH Tikka, awsome caliber. Howa shoots 1.1 inch groups the Tikka 1 inch groups. The longest deer have been taken is 385 yds. no problem. The howa has a Bell and Carlson stock, We have adjusted the trigger(User adjustable). the Tikka is all factory. My go to gun is a Ruger 77 in 30-06 with trigger work and thumbhole stock. I know I'm a dinosuar but I know right where it shoots.

WOW, I love the work. What an artistic talent. you have to be good cause there is no erasing.

I don't know what either one scored, but I would like to think I would not turn to a quivering ball of jello if I would see either one in the field while I had a tag in my pocket

I would love to expand on the stories, but they are not my stories to tell. Sure I see what unit they are from on the tags but I would never tell someone of someone else's hunting areas. I guess its kind of like "Client Taxidermist Privilage" It's hard on me too.

Thanks for the compliments Nick, It was a pleasure doing business with you. Jim

I had a feeling it was going to be somewhat like the ford chevy dodge argument, thanks for your opinions I guess the bottom line is, have fun with a new toy.

Now I may open a can of worms, however this is my opinion on this subject. I know there are exceptions to what I am about to say, but in the 36 years I’ve been in the industry, this is my take. When you first decide to start your own taxidermy business, your turn around time is dependent on how fast you receive your skins from the tannery. Assuming you use a tannery. And if not, 99 percent of the taxidermists out there know nothing about how to provide a quality tan. That’s like the mechanic saying he can machine the parts for your car himself to save money and time. So the fastest you can get a mount done is about 4 months, using a tanned cape, not home tan or dry preserve. Now as you get more business the turn around time increases. As you get better and news travels, the one man shop at best can get turn around time to about 11-13 months. The problem arises when the taxidermist just keeps getting in more and more and can never say “sorry, I’m full” or give you an accurate turn around time. Then, these problems exist. Most taxidermists are artist not businessmen. So they don’t find quality people to help them with their workload and it gets worse. Then quality suffers. Then these problems exist. Here is another problem that creeps up. Commercial tanneries only warrant their product for 12 months after they are tanned. (That’s another story). So unless the taxidermist has taken the correct precautions the skins start to fall apart after about a year and a half. Now some do and some don’t. But after that time they become much more difficult to mount. Here is something you can do as a customer. When you drop off your animal make sure he gives you an approximate completion time. Make sure you let him know how you want the animal mounted. If you don’t at the time make your minds up as soon as you can, and let him know. When it is about 1 month from that completion time he gave you call him and see how it’s going. And politely stay on him for the next 2 month. For the ones that are over 1 ½ years I would call him up and tell him that it has been way too long and you want your animal done in the next 30 days or you will pick the animal and deposit back up and take it else where. I think if more customers would treat taxidermist as business, and more taxidermist would treat taxidermy as a business. Then it would be so much more enjoyable to have your trophies mounted. Everyone would know what to expect from each other. That’s my take.

Nick, almost all of the taxidermist mentioned in the replys do high quality work. You will most likely be happy with any of them. What I tell people about selecting a taxidermist is first is he a legal and licesened businessman? Does he have the proper permits to work where he is or is there a chance he will get shut down by the city he is in?(he needs more than just a taxidermy licence). Is he here for the long haul? Second, go look at his work. compare his work to photos of live animals. When you look at the work do the trophies look alive or are they just antler holders? The animals should look soft and alive. don't always take your buddies opinion on this, you have to live with the mount, not him. What is important to someone else may not be as important to you. Ask to see what he uses for reference as he mounts. It dosen't matter if he has mounted 5 deer or 5000, a good taxidermist still uses reference. Ask him if he uses a commercial tannery or tans himself. This is a touchy subject. As a general rule, most taxidermist are not chemist or experts in tanning skins. My opinion is let the experts tan the skins. Ask about what his terms are. Will they work for you. ie. deposts, turnaround time, return policy, etc. Lastly look at price. As a general rule . You Get What You Pay For. If you want it done right and to your satisfaction it may cost you more. when done correctly and with proper supplies the mounts of today should out last your grandkids grandkids with the proper care. so the extra 100-150 you pay for a high quality mount equates into pennie per month. I could babble on but I'll stop here. Jim Southwest Wildlife Taxidermy LLC