CouesWhitetail Report post Posted November 1, 2008 This month features Mogollon Taxidermy in Payson. The business is owned and operated by Clay Goldman. Clay has been a professional taxidermist for 11 years and has a passion for Coues deer. Clay has been mounting Coues deer since he started doing taxidermy work. In fact his first mount was a Coues for his father-in-law. Many of you from this forum have used Clay to mount your trophies and I haven't heard anything but glowing reviews of his work. Clay has a bachelor's degree in Wildlife Biology from ASU and feels that gives him an edge in knowing the anatomy and behavior of the animals he mounts. Clay works with all species, including those in North America, Africa and exotics. Still his favorite is Coues, followed closely by Bighorn Sheep. Clay says he mounts about 80-100 Coues deer every year and each of those is mounted by himself. He does have two workers who do some prep work for him, but all mounts in his shop are done personally by him. This is important to know when you choose a taxidermist. Clay does all kinds of mounts, including shoulder mounts, wall pedestals, floor pedestals, 1/2 lifesize, lifesize and any other pose a customer can dream up. Here are a few photos of some of his Coues: Clay works will each customer to get the mount they are looking for. He can create any type of mount you desire, so share your thoughts with him and see what creative work can be done. His average turnaround on shoulder mounts is 8-10 months and lifesize is 10-12 months. Clay does not cut any corners and uses only the best materials available to the taxidermy industry so if a mount is taken care of in a climate controlled environment, it should last for many, many years. Here are a few other examples of his work: Clay can help you learn how to cape your trophy properly in the field and if you aren't sure how to do it, you can bring the animal in whole so that he can do the work on it. During the hunting season arrangements can be made to make sure your tophy is cared for quickly. "During the hunting seasons, someone is around to man the phone even on Saturday and Sundays. This is important due to the warm temperatures we have especially during some of the early coues hunts here in Arizona. If someone needs to bring something in during off hours, we are available for that. If a hunter isn't sure how to skin an animal for a mount, I urge them to call or stop by before the hunt so I can show them the correct way to do it. I even have people occasionally bring deer in whole from nearby units because the hunter isn't sure exactly where to make the incisions. Once I can acutally show them it becomes much easier for them to do it on their next trophy. You would be surprised how many seasoned hunters damage or ruin their capes by cutting in the wrong places." Clay can also help you get back across the border if you have a trophy from Mexico. "I have a USDA permit for any hunters going to Mexico for coues deer. This permit allows a hunter to bring their deer cape back into the U.S. if it is not salt dryed or frozen. Many hunters don't have the knowledge to flesh and salt their cape properly while in Mexico or don't have the means to freeze it. The hunter can cape the skin off of the head and bag it so it stays dry and put it on ice until they cross back into the states through our permit. The hunter will need to get a Notice of Arrival form on the U.S. side before going into Mexico and will need to fill it out before arriving at customs when returning to the states. Also, it is the hunter's responsibility to make sure that all of the requirements are met for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service before attempting to cross back into the states with their trophy. This can be done by calling a USFWS agent at any of the port of entries that they man." If you are interested in seeing more of Clay's outstanding work, please visit his showroom in Payson or peruse through the photogallery on his website. You worked hard for your trophy, so make sure you pick a great taxidermist to mount it for you. Clay can be contacted at: Mogollon Taxidermy Clay Goldman- Artist 1007 N. Mud Springs Road Payson, Arizona 85541 (928) 474-4249 His website is: Mogollon Taxidermy Remember to support those that support this website! And those of you from the forum who have hired Clay for some work might want to post your reviews of it and also post photos of your trophies he mounted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted November 1, 2008 Very nice post for Clay Amanda This man is a true Artist and I am Very happy with the work he has done for me. When I harvested my Desert Bighorn I knew it was going to go to Clay. I walked into his shop with photos of my (SMALL) trophy room and explained how i wanted the full body mount to be positioned. He understood at once and did the Mount even better than than I thought it would be. Since my Ram I have had him do a shoulder mount for FirstGirls first WT and a Euro of Linnea's Bull last year. TOP NOTCH WORK His Biology background really shows up with veins and muscle Showing how they should be. Allot of Taxi's just do not have that ability to produce that and create a smooth hide. Some Like (expect) that, I don't Here are a couple of pics. I hope Coues'n'Sheep will add some of his Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted November 2, 2008 By the way. When you click on Amanda's link The home page that comes up is C'n'S pedestal mount and my Ram. Thank you Clay but your work and choice is what put it there. He is not a BOOK Ram, BUT the MOUNT is of BOOK Quality By the way How should I clean the saliva off of his nose from kissing him goodnight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4Falls Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Clay has mounted two of my coues deer as well and in my opinion there is no one better. Im looking at them right now and they are perfect. Thanks Clay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjw2222 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 We have 8 animals that Clay has mounted in our house and I only have the best of things to say about him and his work. Great all around guy with an even better product! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Sniper Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Whenever I see that buck Clay killed, I lose it. Just a dream deer. Gorgeous work Clay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted November 3, 2008 Amanda, whats the deal with the second buck, do you know? Any other pictures of Clay's monster? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted November 3, 2008 Hey all... Can't say enough about Clay's work! The double coues pedestal in pic #5 is one of a dozen mounts that Clay has put in our home. That mount is a Dec rifle coues my wife took and my Arrchery coues that I took 3 weeks later in Jan.... we have many memories imortalized on our walls thanks to Clay's good work.... You can find cheaper, but you will not get Clay's kind of work for less money! I would feel bad if I did not honor our trophies with quality artistry... and it does allow the memories to be as vivid when the mount does not look alive or real on the wall. Thanks Clay! BTW.... Clay I know you are a "lurker" and will read what I just wrote.... you know I meant it.... but I do need a 10% (or 25%) Coupon... cuz Colton just shot a Monster coues in NM! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted November 3, 2008 Amanda, whats the deal with the second buck, do you know? Any other pictures of Clay's monster? I don't know any details.....Clay will have to fill you in. And he might have some more pics of his buck also, I suspect. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matthewp45 Report post Posted November 6, 2008 I have a bunch animals in my house from Clay. He is the only taxidermist I use and I don't ever plan on changing. He is a great guy, does great work and works really hard at it. You won't find a better taxidermist in my opinion. I love going to his shop and look at all of the bad a@# coues and carp mounts. He mounted my biggest coues for me. I gave him a picture of the buck from a spotting scope picture just before I took him. He matched the photo perfect with one ear kicked back and the pose is exactly the same. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Extreme Coues Report post Posted November 15, 2008 Hey everyone Extreme coues here clay has done all my work for me the third buck down is my january harvest he did an awsome job!!!! Here are the other deer he's done for me . Thanks clay Jeremy Ulmer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
krp Report post Posted February 21, 2009 Just picked up my cat from Clay, he did a super job, my photos don't do it justice. One of the nicest guys there is and I always enjoy talking hunting with him. When I went in today he had some completed African mounts. The two, full body mount, African lions were just fantastic, made my hair tingle standing next to them. Thanks again Clay. Kent Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHALE Report post Posted February 22, 2009 Clay has done 2 animals and 1 fish for me, all look great and I have received numerous compliments on the coues he did for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowsniper Report post Posted February 23, 2009 Hey Clay, What brand of form do you use for coues deer? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted February 23, 2009 Hey Bowsniper, I don't think Clay spends a lot of time on the computer and might not see your post. Perhaps it would be best to call and ask him. (928) 474-4249 Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
