Taxidermy question?

[BuzzH]

Just curious what everyones thoughts were on the taxidermy in these pictures:

Whitetail:

http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/whitetail/websize/Img98.jpg

Pronghorn:

http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/whitetail/websize/Img101.jpg

[Nemont]

Kind of funny how they can both occupy the same place on the wall. :D

[Elkgunner]

The horns look un-naturally large.... I always have my taxidermist make the horns/antlers look smaller....

[elkfarmer]

:confused: : |oo :confused: Elkgunner, did i hear you right? LOL, mabey you meant something different or was just busting balls, i don't know.

to me they look good, the horns on the deer might be leaning a little forward but that is hard not to do unless you measure.

[DRAFTSTUD]

They look real good, I like the fact that the Deer was'nt made to look like it was on steroids, that is OK for the competions, but I have yet to see it in the wild. Good Job.

[nmtaxi]

Very nice work!!!

[speedgoattaxidermy]

they look good! :) as elkfarmer said...the horns need to be mesured before the animal is caped to get the same angle from the nose, and to get the natural look! nice work though!

[Steiny]

Could just be the photography, but both critters look a little misproportioned in the neck to me. I'd call it "average" work ... but again, it could have something to do with photo quality.

[BuzzH]

Thanks for the comments.

I had some time this last winter to give taxidermy a try on my own, those are the first 2 pieces I've done, both for my brother. I dont want to do taxidermy other than for my own stuff.

With taxidermy prices increasing all the time and me being a cheap skate, I wanted to do some work just to see how it went. I think with practice and being able to take as long as I want to make the mounts right...I can do them myself.

Steiny, do you think the necks are too big or too small? I measured them carefully before ordering the forms and both fit just about exactly, I didnt have to stretch them much while sewing up the capes. They werent loose either...seemed pretty good to me. It may very well be the angle of the photos.

I tried to set the antlers from what I saw in the field photos, and looked at many reference photos.

I think though, that after the comments, I may have set them a bit foreward.

Heres one of the field photos.

http://photos.imageevent.com/buzzandpat/whitetail/websize/371-R1-17-18.jpg

[noharleyyet]

Good job Buzz...but I wouldn't have expected otherwise from you. How many hours do you estimate in each?

[BuzzH]

Noharleyyet,

I have wayyyyy too much time in each to ever make a living at taxidermy. But, that isnt my intent and never will be, I just want to do better than taxidermists production work. I'm not looking for competition quality either, but somewhere in between.

I spent a lot of extra time putting in extra detail in the forms, quite a bit of time in building up the nose, eye sockets with clay as well. I also spent a lot of time grooming them, and basically baby-sitting them. I also spent a lot of time with the epoxy work, putting in details you cant see in the pictures (nectating membrane and cornucle in the eyes), etc. I also did a lot of nose detail, which again you cant see that well. I had to do some of the epoxy and clay work a couple times to get it right, just because I suck at those two items.

I didnt work on them everyday, but did a bit each day over the course of a couple weeks. I did them both at the same time, so I'd say I have 20-30 hours (combined) in them.

[Steiny]

Upper 1/3 of deer neck looks a litle skinny, and about 1/3 from bottom on goat looks a little skinny. Just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth.

Very good do it yourself work ! You ought to stick with it.
There are many "for hire" taxidermists that don't do nearly as good.

[BuzzH]

Thanks Steiny, thats the kind of comments I was looking for. I do think the camera angle has something to do with it...and the fact that a lot of guys put their deer on forms that are way too big (including most all of mine that I've had done by other people)...IMO.

Thats kind of why I want to do my own stuff, I can spend a lot of time and do what I want.

[SageGhost]

you did a great job buzz... congrats on your masterpieces !!

[Elkgunner]

Buzz,
I don't know if you are that far off on your time. 10-15 hours per animal doesn't seem unreasonable. What woud an average 'Shop Rate' be for a taxidermist???

What was your experience with the cost of the forms/tanning/materials? You think a profssional is 50/50 for parts/labor?

[1_pointer]

Looks pretty good. On the deer, I like the ears facing forward in that type of pose, but that's just a personal thing.

[IdahoBugler]

Buzz,

For your first ones those are amazing. The more you do the better you will get I'm sure. I'm starting to think like you. If you want to get stuff done right and how you want it, you need to do it yourself.

Later,

[BuzzH]

elkgunner,

The total bill for 2 deer forms, 1 antelope form, 3 sets of eyes, hide paste, a couple needles, everything was right at $200...so about 60 bucks a piece. I did the tanning myself (liqui-tan)as well and for $20 I tanned a coues deer cape, whitetail cape, and the antelope.

I dont think its even close to a 50/50 split on parts/labor.

[BigHornRam]

Good job Buzz. Are you self taught, and friend teach you, or have taken a course on it. Taxidermy is something I'm thinking about learning.

[Quiet_One]

Good job buzz, i use work for one, and urs is either the same or better, i dont know to much,but it looks perfect, and hell i love to learn more, and do it myself but i have to go to scholl, but right now to much chit goin on maybe later ill make it a hobby when i go hunting , and have my boss i use to work for help me teach me some more:)

[Bambistew]

They look good to me, just as good or better than most new work I've seen! Nice job!

[mtmiller]

Buzz, I think they look great and you can't beat the price. Were these warm ups for your muley? I need to see another picture of that guy.

[Big Sky]

BuzzH, first off let me comment that for the first time out of the shoot, those are outstanding. I too, am thinking I need to start doing my own taxidermy. I used to be heavily involved many years ago. I even apprenticed for a year under a taxidermist from Utah named Brent Housekeeper. Maybe you have heard of him? If you have ever read Breakthrough Magazine or ordered from WASCO I'm sure you have heard of him. Anyway I didn't learn as much as I would've liked to. While he is incredible taxidermist he's not very work driven. I think he mounted something like five or six animals in the year I apprenticed. I don't know how he survives! With that said I'd like to know how you went about training yourself?

[BuzzH]

I never took any classes or anything. I did work part time for a couple winters with a taxidermist and did all the caping, skinning, hide prep stuff, molded forms, etc. But I never did any of the technical work.

My theory was (no offense intended), "most taxidermists arent building rockets in their spare time, so it cant be that tough". I did read through a real good book a couple times, cant recall the title, but it was pretty good.

I also had some help with the more technical parts from a buddy who is a taxidermist. He gave me some pointers and explained stuff, one of which was to look at tons of reference, then look at some more reference.

MTMiller, yep, I'm going to tackle my mule deer sometime this winter.

[Greenhorn]

They look damn good if you ask me.. I'd buy that. I'm too impatient to try that. Great job!

[WH's OutdoorsChick]

I think they look Great Buzz!!! You did a Fine Job!!!!!