Everything you need to know about a taxidermist comes from how they react when something goes wrong.

When I got my Grand Slam in 2021, I wanted to get a half-mount for my bear. It was the first bear that I had trapped, and it had a white patch. I was very specific about how I wanted it; left paw forward to mimic the paw that had been trapped. I did the fan for my turkey feathers myself and then paid the taxidermist for a shoulder mount for my moose, and the antlers of my deer to be mounted. It’s those sorts of things that hunters spend money on to hold on to the memories of the hunt. Taxidermists play a huge role in making sure that happens.

I got my bear back first. The right paw was forward and the stitching around the paws were very visible.  It looked sloppy. The head looked much smaller on the form than it should have been, especially when I compared the skull of that bear to other bears that I had shot. I looked at the slip that the taxidermist had given me when I ordered the bear and it says very clearly left paw forward. He put my bear on the wrong form and never owned up to it, even when I questioned him about if it really was my bear. He was adamant that it was. I walked out of his shop and never went back.

Fawn done by Amy at Wicked Critters Taxidermy

I found Amy Blanchard at Wicked Critters Taxidermy. She has done a deer, a wolf pelt and skull and a fawn for me so far. She’s also working on the black bear that I shot on Vancouver Island with Jim Shockey. Her work is incredible! The details are mind blowing. It looks like I actually have a fawn in my office. Amy‘s small shop in Litchfield is home to incredible taxidermy pieces that she has won awards for. One of my favorites is a black wolf that greets you when you walk in the door. She’s the person that I reach out to before every hunt just to make sure that I have a slot available, in case I have an impressive animal that I want to keep for the rest of my life.

This past fall, Carrie at Maine Heritage Taxidermy agreed to tan a moose hide for me. We met exchanged the hide and a deposit. A day later, she sent me a message with pictures telling me that the hair was beginning to slip and she was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get a quality pelt. She sent me photos of what she might be able to salvage, and she reached out to other taxidermists to see if they had any suggestions to try to salvage pieces of the hide before she sent it off to the tanner. She was upfront and honest. She could’ve made a decent amount of money tanning the moose hide for me, she chose to be truthful and let me know that it was not going to be a quality hide. She sent me a picture of my check going into the shredder.

Her honesty was the reason why I called her as soon as I had my piebald on the ground. I can’t wait to get the tanned hide back and see how well she did! She is the type of taxidermist that you want to support because she’ll be honest with you and ensure that the quality of the animal you were going to bring back home is top-notch.

A good taxidermist is priceless

when you can trust them to be upfront and honest with you. It is their work that you represent when you hang up that animal. Luckily, I have found a couple great ones that I can rely on to help me preserve the memories of my hunts.