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...
Last August, I had the opportunity to get a fawn that had been hit by a car. I called the warden, got a tag and it was off to the taxidermist. Maybe a little morbid, but unless you are willing to use a tag to shoot a fawn, there are few ways to aquire the young deer. This week, I brought it home to my office. The woman who did the taxiermy work did an incredible job on the fine details. The fawn's eyes, lashes, ear hair and whiskers are exact. It is amazing to look at the small body and the characteristis and then look at the buck above it and the changes and simularlities. The fawn was about two months old and his pedicals were just beginning to form. The skull is close to the same size as my coyote's skull but a bit more rounded on...
