At home taxidermy

savagelh

savagelh

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Has anyone dabbled in do it yourself taxidermy? I thought it would be a cool hobby to pick up. I like to be involved in every aspect of hunting from well before pulling the trigger to well after all the packages are in the freezer.

I've done tons of euro mounts and skinned quite a few coyotes and other critters but have never tried tanning or anything like that. Would a guy be better off sending capes out for tanning if he wanted to do a shoulder mount.

Also are there any good Canadian retailers for taxidermy supplies?
 
'sending a hide off to be tanned is an awful expensive way to do a shoulder mount. Commercial taxidermist would have to charge the moon if they did it that way. They simply prepare the hide with a final fleshing, skin the lips and split the ears and then goop on a very lavish amount of "tanning butter" that taxidermy supply stores sell...then start tacking & pinning & sewing. of course this is a simplified explanation to a lot of work that needs done before your ready to paint.
 
I worked for a good friend that was a taxidermist. Very interesting and a lot of fun. My suggestion would be to get a whitetail kit from Matuska as a first go. Having helped tan some capes I’d go with professional tannery in the beginning.
 
fingers284 said:
'sending a hide off to be tanned is an awful expensive way to do a shoulder mount. Commercial taxidermist would have to charge the moon if they did it that way. They simply prepare the hide with a final fleshing, skin the lips and split the ears and then goop on a very lavish amount of "tanning butter" that taxidermy supply stores sell...then start tacking & pinning & sewing. of course this is a simplified explanation to a lot of work that needs done before your ready to paint.
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Really? Interesting.

I'm pretty sure only one taxidermist I've ever taken anything to tanned his own hides. The vast majority around here send out hides.
 
Jahnj0584 said:
look into doing a brain tan.
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Dont look into Brain Tan method for taxidermy deer shoulder mounts.........

savagelh said:
I've used 4 different taxidermists. None of them have tanned their own hides.
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Nope, its the same here, I was astounded to be honest, once doin my research that almost 90% of these "taxidermists" out there in Southern Vic, where litereally just "Deer Wrappers" ...........
RightWingIndian said:
Yeah, I've never met one who does it themselves.
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Hello.

i decided, in house is where its at. Sending out requires a Cost. a mount is what, example $800.... sending hides out for Tan @ $150 ea ? then plus freight to an fro...
plus 99% are buying the Forms.... $100-$150.... Glass eyes.... $30..
Alot of time involved with "mounting" but alot of guys were sayin start to finish takes them a few hours.... i said what? what about the Tanning? "Oh No, i dont do that..."...
whattya meaaannnn You're a Taxidermist?


i wanna know what the hides doin, i wanna know why it didnt work , i wanna know why it lost all its hair, i wanna know why the tan didnt penetrate, i wanna know HOW to fix or Prevent all of this...

ive got the Time, an i need to invest into making this my income, i got the heads, an the hides, im skippen meals to buy supplies, wacken deer to fund an eat my newest tools or products to help get this show on the road :)

PS- 98% of my 12 deer suck..... but im gettin better :D

heres a couple that are alright
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i learnt 99% from Youtube, Google and Taxidermy.net.


Also of note, since i started doin my own, ive had Alot of guys asking for info,tips,how to , etc.... ALL of this I answered Myself by Doing my Research, hours and hours internetting, sending PMs to random guys not for how to, but pressing for more confirmation of what ive concluded in my head, an Does that add up in their head.. i then grab 2 from here, an 2 from there.... try come up with 4 of my own.

ive personally used 9 different guys techniques for 16 different aspects of the "taxidermy" start to finish.

immerse yourself, no one else is going to do it for you.
 
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My uncle used to do "at home taxidermy". It was a nightmarish descent into Hell. He made the bodies out of chicken wire, coat hangers, and chunks of firewood, and used marbles (like shooters and boulders) for the eyes. It was a horror show. A nature trail to Hell. An abomination. He would mount animals he bagged himself but mostly roadkill that he would find.
 
pts.fa said:
My uncle used to do "at home taxidermy". It was a nightmarish descent into Hell. He made the bodies out of chicken wire, coat hangers, and chunks of firewood, and used marbles (like shooters and boulders) for the eyes. It was a horror show. A nature trail to Hell. An abomination. He would mount animals he bagged himself but mostly roadkill that he would find.
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what era mate?
 
pts.fa said:
The 80's up until the mid 2010's. I really cannot express into words how bad it was.
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Every so often I'll be visiting and see the home mounted deer that someone's mercifully dead relative did. The eyes, the nose, the lips, and the ears haven't aged well. As interested as I am in bringing the animal back to its fullest form, some of those old mounts look worse that if the Zombie Apocalypse infected the veterinary college on a Friday night.
 
pts.fa said:
The 80's up until the mid 2010's. I really cannot express into words how bad it was.
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ya know,, there is something special about old school deer mounts...

im fascinated in how they did it- like you touched on with chiken wire, hessian stuffed sacks, whatever- used to make the manikin back then, or mostly, just fill out the animals shape? Wild.

im totally unsure how these ol guys tanned stuff an according to modern day info out there, surely cant of been 'tanned' too well..... ?

longevity is not there as Maple leaf mentions, simply due to the preservation level i would believe. from not takin enough cartlidges,flesh? or splitting areas would amount to a mess over 30-40 years plus.

i want old ones lol, but some, yeah , nah.

photos!
 
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