Well its getting on the time to start planning next years hunt and wether i am gonna get something mounted or not i am hopeing for a bear and deer and was looking at getting a rug from the bear and a shoulder mount from the deer but after looking at some of the prices on the Canadian taxidermy sites i dunno man its freaking expensive 145-250$per foot for a rug and at least 200-300 for a shoulder mount. i understand you get what you pay for but christ the rug alone would cost me more then my jeep and the shoulder mount would cost more then the rifle i use is worth lol talked to one guy who runs a leather shop here in ottawa said his wife would do it for me but not by the foot she wants $30 an hour plus the cost of tanning and supplies to do it i am thinking it would be better to pick up a book or video and do it my self lol
Taxidermy
- Thread starter SignGuy
- Start date
Good quality detailed shoulder mounts are in the $450.00 neighbourhood... and if you want the rug done right don't go to the cheapest taxidermist you can find.
Trophys deserve the attention of a good stuffer!
Trophys deserve the attention of a good stuffer!
BIGREDD said:
x2
I've had the same guy do work for me for four different occasions because he was a couple hundred bucks cheaper than his competition. EVERY time I have been let down with the crap job I have recieved afterward. You'd think I would learn a bit faster than that.
My first bull moose was one of my most prized trophies for me, even if it was only a 38 incher, he was like a 60" to me.
I asked this guy to bleach the skull for me and even built the boiling tub for him. Not only did he not get all the spooge out, he grabbed a spray bomb of white Tremclad and whitewashed right over gobs of meat and sinews and thought he did a bang up job.
When I first saw it I refused to believe it was mine, not to mention I owed him $350 to square up after too!
When I finally gathered my thoughts and had him redo the job, he got most of the paint off but not much more than that except he managed to drop it and bust off one of the tines and do the worst glue job fix I have ever seen.
If you get a trophy, trust me do it right or you will cuss yourself every time you look at it for the rest of it's life on your wall.
Noel
cdngunner, WHERE did you shoot that buck!?!?!? FABULOUS!!!!!!
Back to SignGuy, here is some advice form an old fart that has spent a "few" dollars on taxidermy:
1. If you shoot the trophy of a lifetime, be prepared BEFOREHAND to know how to care for it properly, and have your taxidermist already selected, based on his (her??) work. Quality costs serious cash, and some of the best guys do not take new clients, no matter what you would pay them.
2. You want to know beforehand what you think meets the criteria for "trophy of a lifetime" because when you shoot that gorgeous ten-point whitetail which is the biggest you have ever seen, you are about to spend at least $500, and probably more.
3. HINT: it is probably NOT the trophy of a lifetime.........you have lots of years ahead of you.
4. Before you get a full head and shoulders mount, look at your home: is there any place big enough to display it? I have a nice twelve point white-tail buck mount that is well over three feet from bottom to top, and when I moved to this new place with low ceilings I found out that it looks REALLY stupid to look down on a nice mount..............
5. My favourite mounts, honestly, are the antlers only mounts, in the skull caps, leather over them, mounted on plaques. They look very impressive, do not take up much space, are HUGELY cheaper, and just about anybody can do them without botching the job. Your trophy looks good basically forever, no hair to fall out, no teeth to pull back, etc etc.
6. If after all of this you want the name of the best taxidermist in Ontario and one of the best in the country, send me a note. Warning: he may not take a new client and he sure as heck is not cheap.
Doug
Back to SignGuy, here is some advice form an old fart that has spent a "few" dollars on taxidermy:
1. If you shoot the trophy of a lifetime, be prepared BEFOREHAND to know how to care for it properly, and have your taxidermist already selected, based on his (her??) work. Quality costs serious cash, and some of the best guys do not take new clients, no matter what you would pay them.
2. You want to know beforehand what you think meets the criteria for "trophy of a lifetime" because when you shoot that gorgeous ten-point whitetail which is the biggest you have ever seen, you are about to spend at least $500, and probably more.
3. HINT: it is probably NOT the trophy of a lifetime.........you have lots of years ahead of you.
4. Before you get a full head and shoulders mount, look at your home: is there any place big enough to display it? I have a nice twelve point white-tail buck mount that is well over three feet from bottom to top, and when I moved to this new place with low ceilings I found out that it looks REALLY stupid to look down on a nice mount..............
5. My favourite mounts, honestly, are the antlers only mounts, in the skull caps, leather over them, mounted on plaques. They look very impressive, do not take up much space, are HUGELY cheaper, and just about anybody can do them without botching the job. Your trophy looks good basically forever, no hair to fall out, no teeth to pull back, etc etc.
6. If after all of this you want the name of the best taxidermist in Ontario and one of the best in the country, send me a note. Warning: he may not take a new client and he sure as heck is not cheap.
Doug
the wife and i agree that come hunting season that i wll have put aside close to a grand for taxidermy IF i get a buck that beats 10+ it'll get mounted head and shoulders *i have the spot picked out already lol the middle platform on my staircase is 15.5' from footing to ceiling its all wall up* unless of course i manage to fill my bear tag then its a rug and the buck gets skull capped i figure by sept 1st with what i have been stocking up in the cash box i'll have a grand left after covering a few expenses and that will cover either the bear or the buck or both hopfefully and if you want to e-mail your taxidermists # i will give him a call and see what he saysDoug said:
I agree with all of the above, don't cheap out on something you want to be more proud of after the fact, especially while your friends are ogling it!
I can just see it now, friends come over, and walk past mount..." hey nice..uhhhh...is that a deer?" lol
I had my 10 pointer done, and still waiting to get it back. That's him in my avatar. The guy doing him has some nice stuff on his wall at his place.
He is between Kanata and Carp, and I can send you his details if you want them. You can also have a look at my buck when it comes back if you want. But you'll have to do that before I take it to hang at the cottage.
lildave
just my two cents....( I give them out so much, I'm broke.... )
I can just see it now, friends come over, and walk past mount..." hey nice..uhhhh...is that a deer?" lol
I had my 10 pointer done, and still waiting to get it back. That's him in my avatar. The guy doing him has some nice stuff on his wall at his place.
He is between Kanata and Carp, and I can send you his details if you want them. You can also have a look at my buck when it comes back if you want. But you'll have to do that before I take it to hang at the cottage.
lildave
just my two cents....( I give them out so much, I'm broke.... )
- Location
- Central Sask
$500 for this job last year. but allot better work than my $375 jobs done by the previous guy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/coonhunter/Deermount1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/coonhunter/Deermount1.jpg
BC Bigbore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- BC's Peace Country
Aha! An opportunity to post my '05 whitetail mount My taxidermist takes only limited work and tans his own capes. This saves the 1-2 year wait that typically befalls those who send out the capes to the big tanneries. I also paid $500. I delivered this buck to Tom in November and it was hanging on my wall by April Gotta love when that happens...
'05 Northern BC whitetail...
Another view (I love copy 'n' paste )
My taxidermist takes only limited work and tans his own capes. This saves the 1-2 year wait that typically befalls those who send out the capes to the big tanneries. I also paid $500. I delivered this buck to Tom in November and it was hanging on my wall by April Gotta love when that happens...'05 Northern BC whitetail...
Another view (I love copy 'n' paste
)
BC Bigbore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- BC's Peace Country
Then how about in the bed
