Starting in January of 2012, we will be offering a Deer Shoulder Mount for $600.00. We have been developing this shoulder mount over the past 3 years. With the help of several supply companies, we have been able to produce a deer in the $600.00 range for the first time. This is not an easy task, nor will it fit everyone's needs. Trying to reduce the price of custom high quality work without giving up something is an impossible task. The same way a beginning taxidermist / hobbyist can not produce high quality work due to his ability; I have found it very difficult to produce highly detailed work at a low price. These deer shoulder mounts will be labeled Museum Quality. Just like in a museum setting, they will be best viewed at 8-10 feet. Museum mounts have the correct anatomy and symmetry, but do not have the detail required in a show piece. Museum pieces have less time put in to them and the quality of forms, glues, earliners, and alteration are not required in those projects, so this is how money can be saved on these mounts. Remember; the goal is to produce a lower cost deer mount. This is accomplished though cheaper supplies, cheaper tanning, and less time spent on detail.
Our Deer Shoulder Mount that we are known for is $850.00, and is a show quality piece that is second to none. You can not receive this quality of mount from any production shop. In these pieces, alteration is the most important part of the Show Quality Deer Shoulder Mount. The alteration is very time consuming and is the hardest part of learning the art of taxidermy. I have found over time that most all taxidermist / hobbyist will not learn the art of alteration because it is very labor intensive, boring, and they do understand how to determine what, where, and when to make changes. Most all taxidermists misidentify the deer specie / subspecies that has been presented to them. This happens quite regularly here in California. Here we have 13 specie/subspecies in our state. There is not one supplier that has sculpted a deer mannikin for any of the 13 species we have. A Taxidermist may say what about the Blacktail deer mannikins? Well; those mannikins were sculpted for the northern deer from Oregon and Washington. Those deer are much larger in ever aspect. That is why our A zone and B zone deer do not fit those mannikins correctly. We also have our Blacktail / Mule deer cross. These are the most beautiful deer you can harvest. They are also the most misidentified.
We have both a Museum Quality Deer Shoulder Mount, and Our Show Quality Deer Mount on display. You will be able to view both up close and learn more about the difference in the two pieces. Be sure to read though more of our tutorials and watch videos to learn more about field care and preparation. Spending time before the hunt learning how to properly handle your trophy in the field will yield a great finished mount that you can enjoy for years to come.
The tutorials on the site shows where I have remounted trophies because of this very reason. In the tutorials I show where the lack of confidence and lack of time produced an unsightly trophy.
Just do your research.
