Colorado "Cull" mount

OutdoorWriter · Dec 11, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-08 AT 08:59AM (MST)[p]My taxidermist, Marc Plunkett of Wildlife Creations, delivered my mule deer mount yesterday. I killed this management buck in 2007 with Atkinson Expeditions in north-central Colorado.

This is a pedestal mount, but I still need to build the wooden base part in my shop. It will be about 3' tall. The deer head is removable and swivels in place for proper positioning.

First photo is in the field. The other three are just quickies taken at delivery. Note the different positions in the last two pix.

P.S. - It won't remain on the dinning room table long, according to my wife.

TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

UTodd · Dec 11, 2008

That is a beautiful mount. Great looking buck.

Roy · Dec 11, 2008

That is one great looking 3 pt. Tony. Great taxidermy too. A very beautiful trophy.

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)

swbuckmaster · Dec 11, 2008

love the mount he did a great job

Archery is a year round commitment!!

larrbo · Dec 11, 2008

Tony, great looking 3x3. Your taxidermist did a good job for you on the mount.

antlerrick · Dec 11, 2008

Nice mount. That will make an excellent converstation piece..
Your taxi done a great job!
Thanks for sharing..

daverp · Dec 11, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-08 AT 02:23PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-08 AT 02:19?PM (MST)

LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-08 AT 02:19?PM (MST)

Nice buck. Mount looks a lot like what I had my taxi do for me. I'd highly recommend a "barnwood" pedestal to keep a natural look. I made my own pedestal as well. A real PITA since there was no real barnwood to be had anywhere by me and I had to "weather" my own cedar, but it came out pretty good I think.

Oh, and a tip. A 20lb sandbag placed in the bottom of the pedestal during construction goes a long way towards stabilizing the whole thing and keeping it from being too top heavy once it's completed.

rmanwill · Dec 11, 2008

Very nice loking mount. Congrats on the deer also.

OutdoorWriter · Dec 11, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Dec-11-08 AT 03:48PM (MST)[p]Thanks guys. I was very pleased with Marc's work.

Dave,

You did a good job. Turned out nice.

I plan to make the top a bit larger than the base now on the mount by using the top edging flat (2.5" wide or so) rather than on edge as yours is. Then I'll add another layer to the bottom of it that is vertical like yours but inset from the edge of the top layer. Once I get that done, I'll build the vertical base to fit inside of it so the top fits on like a hat. It will probably be an octagon about twice as big around as the one on yours.

Though I like the barnwood a lot, I plan to use the same wood I have used throughout the house over the last couple years. It's recycled 3/4" pine paneling that was salvaged from a downtown Phx landmark when Chase Field was built to house the AZ D-backs. I use it with all nicks, dings, termite tracks and nail holes intact for the rustic look.

The base on my bear -- also done by Plunkett -- is one I built from it, and all the kitchen cabinets, which I built, window sills, baseboard and door moldings, etc. are from the same batch of wood.

The end tables are from the same wood.

samples of the kitchen cabinets

center island on wheels

TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

Hiker · Dec 11, 2008

Great looking mounts.

Hiker

Proverbs 3:5-6

OutdoorWriter · Dec 13, 2008

Dave,

Meant to ask you in my other message:

Is that a Utah buck, or...???

TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

daverp · Dec 13, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Dec-13-08 AT 06:04PM (MST)[p]No, Arizona buck. South of the canyon.

MuleyBuck009 · Dec 16, 2008

Hello Tony,

It's great to see "Fuego" again - you're taxidermist has done him justice. Hope all is well and 2008 was good to you. Take care and I look forward to your future writings and stories - maybe we'll see you again in the future.

Best Regards,

Robert
www.atkinsonexpeditions.com

OutdoorWriter · Dec 17, 2008

Hey Rob, good to hear from you.

How did you guys do this year on deer and elk?

TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

MuleyBuck009 · Dec 18, 2008

Hey Tony,

We had a pretty good 2008. The archery and muzzleloader elk seasons were average for harvests, but for numbers of animals it was awesome - epic elk season. I was in elk everyday of September which in itself was outrageous. The rifle season was good as well - 100% on harvest. The mule deer sesons were tough this year - our best Northern Colorado buck was killed just west of were we killed that 206" buck last year, he was a 7x8 that went 194" and was 30" wide.

There was some pretty big changes with Atkinson Expeditions this year as well - Wes bought Adventures Wild from Chris Vaughn. We now have roughly 450,000 acres of ground in Eastern Colorado for mule deer and whitetail deer hunts. The extension on Atkinson Expeditions is called Outdoor Expeditions (both companies are located at www.atkinsonexpeditions.com ).

I hunted the rifle season in Kansas last week and killed a slammer of a whitetail. I have him posted under the whitetail page. He has 20 points (17 scoreable) with a 18.5" outside spread and 39" of mass - check him out if you get a chance. The southeast Kansas part of Atkinson Expeditions did pretty good as well - very successfull.

Take care and have a safe and happy holiday season !!!!

Robert
www.atkinsonexpeditions.com

OutdoorWriter · Dec 20, 2008

Rob,

VERY nice whitetail!

I've hunted in 39 states and 11 Canadian provinces, but Kansas is one state I've missed. Maybe some day before I turn to dirt, I'll get there.

One MM member here was booked to hunt elk with you guys. We had a PM exhcnage a while back. I can't remember his handle here but I think his first name was Scott. Since you had 100% success, I assume he got his bull, huh?

TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

Spencer · Dec 20, 2008

Hey Tony!

Yes, I took my first ever elk with Rob as my guide! He was actually pretty good at it.

I had a short chance at a nice 6x6 on the 2nd day but he never offered a clear shot. I took my 6x6 on the 3rd morning and I've never been more excited in my life. The entire hunt was filmed for television and it should be on either 1st or 2nd qtr next year. It was filmed for the show Living the Wildlife on The Pursuit Channel.

Here is my elk with Rob.

Scott
Member: RMEF, SCI, and NRA

OutdoorWriter · Dec 20, 2008

Scott,

Super!! Good job to both you and Rob. Glad you had a good hunt.

What were you shooting??

I don't get the Pursuit Channel with Cox Cable, so I won't get to see it.

TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

Spencer · Dec 20, 2008

Tony -

I was shooting a Winchester Mod 70 featherweight 30-06. I used a 180 gr Nosler Accubond that I handloaded. The shot was 117 yds. The bull I had a brief chance at on day 2 was probably a 290" bull but he was in a bunch of cows and I just never got a clear shot.

My next trip out there with them will be for a mule deer hunt!

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Tony!

Scott
Member: RMEF, SCI, and NRA