Taxidermy Question.

sneekiest_sneeker · Mar 17, 2009

How often does it happen that capes get swapped? I got my deer back today and the taxidermist did an excellent job. However I know beyond any shadow of a doubt I did not get the cape back that I took to him. Theres a small drag mark on the top of his left shoulder and I was very carefull not to let anything in front of the shoulder touch while I was dragging him. The dead giveaway is the bullet hole just to the right of his windpipe I shot mine once behind the shoulder. The colors on his face are different too. One of the deciding factors on getting him mounted was the beautiful cape. He is'nt the biggest buck but I think he is a very very good looking buck. What can be done about this? The imperfections are small but I see them. What would be the chances of getting my cape?
Heres some pictures.

The drag mark.

The bullet hole.

When I shot him.

Finished product.

clifhunter · Mar 17, 2009

my dad and brother are both taxidermist and I would say this should not hapen. they put a nuberd tag on each cape with the mesurmunts and the name..........................If the mount looks good to you I would not make your taxi change it.

Basin_Bucks · Mar 28, 2009

This Has Happened To Me And It Really Ticks Me off... Also There Is Really Not Much You Can Do To Get Yours BAck, Chances Are That It Is On Somebody Elses Mount And The Taxi Would Not Know Where To Begin To Get It Back... Boils Down To Poor Managment Of Your Trophy Animal.. Shame On Him!!! It Was'nt In Northern Utah Was It...

4000fps · Mar 29, 2009

Need better pics.

I punch all capes with a code, and attach a tag with the hunter's name. Not to make sure I don't use the wrong cape, but to make sure the tannery sends me the correct one back.

we_B_huntin · Mar 29, 2009

I do the same as 4000fps so this shouldn't happen. But I will say that occasionally the cape comes back looking very different than when it was sent to the tannery. Small scratches in the hide become very noticeable etc. How do you know that the bullet hole isn't just a bad patch job from fleshing too close? Please don't take this the wrong way but I know first hand that sometimes the same cape comes back looking quite different and when you stretch it onto the mannekin things show up.

High_Wide_n_Heavy · Mar 29, 2009

This happened to me with an Antelope. The white patches on the throat are not even close on the cape I got back compared to the kill pics. I have to wonder if the guy had a couple capes on the table at the same time and accidentally mixed them up when he marked them???

bigmoose · Mar 29, 2009

It should not happen but it does. I had two capes switched on two buck mounts that I took in to the taxidermist. One was very black and the other redish brown. Very noticeable difference. The bucks were my father's and sister's from a hunt in Nevada. They had not mounted anything before or since and it really bummed me out that it happened. The guy swore up and down that he got it right even after showing him the field photos. Guess we all make mistakes ? Still pisses me off every time I see those heads.
So far as getting your cape.... you will never find it now is my guess.
Moose

deerbedead · Mar 29, 2009

bigmoose, if it pisses you off that bad why don't you slice the stitches on the back of the head and unscrew the racks and switch them to the proper deer mount? It aint all that tough, and you could do it in 20 minutes. If you aren't comfortable doing it, any taxidermist could do it for you for a very small fee.

deerbedead

Basin_Bucks · Mar 29, 2009

4000fps.. I understand that, That Is How It Sholud Be.. And I Have Seen First Hand A Taxi Not Do Anything To Punch Or Tag His Capes... I Know This Cause I Pulled My Elk Back From Him Before He Sent It To The Tannery And All He Had Was A Huge Pile Of Salted Capes With NO I.D. Tags On Them At All, He Simply Grabbed One And SAid Here This Is Yours, Which It Was Not, I Know That Simply Being I Shot My Elk In The Neck And There Was Not One Hole In That Cape.. Also When I Got It Back From The Tannery There Were No Codes Punched Into The Hide... Needless To Say He Has Been Removed From Any Future Business I May Have Reffered To Him..

elk_horn · Mar 31, 2009

Its been over two years for my Taxi to do my deer and I still dont have it back can a person do anything about that????

Basin_Bucks · Apr 1, 2009

ELKHORN! Sent you A PM

BoneJunkie · Apr 1, 2009

I guess it could be worse, a few years back a guy that claimed to be a taxidermist would mount up some big bucks with a DOE cape on them and they looked funny er than ##### because the capes were so small. Needless to say he has a new job doing something other than Taxi work. In answere to the 2 year wait, money talks especially cash. Right now you should be able to motivate any taxi with cash money. If you have paid already then bug him, the squeekie wheel gets the grease.

elk_horn · Apr 1, 2009

I paid him 200.00 already! I have bugged him several times to no avail... I will get my Hornes back and money if possible... I will never do business with him again.

glass_eye · Apr 3, 2009

LAST EDITED ON Apr-03-09 AT 11:53AM (MST)[p]Another perspective.
I have no doubts that there are dishonest and sloppy taxidermist. However, if you went on a guided hunt where there were a group of hunters, and you left your cape in the hands of the guide/camp help. Then there's also the possibility that the cape got mixed up at camp.
I just got a nasty call from an irate customer claiming that I had switched ocellated turkeys on him. I know for sure that he got what he gave me. I don't do switch-a-roos and everything is properly tag all the time.
He claims that he bowkilled this turkey and that he had a couple of taxidermist examine it and they say it was shotgunned. I also say that the bird was shotgunned, but again I say that he recieved from me exactly what he sent me.
The outfitter is to blame and not me. I've been on this ocellated hunt with this same outfitter and I know him well,and many of my customers know him well and our biggest complaint is that he's unorganized, very sloppy paperwork. I have no doubt that this guy's bird got mixed up in camp, and someone else recieved a bird with a broadhead wound in it.

4000fps · Apr 3, 2009

"Its been over two years for my Taxi to do my deer and I still dont have it back can a person do anything about that????"

How long did he say it would take when you dropped it off? Is he good, or is he a hack? If a guy is good, it is common to have a 2 year backlog. Also depends on how many he takes in though. If he is a lowballing hack, then he might have gotten more work than he can keep up with.

Good luck!

elk_horn · Apr 5, 2009

no he is not a hack he did my two sons deer and did a nice job took about a year and 3 months.....he claims the hide is not back from the tanner.... so do I wait???? or how long should I wait???????????

4000fps · Apr 5, 2009

Not sure what tannery he is using, but my tannery usually takes about 3-4 months. Lots of the larger taxis don't send all their capes at once, since they have large volume. They may wait until they get each batch back, before shipping more.

mdwsthunter · Apr 9, 2009

After hearing some of these stories I feel so lucky. I have a small town taxidermist. He gets a huge surge of mounts every fall and he has never failed to get beautiful mounts back to me in about 2 months. He has great rates, there has never been a question if things got switched, "unless a new cape was needed" and my house is full of his work. Are there any other taxidermists out there that tan there own. Because this seems to be one of the obvious differences between my guy and the stories of work taking years which seems like BS to me. When I get a trophy I can't wait to get it on the wall.

bigmoose · Apr 19, 2009

>bigmoose, if it pisses you off
>that bad why don't you
>slice the stitches on the
>back of the head and
>unscrew the racks and switch
>them to the proper deer
>mount? It aint all
>that tough, and you could
>do it in 20 minutes.
> If you aren't comfortable
>doing it, any taxidermist could
>do it for you for
>a very small fee.
>
>deerbedead

deerbedead I did not know this could be done once they were mounted. I would not be comfortable doing this and would definetly have it done by a pro. I passed this info on to my Dad and brother-inlaw (my sister passed in 1986) and at this point in time, I'm the only one it bothers. Oh well. Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it.
The taxidermist did great work but as he started getting along in age he would do things like that. He almost mounted my antelope with a different cape. I just happened to visit him the day he was going to start on it and helped find the right one after I noticed the punch marks were wrong on the one he thought was mine. I knew this guy for over 25 years and spent many afternoons in his shop as I grew up. He mounted 6 bucks and a antelope for me that still look terrific but towards the end, his reputation went down hill because of "little" mistakes. Sad to see it happen.
Moose

supersider34 · Apr 19, 2009

elkhorn,

I heard the same story from here and ended up having to get money in small claims. Won also. I was not the only guy to loose there stuff.

What state?