Best Mule Deer Taxidermists

I

idahonative

Active Member
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307
I figure it's better to scout out a taxidermist BEFORE you get an animal than to rush around and figure it out with the cape in the back of your truck.
Now, leaving out your favorite cousin that mounted a couple of bucks in high school, it'd be nice to see some serious opinions on who the best mule deer taxidermists are, and some samples of their work. Who's first?
 
I guess it depends on what you're looking for and what your definition of "The Best" really is. I have a couple of answers for your question and have used both of these guys personally.

I believe the best quality mule deer taxidermist here in UT, in my opinion, is Paul Pennie out of Alpine. He eats, sleeps and drinks the species and knows exactly how to make them come back to life. He's also won various awards with his work and just knows how to put them together. He's not cheap though. You'll pay top dollar for the mount but it will be done perfectly and no request is too large. He can do basically any type of custom modification that you could dream up.

That being said I also have a good freind down in Nephi UT that will mount muleys for half the price and he does a good job as well. His name is Kelly Black and he puts out a quality mount that will last for years and years.

For me it usually depends a little bit on the animal. If it's a once in a lifetime type buck then I'll most likely go with the "BIG BUCKS" and have Paul mount it. If it's a nice buck that I'd like to see hanging on my wall but I don't want to spend $800 getting it done then Kelly is the man. That's my opinion anyway. Each person has their "nitch" in my opinion and both are very good at what they do.

Here are a couple examples of their work.

Paul Pennie's Work
bksmount12-23-06002.jpg


Kelly Black's Work
mountCO30incher1-15-0503.jpg


NvrEnuf
 
Roundy Taxidermy out of Glendale Utah.You'll never see any advertisements for his work becasue he don't need to advertise to stay busy. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who'll do you a better job on a mule deer shoulder mount.

Mike
 
Those are both nice mounts and nice bucks. Did the bottom one come from Wyoming? Shawn Rees in Afton Wyoming is pretty good on deer mounts.
 
In Utah, it's always a contest of who's the best, and that's what pushes the best to "be the best".
So for deer, i say you can't go wrong with these guys, all are blue ribbon master taxidermist who consistantly win shows and can rival just about anyone on the globe.

Paul Pennie
Dave Anderson
Tracy Jacobson
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-01-07 AT 03:21PM (MST)[p]

Argyle. Kent Argyle is by far the best taxidermist i have ever seen. his turnaround is competitive, longer than any eager hunter would like, but he does a great job. his work is flawless. not a single thread or a crooked eye or even a bad internal nose job, he puts the pro is professional.he is located at the south end of hooper ut.

http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/User_files/46b0db1571bfe7f1
 
I'll have to work on getting some photos posted, but my taxidermy dollars are spent with Bruce Capes of Animal Art Taxidermy in Sandy Utah. He has done two mule deer mounts for me, and is in the process of a third. They are without a doubt the best I've seen.

I always shy away from the guys that are "fast, cheap, and do the best work ever". They usually live up to the fast and cheap part, but the best work ever is typically quite debatable. Saving a couple of hundred bucks and getting your buck back a month or two earlier seems silly when the down side is looking at a sub-par mount for the rest of your life.
 
Every one mentioned above doest excellant work. I have used 3 differnt taxi's to do 7 deer and 1 moose. I used one for two deer who is no longer in business and was not happy so I tried another. I still was not real please on the next deer so I tried an unknown guy and he has now done 4 deer and my wifes moose. He is as slow as they come and you pay top dollar. Like Travis R, my taxi doesn't advertise or enter competitions, but I've found one that will never ever dissapoint a customer in the quality of his work. He won't rush it for nobody or put out a bad job. Heres a few of my mounts.

Yelum

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All of those are awesome mounts. Y'all keep them coming.

"Easy now, keep the croshairs right behind his shoulder & squeeze the trigger"
 
my vote has to go to Bill Lancaster, Emmett Idaho, he promised me this buck would do everything but "Blink" and If I wanted that it would cost extra...
231.jpg


231
 
Yelum, where is your taxi located. He does phenomenal work. Also, that Bill Lancaster looks like he does great work. I'm tired of not being able to find a great taxi here in the Denver area. I was sorely disappointed with my last deer mount.
 
>Yelum, where is your taxi located.
> He does phenomenal work.
> Also, that Bill Lancaster
>looks like he does great
>work. I'm tired of
>not being able to find
>a great taxi here in
>the Denver area. I
>was sorely disappointed with my
>last deer mount.


Same here.
 
THE BEST TAXIDERMIST IN IS RUSSELL BULKLEY OUT OF PANGUITCH IVE HAD 2 DEER AND AN ELK DONE BY HIM HE DOES A GREAT JOB.
 
Those all look pretty good, but to my eye that one of YELUM's is a work of art.. Fantastic mount!!
 
Dan Morrow of High Country Taxidermy Meridian, Id. This guy has done two muleys for me the past couple seasons. Makes my other mounts look bad. His work is on par with anything you'll see. very lifelike.
 
Dave Anderson in Orem utah. He does awesome elk and deer. I have had 3 bulls and 4 muleys done by him and have never had a flaw that I or anyone else can see..
 
Check out Steve Tait of Antlers West Taxidermy in West Jordan Utah. He does great work and is a real perfectionist. You won't be disappointed.
 
Anybody have a reference near Grand Junction?? I either get the animal caped out and bring it back into Kali or just have the work done close to where hunting. Figured I'd just get it mounted in Colorado and take a trip out there to pick it up.
 
Awesome looking mounts...

What about Colorado Taxi's though... I pulled a tag this year that I'm pretty confident I could slam a wall hanger with... And like said in the original post, I'd like to find a good taxidermist now rather than later... One guy I have heard alot of good reviews about here in CO is Valentine's Taxidermy, I think he's outta Pueblo... I tried lookin him up on the web, but it looks like his website is down or discontinued...

Anybody have recomendations for taxidermists near Colorado Springs??? I'm willing to travel some to get a good mount, but would like to stay "in state"...
 
I agree with Yelum. I've had the same taxidermist that did his deer do 2 bucks and an elk for me and I've yet to see work that is nearly as detailed and lifelike as his work. I gladly pay the extra cost because as someone mentioned, this is something you'll look at the rest of your life. The closest that I could compare to would be Paul Penne. His work is great as well.

With Yelums, notice the attention to detail in the neck, eyes, and the muscles. You don't see that much with other taxidermists work. In fact, that first buck of Yelum is one of the most different and best mounts I've seen. Can't wait to get another buck that is worthy of getting mounted because I'll probably do something similar.
 
Yelums's mount is a nice clean mount, but the ear position is not natural. The only time deer have ears down like that is an aggressive pose, but that should be coupled with a head tilted down, and the hair standing up.

The second time you see that position is when the animal is dead and he goes limp. That is a nice mount, but I would think it would look better with alert, or active ears.
 
4000
You are pretty observant and usually that is the case. I wanted to do something different with this one and after showing my taxi these pics, he thought he would try it. Notice the first pic the buck has the nose tilted down, but after his opponent walked away, he raised his head a bit. Thats the pose we were after.

Yelum
PS You're bucks look awesome

46b3287a112683b3.jpg

46b328a211661d61.jpg
 
>Roundy Taxidermy out of Glendale Utah.You'll
>never see any advertisements for
>his work becasue he don't
>need to advertise to stay
>busy. You'd be hard pressed
>to find someone who'll do
>you a better job on
>a mule deer shoulder mount.
>
>
>Mike

I second that! I had Travis do a buck for me in '97. That same year he did a huge buck for George Strait the he got on the Pauns. I wish I had the pics of my buck next to his - made mine look like a baby! Here is a couple of mine though:

46b32cea1d5d8bea.jpg


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UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
 
Yelum,

Are those mounts of yours done by DB? They look like his work.

Mtngoat
 
Yelum, thanks for the response. I do like your mount, it just isn't very often you see people go that artistic. Got any other close ups of the other two?

Thanks.
 
These are not my mounts, these were done by Roger Sambueso out of California:

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46b33c504e9446fe.jpg
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-03-07 AT 09:15AM (MST)[p]4000,
That was a very nice mount, here is a different shot of it as well as a few more from the Reno show...

s1ml1.jpg


s2ua5.jpg


s3tk3.jpg


1-2.jpg


This mount has very good detail
m5.jpg


m4.jpg


a few more...
m3.jpg


m1.jpg


m2.jpg
 
2000
I know that taxiderrmy work is a personal thing and not everyone is going to like all work. Some people just want it on the wall. After having a few wall mounts done, I wanted to go a bit extra and portraigh a vision of my wildlife experience.

I've tried to duplicate what I saw in the wild with these pedestals. They are shed antlers of the same buck two years in a row, and depict how he was the first and last time I saw him. I don't have good close ups of the stump pedestal but here are a couple different shots.

Yelum

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Thats a show I would love to go to. Some beautiful work on those mounts. Thanks for posting them up 2000 and Harry.

Yelum
 
ok bottom line is Tracy Jacobson is by far the best in the state of Utah, he has won more ribbons at the show than any other taxidermist, though his buisness skills are not the best and it may take a while to get youre compleated mount he is the best, as for paul pennie he does great work but is not the top of the leader board, though multiple ribbon winner at the state taxidermist show, they are not many first place, and never a best of masters. The show has great competition with great taxidermists, my personal favorite is 2006 best of masters winner Dave Anderson at Antler Addiction. He and his crew do great work, with a good turn around time and a good price they have my vote.
 
Steve Tait is a good taxidermist, although he lacks years of experiance he does have great talent, i heard he had a lot of help from tracy jacobson with his taxidermy show piece, is this true?
 
Update: Found out these two were mounts by Roger Sambueso too. (Didn't know it when I posted it prior.

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wow, some very nice mounts here.

One thing I have noticed is that mule deer, in particular are different in different areas. I would NOT send my monster Montana Mule deer to a guy in california or arizona to get mounted, and the inverse is also true. I'd try to find the best guy in the area where the deer came from and have him/her do the mount, they know the deer in their area better than anyone and IMHO it makes a difference.

Mule deer in arizona dont look like the bigger, darker and longer haired bucks from the north, so I would not expect those southern guys to do as well as the guys in the north. . .
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-05-07 AT 02:30PM (MST)[p]COjack,
4000 is in Grand Junction.
Tfinalshot,A good taxidermist can mount a mule deer from any region.I'v mounted deer from Canada to Old Mexico and they are not that differant,maybe a head change and some clay.

RS
 
I agree with SAM...if someone like Roger Sambueso out of California, cannot make your deer look good, then you shot an ugly deer! LOL
 
46b6438f2ec3b413.jpg


Eyegaurd, I was working for Tracy when I did this piece for the show. I did all the technical work including altering the form, but Tracy gave me guidence along the way. Tracy Jacobsen is the best taxidermist I know of and a good teacher also. If he was a better businessman he'd be extremely successful. I learned a great deal from the guy as would anyone that had the desire to learn and spent time with him. I also learned some good things from Dave Anderson and he is a very good taxidermist, especially mule deer heads. Bruce Capes in SLC is also a very good taxidermist and does a great job with lifesize as well as game heads. Dirk Bawden (sp?) in Erda is another very good taxidermist. There are many good taxidermist out there but because of time demanded by competition pieces, many of them don't compete even though they'd do well. It's difficult to put production work aside while you spend weeks on competition pieces, especially when you're already backed up with customers work. Nevertheless, I'll do at least one deer head a year for competition just for the experience. In my opinion a good taxidermist is someone who stays openminded and is always trying to copy God's creations as best they can. When they loose sight of what they are trying to re-create their abilities will falter.

I've teamed up with Bruce and this fall we're going to do several death masks and other castings of fresh mule deer heads for research of details of mule deer the way God and nature has made them. We are doing this in an effort to re-create a more lifelike piece. All mule deer are different with many varying shapes and sizes. Our goal is to produce the most accurate and beautiful deer out there. Stay tuned.

Thanks for the compliment, and Ray, thanks for the plug. I hope you all have at least one great hunt this coming season and please take good care of your cape. A well cared for cape will actually make a better mount. Just ask your taxidermist for instructions if you need them.
 
Harry,

That buck on the right, 3rd from the bottom is incredible. That
is the type of taxidermy work I would want.

This is a great thread! I hope the bpic's keep coming!!!!
 
For
Grand Junction Daryl Powell does a very good job. The wait is about 1.5 years now. Greg Brumfield also does very fine work in western Colorado.

Beanman
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-08-07 AT 09:46AM (MST)[p]Check out Clay Goldman from Payson, AZ he does great work. Here is a buck he mounted that was shot on our ranch in Kansas sorry its not a mule deer. He has a lot of nice mounts on his website also. It is www.mogollontaxidermy.com

kansaswt.jpg
 
Kody Wall from Wall's Taxidermy out of Pleasant Grove Utah. Amazing attention to detail. I would put his work up against anybody out there. But, as Kody would tell you, taxidermy is personal taste. Just like art, what somebody loves another person may not like. Do some research but look up Kody in your search.



It's always an adventure!!!
www.awholelottabull.com
 
I will put in another vote for Paul Pennie. Is he the VERY best? I don't know, but he is the very best for me. Easy to talk to, fair price, always answers his phone, turn-around time is amazing, and he promises the head does not go out until I am 100% satisfied. What more could I ask for? In my eyes, a 1.5-2 year wait, is not acceptable. Hell, I might be dead in 2 years? He is also very honest and takes pride in what he does. A guy just might learn a thing or two about killing a monster mulie while BSing with him.
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-12-07 AT 08:07PM (MST)[p]Those are fantastic mounts...


I wonder how much a mount like that would cost, assuming you already have the rack and cape...
 
I will also cast my vote for Paul Pennie. Not only does he have the fastest turn around time, but does an awesome job on detail and posturing. I have had alot of friends take their animals to him, and none of them have ever complained about anything.
 
Wellers Wildlife Studios of Tucson Arizona.Checkout his website,he is definatly top of the line.
 
slamdunk said:
In Utah, it's always a contest of who's the best, and that's what pushes the best to "be the best".
So for deer, i say you can't go wrong with these guys, all are blue ribbon master taxidermist who consistantly win shows and can rival just about anyone on the globe.

Paul Pennie
Dave Anderson
Tracy Jacobson
Click to expand...
Tracy is a fraud. He stole my money and my once in a lifetime animal. Blue ribbon theft!
 
Bruce Capes at Animal Art Taxidermy in Sandy, Utah.
Great work and a great guy. He did 4 for me and never missed the mark in any way.
 

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