SHOULD I BE UPSET.

3

338BUCKNBULL

Member
Messages
61
WONT DRAW ANYONE OUT, BUT THE PERSON MOUNTING MY ANIMAL HAS HAD IT FOR 18 MONTHS AND HAS NOT EVEN STARTED ON IT,AND ITS BEEN PAID FOR OVER 4 MONTHS. I FEEL LIKE THIS GUY DOES SOME OF THE BEST WORK IVE SEEN,AND I PAID A LOT MORE THAN I COULD HAVE HAD IT DONE FOR BUT I WANT QUALITY.THIS WILL BE MY FIRST ANIMAL EVER ON THE WALL AND MY UNDERSTANDING WHEN I DROPPED IT OFF WAS THAT I WOULD GET IT BACK IN 12 MONTHS.IM TIRED OF WAITING,AM I OVER REACTING.
 
Agreed. The last thing you want is for him to rush it, just to get it out of his hair. I waited just over two years for a big fish that I had mounted, and it was well worth the wait. Just call and touch base with him. Don't be annoying, but call and express your enthusiasm and be understanding.

"Half of being smart, is knowing what you're dumb about."
 
Honestly I would be getting a little anxious if I were you as well. Like mentioned above, give him a call and see what's up. In my honest opinion not always are the highest priced taxidermists the best as far as quality. If you call him and he's not going to start it for a while longer and you really want it done now, then get your money and animal back and go to a different taxidermist. That's my 2 cents.
 
If he said 12 months and he has not started on it after 18 months then its not about taking time to do a quality job. Its about him not living up to his word. Hell yeah, you should be mad! I took an elk to a taxidermist who told me 18 months and it took 3 years. He was still telling customers that his turn around time was 18 months. I don't appreciate liars. And I wouldn't hesitate to bring up his name. He is the one creating his reputation. fatrooster.
 
338BUCKNBULL, post this question on the General Hunting forum to see what the general population has to say. fatrooster.
 
I agree with Rooster.

I wouldn't have a problem with waiting, just don't flat lie to me.
 
Unfortunately, it seems many taxidermists are like that. I don't know why. I ended up having to take a couple projects back from Bruce Capes here in the Salt Lake Valley because he just wouldn't do the work.
I even thought I was a good customer, taking a couple heads each year to him and sending my dad and friends...???? Anyway, everytime I called and asked about it, I was given the old "give me another month". That happen several times, then I just decided to go get my stuff and take it to someone else. It's a shame that anyone does business like that. Amazing that they stay in business doing that.

My dad had the same issue with Dave Butts in Ogden. Just wouldn't do the work. My dad had to take a head back from him after a couple years and take it to Paul Pennie.

I know you might be thinking that it's just my dad and I are difficult, but really, we are not.

Anyway, if I were in your shoes, I'd call the taxidermist and say give me a day when it'll be done. If it's not done by that day, then go pick it up, request a refund for what is not done, and take it to someone who wants your business.
I'm not sure that paying the full price before the work is done is a very good idea. I wouldn't do that. Getting paid is often a persons motivation. If they've already been paid, then it might end up on that back burner.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
 
Someone must have said something to Bruce,because he got my deer done quicker than I thought he would.He also did a moose for me in 2005.I thought the turnaround was okay.He does outstanding work,IMO.He is a little slow on the turnaround,though.Maybe if he sees this he'll try to speed things up a bit!My moose was done in less than a year.I will probably use him again.
 
Ya, he does good work. He got one for my dad done quick, then one for me done in a little more than a year, but then just fell behind I guess. I don't know....???? I was sure disappointed in him. Not because it was taking so long, but because he lied to me numerous times.

Many people make mistakes in business, I understand and appreciate that, but when they drop the ball, they should atleast apologize and try to make it right.

I would never recommend anyone take anything to him, simply because you're rolling the dice. Sure, you might get it back within a year and half, OR it might turn into a mess where you have to call every month and hear the same BS...."give me another month" numerous times.
If you're a gambling man and want to roll the dice and find out if your business is important or not, then have at it. Heck, I thought Bruce and I were friends because we played poker every month together, yet I still got burned.

You are right though, Bruce can do good work. I sure hope he changes his ways, but I highly doubt it. I think work is just getting done quicker because he has a couple helpers now and less work coming in.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
 
Most all taxidermists are just like this. They promise one year and it is usually 18 months or longer. I think that is why they have their own business, so they can just do what they want when they want. I dont mind waiting either. This just goes to support my theory "If you can't do it yourself, you are screwed."
flyingbrass
cold dead hands
NRA Life Member
 
LAST EDITED ON Jun-18-10 AT 00:24AM (MST)[p]Bruce has always done an excellent job for myself and others I've sent his way, I sat on a buck for 2+years waiting to find just the right pedistal and once I stopped dragging my feet Bruce had my buck done in less than 3 months. Very happy with his work and turn around. Just my 2 cents.

Greg
 
As stated by others " most taxidermist are like this " because it's an estimate based on last season. Lots of things happen within the course of a year. Other professions have this problem of estimating time and/or cost such as construction. They are "estimates" If you like his work then just be patient, or you can pick it up and take it to someone who has a 6 week turn-around (novice/newbie) and hang it in the garage because it's too crappy to display inside the house.
 
Taxidermists can only give estimates, because a mount is a multiple step process. You have to prep the capes, salt them, wait for them to dry. Then ship them off to a tannery who also only gives "estimates." Once they finally do come back, then you have to soak them all up, measure them, freeze them, order the proper forms, and then finally start mounting them.

Once mounted, then they have to dry out for a couple weeks, before you can even start the finish work. Then, when you finally call the customer, they usually take a month just to pick it up and pay!

One of my solutions is to let the customer take the rack home with them to enjoy in the meantime. Once ready to mount, they bring the rack back in.
 
. Heck,
>I thought Bruce and I
>were friends because we played
>poker every month together, yet
>I still got burned.
>
>You are right though, Bruce can
>do good work. I sure
>hope he changes his ways,
>but I highly doubt it.
>I think work is just
>getting done quicker because he
>has a couple helpers now
>and less work coming in.
>
>
>Brian Latturner
>MonsterMuleys.com


That is exactly the problem!! I had a deer done by him a few years back and I would drop by every once in a while unannounced in the middle of the day to check on the progress. Every time I went in he was playing poker with buddies and some workers. My deer turned out awesome, but I had to wait and wait and wait. Last deer that I ever took to him. Oh well, found a taxi that does just as good or better.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-01-10 AT 05:15AM (MST)[p]>Most all taxidermists are just like
>this. They promise one year
>and it is usually 18
>months or longer. I think
>that is why they have
>their own business, so they
>can just do what they
>want when they want. I
>dont mind waiting either. This
>just goes to support my
>theory "If you can't do
>it yourself, you are screwed."
>
>flyingbrass
>cold dead hands
>NRA Life Member

I agree that a "bunch" of them are like this, but that doesn't make it right. I had one guy tell me 12 months on the phone, and when I dropped it off he said 16 and don't bother him by calling on it...and it ended up taking 3 years!!! I was fit to be tied.

I think most taxidermists that do it part-time or as a hobby just don't have the time to work a full time job and then play taxidermist on the side. They end up giving you realistic durations but then they get busy, or take to many heads in, and just can't produce. Then they hide from the telephone.

I've had it happen a couple times and I just hate them for it.

I've now found a big shop, that does great work, who meets or beats their quoted duration every single time. And for that I pay a pretty penny, but I don't go through life all pissed off for months. It's worth it to me and I recommend him to all of my hunting buddies.

If I were you I would go talk to this baffoon face-to-face and tell him how disappointed you are and ask for a hard date. I would also explain that if he doesn't deliver then you want your horns and hide back along with your depost. Then I would post his name, address and phone number on this forum.

I feel for you bud. When it happend to me, more than once, I was spittin' nails every time the topic came up.

Good luck.

GrizlyHunter
 
I had a situation this hear that a guy i had tanning my cape told me it would only take a month for me to get the cape back. Well one month turned into three months. after a month i called him and asked him about it and he said no...i said three months. I then waited the three months and he then said well it usually takes six months to get the capes back. This made me angry. If he would have told me six months when i dropped it off i would have no right to complain. I turned it in, in mid october and got it back in the last week of may. I took the horns and cape to the taxi that i chose and he said well, you have waited long enough...ill start on it right away so give me two weeks. I then told him i dont want a rushed job and I would rather him take his time so whenever it gets done is when i want to pick it up. Well almost three weeks went by and he called to say it was ready. I went and picked it up and it looks awsome. I cannot complain about his work at all. He did a very good job, and with only three weeks that he actually had hands on on this project. The other guy had one of my bros deer for over a year and a half before he got it done. His friend some animals in the same time i gave this guy my cape and his capes were in the same shipment as mine and he got his animals back the same week as mine. I dont know why this happens but it is a game that we all have to play if we want taxidermy done. I think there are very few people out there that are trying to screw people out of money or purposely waste our time. I do however think also that there are very few people out there that treat their clients with respect and have the integrity that they should have. Just my 2 cents though.
 
Shootinfool
The long turn-around time isn't because it takes that long for "hands-on work" but it's beacause of the backlog. Work comes in during the hunting season faster than it can go out and it takes the remainder of the year to complete.
Any taxidermist can do a shoulder mount in 3 weeks.
All it means is that your taxidermist is new to the business and has zero backlog, OR he put you at the front of the line at the expense/time of others.
 
>Shootinfool
>The long turn-around time isn't because
>it takes that long for
>"hands-on work" but it's beacause
>of the backlog. Work comes
>in during the hunting season
>faster than it can go
>out and it takes the
>remainder of the year to
>complete.
>Any taxidermist can do a shoulder
>mount in 3 weeks.
>All it means is that your
>taxidermist is new to the
>business and has zero backlog,
>OR he put you at
>the front of the line
>at the expense/time of others.
>



As i stated before, the turn around time is not the problem. The problem is when a person tells you that he will have your product in one month and it turns out to be seven or eight months or longer. Like I said, it is what it is, i will pick it up when it is done just dont tell me one thing and then do another and expect everyone to be happy about it.
 
I have been burned by taxidermists several times. My most recent was from a guy in Lewiston, MT. This guy was recommended by the meat processor. It was for an antelope buck that we green scored at over 80" that I took in 2007 with a bow. I paid him half ($200) when I dropped it off. Then I asked him to have it scored, he agreed to, and sent him another $100 to sweeten the deal so now I have $300 into this guy. Since then he won't answer his phone, in fact, it has been close to two years since he has called me back, and I have left over 20+ messages. I have an acquaintance that is a friend of his and was told that he was having personal issues. I told him at this point I just want my horns and cape back. I guess I need to go up there, but the problem is now he has moved. I won't use taxidermists again, I will either learn it myself, or european mount everything. Meanwhile I just want this buck back.
 
NO ur not, i personally think 12 months is to long let alone over. Im not sure what your laws are in your state but in Wyoming we have 12 months bye law to get a customers animal done unless we right an agreement thats its going to be longer. I know i pride myself in my turn around time. You can do quality work in a timely manner. I have less then a 3-6 month turned around, but i have yet to have a customers anmial in my shop for longer then 3. I no how hard it is to wait to get your mount back, and thats why i started doing my own. From start to finish i can have a deer mount done in two weeks if i have the cape already tanned. The longest part for me is waiting for tannerys. Id call him and tell him ur coming to get it and take it to someone else, theres alot of great taxidermists around that can get it back alot faster. Over a yr is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
 
Seems to be a pretty popular thing. I had my dads buck at World Class Wildlife Studio for 2 years and he hadnt touched it yet, even when I would see deer that came in at the same time and after leave his shop months before. Switched taxidermist and now I am getting excellent mounts back 3 to 6 months after I bring them to him. I dont think he has had any animal for even close to a year. Game Trails Taxidermy is the way to go
 
"Over a yr is NOT ACCEPTABLE. "
Quote . HIGHCOUNTRYMULEYS

Depends.
A year is way too long to wait for poor quality taxidermy for sure.

Some guys with world championship quality are very well known.
They run small operations and for guys that want that degree of quality, the wait is well worth it.
Speed don't mean a goddamnn thing to me if the quality ain't there.

Doubt you're slapping mounts like these out in three months.

67.jpg


137.jpg


84.jpg


239CougarWS2.jpg


230Cougar1124.jpg


awards1lg.jpg
 
Great post Hunter Harry, just happened to pick two of my favorite guys work too.
 
This is the way I see it. You bring the head and cape in, say in November. The taxidermist will cape the head and flesh and salt the cape and get it ready to ship to the tannery then boil the skull plate. When he gets enough capes, off they go to the tannery. Probably a 3 to 6 month turnaround on the capes. Now it is May-June and he should have the form and be ready to start. Except it does not work that way.

He is working on the work that came in in August/September (antelope/archery deer) before you took your's in. After that, the October stuff and then the November animals and anything that came in later. Except now it is coming up on August and he is having to take care of new work ( antelope/archery deer). It is now snowballing with more work coming in all fall. Every time a new animal comes in it takes him away from catching up on his backlog. The better he does with the quality, the more work he gets. Most do not want to hire anyone, keeping the quality up and not having to oversee everything that leaves their shop.

If everthing went perfect, he would work year round and be able to catch up all the work from last year. 12 months would be the turn around time. When they take on more work than they can do in a year it causes the backlog. Still thinking they can do it all in a year they keep telling customers it will be 12 months when in fact it will be much longer...2 to 3 years is not that uncommon any more. Does it suck ? Yes it does ! I would imagine that that it stresses out the taxidermist also. If they start saying it will take 3 years, they'll lose the customer to another taxidermist. Guess they just take a chance that the customer won't get upset ?

I don't know where it ends except to be patient I guess.

Moose
 
Yes, you nailed it moose.
I had a repeat customer tell me that he changed taxidermist because I took too long the last time. He came back to me and said he'd rather wait for however long it takes because the other guy was real quick but ruined his mounts.
Now you can get both quality AND 6 month turn-around from shops like Mike Boyce in Reno, but you'll pay a bundle for it.
 
Yeah, I know of Mike Boyce (Animal Artistry). He does not necessarily do the work himself but he has some good people working for him in the shadows that do quality work.

I know of another taxidermist in Reno that sets up a booth near Gerlach every year to get antelope heads. He spends weeks at time there and gets plenty of work but what of the huge backlog he has back at his shop ? He has way more work than he can do in a reasonable turn around time. I don't get it. My sister's boyfriend just got his buck back after a 2 1/2 year wait and is not happy with it. I know of several other guys who have gotten their capes and antlers back from him after waiting 2 to 3 years. Frustrating.

I use a taxidermist in Reno who does not advertise at all but is swamped. He has even tried raising his prices to discourage customers. This guy does great work and the wait is worth it to me (and many others). So I guess the bottom line is if you want a high quality mount, you are just going to have to wait and 18 months really is not that long of a wait anymore.

Moose
 
Many of Boyce's bast taxifermists have left him over the years to go off on their own.
His quality has fluctuated over the years as a result.
Some of the stars of the industry spent time under AA's roof.
I have followed Boyce's shop since his early days.
Some of the world's greatest trophies have passed through that shop.

I have Wayne Comstock of Reno doing one of my Kid's antelope.
He does good solid work.
Greg Koehl is another Reno guy that puts out fine taxidermy.

HH
 
I had a lion rug take over 2 1/2 years. It was the first time I had used that taxidermist and I choose him because of his reputation with lions. Some taxis can do deer really well, but they suck doing cats. This one did amazing cats. I dropped off the lion with a sizable down payment and left him alone. I knew picking a great taxidermist means you have to wait. After a year I phoned him just to touch base with him as to timeframe. He told me he had some outfitter work he had to get out the door that he was just tiddying up and then he'd start work on mine. 6 months later I call him to touch base with him. He tells me that he's just finishing up a live mount grizz and then he'll start on my cat. A year later I still hadn't heard from him. I call him and he says he's got some outfitter work he's just finishing up and then he'll start on my cat. I hung up the phone stunned. I called him back and told him I was going to come and pick up my tanned hide and get someone else to do the work. He said I didn't need to resort to that that he'd get it done soon. I said give me a date. He said two months. In less than a month he called me and said it was done.
Now I'm not bitching about this guy's work. Actually it is absolutely amazing and I admire it everyday on my living room wall. I was willing to wait and if the guy had of told me 2 1/2 years to begin with, I would have been fine with that. It just pissed me off that kept on putting outfitter's work ahead of mine and lying to me about getting to my lion next. Would I take another animal to him. Actually, damn rights I would. But I would make him give me a date and I would make him stick to it.
 
This reminds me of little Johnny.
When Little Johnny was 14 years old he decided he wanted to try a Nevada cat house out.
He wasn't old enough,so he sent his payment in 7 years in advance.


I love not acting my age,
Damn I love my NASCAR race,
And Hell yes I love my Truck!
 
I took a bobcat to my regular taxi a few years ago that I shot with a bow. It took him over two years to get it done! When he called me and said it was ready to pick up I had actually forgotten he had it! It looks awesome though, my wife says every time she looks at it she swears its breathing!
 
paying in advance was your first mistake. He has no motivation to hurry and get it done, he's already got your money.

And for the comments of Bruce at Animal Art, gettin your stuff back in 12 months for that kind of work is FAST. Have you ever seen his freezer? He has so much work to do its unbelievable. Waiting 2 years, especially for life size mounts, is doing pretty good if you ask me. Had a bear and a deer done by him and my dad has been using him ever since Dave Scott left utah and have been nothing but please with his work. yeah you have to wait but a year or two is definitely worth the money and knowing your trophy won't look like hell and you'll have a good mount to enjoy for years to come. I have several friends who have their taxidermists that they go to that are half the time and cost of what i pay, but it makes me feel bad for them when i see their mounts "ruined". If they were mine i would dread looking at them everyday. But hey, they got it back in 3 months!
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-08-10 AT 12:37PM (MST)[p] A friend of mine, years ago took a 32 inch 180 Nevada buck to a taxidermist who promised to have it back in three months, which he did. He only charged him $75. I took my Montana buck to another taxidermist who charged me $170 and took a year to get it back. I went over to his house a few months after he had got it back (I was still waiting for mine) to score the buck. It looked great hanging on the wall but when we took it down several bugs fell off and many more were still on it. He was blown away. Now he needed another cape and had to pay again to have it mounted. Not much of a bargain. My mount still looks as good as the day I picked it up. Sometimes you get what you pay for.......

HH I've also heard Greg Koehl does good work but don' know anything about Wayne Comstock. Looking forward to the photos when you get the antelope back.

Moose
 
glass eye : Oh gawd, I let it slip again. It just does not seem that long ago. The year in question was 1978. I had my first buck mounted in 1976 for $140 and it still looks great ! My taxidermist was in Sierraville and was competing with the "big boys" in Reno, always a little cheaper. Part of the reason was that he made all his deer and antelope forms. I thought his forms and work was great.

I paid $600 in 2004 for my last shoulder mount. I would think it has gone up from there ?

Moose
 
Great taxidermists are artists and a certain level of eccentricities must be expected. If he's good be patient. If he's a hack there is no excuse for more than 18 months. The hack will likely be motivated by an extra $100 bucks to have it done sooner, so offer a reward. The artist might just get offended by an extra monetary incentive, as if creativity can be put on a schedule???? Good luck!
 
" if the guy had of told me 2 1/2 years to begin with"

That seems to sum it up. The taxidermist needs to realistically determine when he/she can have it done and call if it looks like it is going to go past schedule with a new suggested date. Part of providing a good service is finding the balance between bringing in more work and keeping the load down to a manageable level.
 
Once a taxidermist has the deer cape back (asuming it's a shoulder mount) and has done the prep work to the cape and has the form preped it should really only take a few hours to mount the deer granted he has second and third day work on it while its drying and a week later finish work wich takes a hour or two. For a taxidermist to make people wait 3 years either has to much work or doesnt plan very well and probably plays to much. Or he is lazy and doesnt enjoy the work. I do some taxi work on the side and no one has ever waited longer than 1 year and I believe I do good work using lots of refrence and I take my time to make the animal come to life. Just my opinion!!
 
OK now that everyone has gotten some relief by getting a frustrating situation of your chest - what Taxidermists would people recommend ???
 
Where do you live? I do taxidermy work and I usually get all my mounts back within 6 to 8 months at the most. I know some guys get so backed up that they never catch up. Kind of frustrating. Thats why I got in taxidermy because I was sick of waiting for my mounts to be done. Check out nptaxidermy.blogspot.com to see some of our work.
 
Good work takes time. I have one mount and it took 2 years it was worth the wait. But sayin that the taxidermast has deadlines by law, and if not otherwize stated he may be breaking them laws. If he is good just wait it will be worthit.
 

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