Almost turned a customer away today.

[AFWS]

Joe Combs is pretty reputable. he has neck forms..

Just wait with the political front and money tight.. I see neck mounts in the future of many..

I did a head mount last year for a client.. His first deer and yea he cut it off at the ears. So I did a head mount, put it on a Europeon panel from Ozark Woods Huess what I ended up with another one over a horn mount, money is money Head mount verse a horn mount $200.00 more!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cha Ching.

Let me make sure I'm READING right  YOU DID A HEAD MOUNT? like from the ears forward? like a european with hair?on a board? GOT PICS? I thought about doing that last year, just to see what customers thought about it

[Old Fart]

Trust me on this, you DO NOT NEED neck mounts out there with your name on them!!!

There used to be a taxidermist in our area who did very nice work for the times, and he would actually let me in his shop to visit and learn. He complained all the time about hunters cutting their capes short, but he still did them. Over the years I would see some of these mounts and casually ask about the short neck on them.......EVERY time the taxidermist got blamed for screwing up the mount. The hunter will not take responsibility for the mistake!

Out of my shop it AIN'T going to happen.    NEVER!     NEVER!     NEVER!     My price FOR a neck mount is SO MUCH HIGHER, that they always opt for the replacement cape on a shoulder mount. They might cuss me for being expensive, but I will never get the blame for a short mount!

[coonhollow]

Trust me on this, you DO NOT NEED neck mounts out there with your name on them!!!

There used to be a taxidermist in our area who did very nice work for the times, and he would actually let me in his shop to visit and learn. He complained all the time about hunters cutting their capes short, but he still did them. Over the years I would see some of these mounts and casually ask about the short neck on them.......EVERY time the taxidermist got blamed for screwing up the mount. The hunter will not take responsibility for the mistake!

Out of my shop it AIN'T going to happen.    NEVER!     NEVER!     NEVER!     My price FOR a neck mount is SO MUCH HIGHER, that they always opt for the replacement cape on a shoulder mount. They might cuss me for being expensive, but I will never get the blame for a short mount!

X2
I think some have better Drugs than others..

[Bobbi Meyer]

there is a heck of a lot of difference between a neck mount and a cape being cut a little short.
If it's a little short, modify a form and become inventive with some different ideas.
You don't have to mount a deer straight out of the box.
Or tell them you can mount it using their cape, but by the time you add in your time for form alterations
a replacement cape may be a less expensive alternative.
I've never had a request for a neck mount...so I can't say that I'd do it or not.
I might suggest a european mount instead, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

[George Roof]

OF,coonhollow,  Chicken Little is alive and well.  Do you REALLY think that doing a shoulder mount is going to "save you"?  ROTFLMAO.  I'm supposing then that you NEVER NEVER NEVER mount a deer that's had a slug hole through its muzzle or had the brisket split up to the Adam's apple,  or that has a split ear, and God forbid the parrot beaked overbites or the tumored noses.  Let's get real here, we're all whores to some degree, the only difference is the prices we charge for the services.  I don't consciously mount a "neck mannikin" but I've done HEAD mounts as well as cut shoulder forms right in front of the shoulder to accommodate a shortened hide.  The first time you send a customer away because of YOUR principles is the day you lose 10 new customers or more.  He WILL go someplace else and he WILL find someone else to do his work and he WILL badmouth you for turning him away and HE WILL TELL ALL HIS BUDDIES.  Catch 22 at it's finest and just plain dumb at its worst.

[GravityKills]

My first deer mount was a neck mount. He admitted to cutting the cape at the neck, completely his fault. But,. had read all the crying on here about neck mounts, and quoted the guy a full $500, and he was aware it was my FIRST deer. Wanted it anyway. Came out GREAT. The customer LOVED it, paid in full happily and has become a repeat customer.

I agree with George, all the work is in the face. And, as many of you all have admitted, most hunters (NOT taxidermists) mainly look at the antlers, with the face being second. So, why not do them? I did a second one, and also put it on a backplate with plants, a full sneak, looked like it was comming through bushes. Also came out great, charged full price and EXTRA for habitat.....

Send your neck mounts to me! No problem here.....

[Kevin M.]

  This falls into the same category as a straight mount. If that is what the customer wants. Then that is what they get. It's our job the make the customer happy. Not our own ego. 

[mr.T aka mr. friendly]

The first time you send a customer away because of YOUR principles is the day you lose 10 new customers or more.  He WILL go someplace else and he WILL find someone else to do his work and he WILL badmouth you for turning him away and HE WILL TELL ALL HIS BUDDIES.  Catch 22 at it's finest and just plain dumb at its worst.

Egg Zactly!
Never turn work down,, everything is fixable.

[hunte567]

I agree with old fart, we never do neck mounts they just dont look good.  We strive on quality not quanity.

[George Roof]

hunte567, who are you BSing?  Are you now saying that you can't mount a neck form as well as you can a shoulder form? "we never do neck mounts they just dont look good.  We strive on quality not quanity." And what does "quantity" have to do with it.  You just admitted that you either turn him away or you SELL HIM A NEW HIDE.  If you sold him a new hide, is it "quality" or "quantity" that you compromised?

Mounted pigs don't look good to ME.  Same goes with topi's, squirrels, turkeys, and a bunch of other stuff.  My job is not to be a critic of someone ELSE'S desires but a critic of my own ability to recreate an animal that looks much like it did when it was alive.  I hear all this grandiose buffoonery knowing it's a lie (all I have to do is find your "exceptions" list to prove it.)  I don't LIKE neck mounts either.  I don't LIKE cutting a form short because the Nimrod cut the cape short, but I don't like Flehming poses or elk bugling mounts either. But when they go out of my shop, I no longer have to look at them either and the CUSTOMER got what he paid for. In case you forgot, you ARE a SERVICE INDUSTRY.

[Redwolf]

I'm striving to put out a good quality mount,

A "good quality" mount? I don't understand. The quality of a neck, shoulder, 1/2 life size, 3/4 life size or full life size is what YOU put into it. If you just toss a cape on it, and not put any time or effort into it, the "quality" of it will be crap. A neck mount can look good IF you make it look good.
This is like a Krowtan, or Bondo thread. It's all a matter of opinion, but I still say if it's what the customer wants, not what WE would want and they are paying for it I'm good with it. I have bills to pay.

[Randy Miller]

I'll do neck mounts if I have to but the price is the same,no deals. I've had people ask about price and say they didn't want to spend that much so will I do a neck mount cheaper? No. I don't put my card on a neck, though.

[George Roof]

By all means, stick to your guns.  Send them my way, but if they come, don't expect them to ever be back. (And to imply that your "quality" is effected by doing a neck mount is just plain silly. It's NOT your quality, it's your principles.  Unless, of course, your quality sucks and I've yet to see a taxidermist admit that.) I refuse mounts that degrade the sport I love or insult the animal I'm doing.  No squirrels playing ball and no arrows in the shoulder. THAT's a principle I stand on.  I even do straight mounts.  They pay the same as turns.

I can't believe Bob and I totally agree on something.  LMAO

[Redwolf]

I can't believe Bob and I totally agree on something.  LMAO

I know, I'm not quite sure what to think.

[Kerby Ross]

 ** Let's get real here, we're all whores to some degree, the only difference is the prices we charge for the services. **

Market THAT!



Kerby...