Well, I have decided to take on the life of a Taxidermist. With my knowledge of animals and anatomy I feel this would be an excellent profession for me. I am Crafty, Mechanically inclined, work great with my hands and would just love to do this for a career. Can anyone give me an idea of what animal to try first and should I go to school or try to teach myself. I have 2 children so school is an iffy option. The closest one is 5 hours away in PA. Please tell me what to start with, Where I get the supplies, and just the basics of the stuff I need. I have seen the mounts and they are very hard to decifer in my mind how they will look mounted. Are there any stores or websites that offer the "animal/mammal/fish" "Ready to Mount"? I really need to get my life/career going. All you Vetern taxis' be nice to me.
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Go to the suppliers section on this website, contact a couple of them and get their catalogs. Be sure to get WASCO's catalog (or browse their online catalog), they have many very good instruction manuals you can purchase. Get one or two manuals that teach the basics of the areas that interest you most. This will get you started understanding what you're getting yourself into. I'm not trying to discourage you but if you've never mounted anything how can you possibly know this is the career for you? Start slow, get your feet wet, then decide if you want to pursue it further.
I would suggest getting a wt deer kit from WASCO, but first get the Breakthrough WT manual from WASCO. Read the manual, get the basic stuff(knife, scissors, etc.), and mount a deer. Also, subscribe to Breakthrough magizine. That should be more than enough to get you started. I taught myself this way and it seems to have worked fine.
Good luck.
Welcome to our craft/art ! All the above is great advice but I would suggest buying a video of whatever you decide to mount. Deer ,fish(bass or walleye are common)or bird(start with a pheasant)Watch it through once or twice to get all the information soaked in and watch it while you mount so you can pause and rewind on those parts that give you fits. After a couple times you'll be going"I got it,its not as hard as I thought" Good luck and stay close to this site ,lots of good free help for the asking.
How to be a stuffer. I heard tell he knows how to stuff real good.
best of luck , your going to need it.
hey i got started by myself i bought a couple of videos and went to town you learn as you go. Most of the time you can talk to a local taxidermest and they can give you some good advice. there are a couple things to remeber videos are advertisment to sell products so do a little research before you buy alot of unessary stuff. A tip for you they say buy a good degreaser. Dawn dish washing liquid will do the same thing. Things like that can save you alot of money. Good luck hang in there you will do good. Tim L
Just go on to the WASCO site, and look around. I started with a squirrel and bird mounting kit, and also bought their beginners booklets, trust me, you will do just great with those.
Buy a video for what ever animal you want to try first.Then watch that video over and over till you know step by step what to do and understand how to do it.Then get a practice skin(not someones prized trophy)and give it a try.With a little luck and alot of patience you just might be surprised with the results! GOOD LUCK !
iAM VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN PURSUING MY OWN BUISNESS IN TAXIDERMY,IS THERE A GOOD REPTUBLE SCHOOL AROUND?ILIVE IN NEW CASTLE,PA. WHERE DO I START?OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS THANKS
There are 2 schools in PA. Northwood Taxidermy School in Stoystown,PA and Pennsylvania Inst. of taxidermy in Ebensburg, PA. Good Luck and hope this helps.