I want to take up taxidermy as a hobby b/c i think it would be fun and it sort of makes the trophy more special, knowing i did it myself. and I just ran across a site that had really cheap taxidermy kits. I was already looking at getting a WASCO deer shoulder mount kit, but it was so expensive I wouldnt be able to get a coyote mounting kit. But then I found this company called Van Dykes Taxidermy. With that company, I can get a deer mounting kit and a coyote shoulder mount kit, both with mannikins (WASCO sells them seperately) for the same price as just the WASCO deer kit. But somehow it just seems to good to be true. How can they sell them that much lower than WASCO? and how can WASCO stay in business w/ that kind of competition? The site says it's a branch of Cabela's, and it says they have an overwhelming demand for catalogs (one of which i ordered) which probably means that proffessional taxidermists order from them, so it can't be a total ripoff. has anyone here ever done business with them?
Return to Beginners Category Menu
also, is it hard to mount a deer head? i dont want to ruin my first buck, but dont have the money to take it to a professional taxidermist. i guess tho, if i really screw it up, i could just mount the antlers and itll be a waste of 40 dollars... but i cant afford to lose that kind of money. but the way i see it, even the pros have to learn, and how can u learn w/o practice? sure maybe the first'll look bad, but if i do more, ill get better, and if anyone starts badmouthing my first taxidermy project in later years, i could just say i was a beginner, look at my latest mount.
I have done business with both places, and they are both very good businesses. Van Dykes is an older company, I have done business with them since the early 80s. I have never had problems with either company and the products are good as well. What mainly influences my opinion is, who has what I want. As far as mounting a deer, they are not to hard to mount. I would recommend reading a book or watching a video tape or hang out with someone else that already does taxidermy.The more you know the better off you are and you already sound like you have a good attitude.Good Luck
I would never tell someone not to try. Give it a shot and if you wreck it no worries you can buy another cape and try try try try again! LOL. Anyway If you are serious and want to learn how it is done you will need to invest a lot of $$$$$ learning. You first need to buy mounting videos. I would also suggest you buy the whitetail manual too. Pray you do not get the bug for this kind of hobby it will break you learning but you will have a great time if you love it! Oh by the way if you think you will save your self the $350 - $400 to have your deer mounted think again. I bet it will cost you a few thousand dollars till you actually get one mounted that looks half decent. With all that said I will now direct you to your new best friend. See the orange search button to your left on the main page? USE IT!
Arthur, how much did you're computer cost Vs. the cost of takeing the deer to a taxidermist? If you realy want to have your buck done right, by doing it yourself, practice on other deer first, and after 5 or 10 of them, you might get one to look good, then do you're trophy buck.The kits at Vandyke are cheap for a reason. To sucker newbe's into a false do it yourself hope. It can be done, but we covered this subject the other night, the kits suck. The directions are poor at best. But do what you want to do, and good luck.
Mr. T, i would see your point, but i, being 14 years old, didnt buy my computer. my dad did. if i had to buy this computer, it would have taken me literally about 5 or 6 years to get the money. and my dad doesnt understand things like that. hes not a hunter and he would never pay hundreds of dollars for me to mount a buck no matter how big. in fact, i'm saving right now just to get a gun with which to hunt. just getting that for about $250 is taking me almost 2 years. if i did have the money, i would definitely take it to a taxidermist in a heartbeat, but it just is not an option. anyways, i would really like to mount a deer head myself. so if it's my only option, im willing to take a shot at it. even if it turns out as crap, ill still have the memory and i can look back at that mount and say "man, i remember that: my first buck. mounted it myself, even though it looks like crap." i noticed u mentioned above that the directions are poor. i am going to get the Breakthrough whitetail taxidermy manual. would that take care of the instructions issue? what else is it that is insufficient on the Van Dyke's kits? i can't see too much else that would be wrong w/ it if so many serious taxidermists get them.
reading back over that last message, i realized at the end it kind of sounded (to me at least) like a was popping off. i didnt mean to come across like that. i meant it sincerely.
Arthur I would buy the Breakthrough manual FIRST. Read it and Read it again and again till you can just about recite it from memory. THEN I would send away to some taxidermy supply companies for their catalogs. Ater you read the manual about a hundred times you should be able then to order your supplies separate and get what will work for your animal. The kits are not very good. They are kind of generic and will probably not give you very good results. I hope this helps you. I know how the money can be kind of tight for a young fellow like yourself, just hang in there the money will come eventually. Right now just do the BEST you can with what you have. GOODLUCK AND HAPPY MOUNTING!
The very best thing for you to is buy the Sally Dames deer mounting video from WASCO. It will cost you $20.00 but it will be the best $20 you will spend. It will take you step by step through the whole process of mounting your first buck. Don't buy the kits, you can get everything you need probally cheaper by buying it piece by piece from one of the catalogs. You can find a lot of catalogs online. But get the tape first. You will be glad you did, it will hook you for a lifetime.
I will send you my Breakthrough manuel friend. hear is my e-mail address. imfishn@bignet.net I will give it to you for free, it sure helped me to get started.
Mr T you are a good guy. Thanks from me for what you did!
i'll second that. i know i already thanked you in an e-mail, but i dont want the people here to think im unnappreciative.
Be Safe,Understand the products you use and the precautions you should take,dust mask,saftey glasses etc...,And enjoy yourself!
Good Luck Arthur,it's great to see you showing the interest!
Anybody care to donate a mounting video to Arthur? It's close enough to Christmas.
Arthur, post your email address and I will help you either get a good deer mounting video or buy your kit and you can buy your own tape. When I was 11yrs. old I had a Mr.T in my life but his name Joe and he help me to get started in taxidermy, that was 28 years ago. Thanks Mr.T, God Bless
Arthur, I envy you because you are getting started so young. I am 40 and just starting out so I still need my mounting videos. Sorry. If it were me I would get the Van Dykes kit for the plain and simple reason that it is affordable and will make a very nice first mount. I bought one of the cheapest forms I could find and I have the money to buy expensive one's. But why spend the extra cash on an expensive form. Also, the first mount I did was a complete failure because I took someone else's measurements as being true and didn't test fit the cape first. I got the eyes all the clay work in place, hide paste all over the form and the stinkin cape was way too small. The good thing is that the hide paste washed off really easy and all of the clay also, so I re-used the form and started over with another form. That same failure sold for a couple hundred bucks because I stuck with it. It was an extremely nice mount and the guy that bought was very happy. Someone please give this young man a video.
If we cant decide between a Van Dykes kit (good people at a good company) and a WASCO kit (good people at a good company) why not figure that seeing as how we are getting all of this due to the good graces of WASCO having this site...order the kit from WASCO. Thats classy! Hey Arthur, good luck to you! Sounds like these guys have you covered!
When I first started reading this and got about halfway down i was going to offer to send you a video at no charge, but it was already taken care of. Once you watch your video and read the manuel please e-mail me and I'll send you a cape and antlers (I'll pay shipping too) at no charge. jcmallien@charter.net. Good Luck, with your attitude you'll go far, your Father should be proud.
Arthur,
I'm an old guy just getting started as a hobby. My advice is learn as much as you can first like the above posts mentioned. My first shoulder mount was a coyote Van Dykes kit. It was missing some components and I called V.D. and they sent me all the missing stuff and then some. Although the kits are the lower price forms, my coyote came out great for a first timer, so don't think it will come out crappy just because you're new at it. Also, check around your area for local taxidermists and ask them for advice. The kits come with the basics but by adding a few simple supplies and tools your job will be easier and come out better.
I mounted my daughters 1st buck last year with the kit from WASCO. The only thing I did was, got the cape sent out to be tanned instead of using the dry preservative with the kit.( I used the DP on some squirrels) I have to sat that the deer turned out pretty good. I found the instructions easy to follow. Just my 2 cents.