I have a question regarding the amount of deer that Taxidermists mount in a year. This is my second year doing Taxidermy and I was wandering if someone could explain to me how some guys can mount 20 plus deer in a year and still have another full time job beside doing Taxidermy. How many hours are put into mounting a deer complete. I know everybody is different but what is an estimate. I know with time that it will hopefully get easier for me and I can do it faster.. When working on deer, fish, birds, etc. I get nervous that I am going to ruin the persons trophy, and then I will get a bad reputation. Down the road I would like to keep busy enough that if need be I could do it full time if I choose. Thanks !
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I work full time elsewhere, and I do about a dozen deer plus some fish and misc. things. When people ask me how long it takes to do a deer, I say 6-8 hours of actual hands on, from caping to finishing. I do it primarily from october through May, then I lose interest until the fall again. I have my capes commercially tanned, so right there is a minimum 30 to 120 day lag in having capes to mount. You just put in the evenings, and some of the weekends. I'm sure you are going to get responses from those who do 50 or more and still have a full time job. I live in a small rural town about an hours drive from anywhere, so I get most of the local business and some from elsewhere. Personally, I don't think I'd want to do any more than I'm doing now, otherwise it would be like work! good luck
I work a full time 40 hrs week and still maintain what I like to think a pretty nice business. Last year I mounted 153 total animals and 52 of them being whitetailed shoulder mounts. I mount about everything except fish. If you are only in it for the money your in it for the wrong reason. You have got to enjoy the art and love putting them together. I generally as a rule of thumb try to mount one a day, and finish work on my days off.
You must love doing it and be willing to invest the time. My husband and I both work full time jobs and then we have three kids two in high school and one in college. We work in the shop at night my husband from 5:00 til 12:00 most nights and me 7:00 til 10:00 (after I feed the kids and clean the house,then home early to see that everyone has homework done). We also work all weekend long in the shop. You also have to tell people that it will be so and so before they get their stuff back. Right now we are telling folks it will be 6 months.So if they dont want to wait they can take it elsewhere.
You have to enjoy doing this or it just will not work. As for you being worried about messing someones' animal up maybe you need to rethink doing this til you feel you are ready.
Kim
I do not know if I am a full time Farmer, and part time taxidermist. Or a full time Taxidermist, and a part time farmer. But in any case I love doing both. We do in the area of 165 deer each year. Around 40 bear of different Mounts. 5o% of them are half body, 10% shoulder 25% rug, and 15% full body. I do not do a lot of birds. Only about 20 a year. and last year was my best fish year ever with 218 going through the door. Our shop goes great guns from October to may. When all 4 of us work 6 days a week. I often work 12 hours a day. Come May I plow and plant. when all the planting is done I am back in the shop but rarely work more than 6 hours a day. Summer is the time we try to enjoy the fruits of our labor. come mid June We begin harvesting hay. First cutting takes about two weeks. Then I am back to Taxidermy until late August. when second cutting begins. Our corn, and beans are harvested by someone else on shares. so I do not have to worry about that. September I try to get the majority of my remaining mounts caught up, so I can start over. We do our tanning in house. We do full tan, using BaysenTan DLE. saving the turn around time of a tannery. So the first deer that comes in October, will go out the door. will go out in November. We tan in lots of ten which takes about 5 days. And always have 2 lots going. I mount 4 per day Monday through Thursday. Then on Friday, and Saturday I detail the dry ones and get them ready for delivery. The same system works for bear. Fish are done pretty much between deer, Or when I have a reason to keep my day short. My wife usually paints the fish Thursday, and Fridays. and Dave builds Habitats, as needed.
Tenbears
I think 443 mounts (or so) per year sounds like a ton of work. You have responded to a few of my questions in the past and it is interesting to learn a bit about you and your work. I am just getting started with mounting stuff and can't imagine doing that many in one year. I think you're my hero.
Steve
Who is a good tannery to use for tanning deer capes?