Actually I didn't lose them. I believe they were dropped into a box of leftover capes and raw heads that got pitched out into the trash and picked up. Geez' I can't believe this happened. First time in 12 years. I am actually sick over it because I have to go to this customer and explain my incompetence. What I need to know is if any of you have had this happen and how do you explain or make a deal to save face and not lose him. He came to me with two specimins. An 8 and a 10 point antler.The 10 point was on a plaque and he wants a cape supplied which I have. The 8 point I just freshly sawed off the skull and was sitting on the edge of my scrap box and must have fell in and I overlooked it. I know there is no excuse but it is done and gone. Here's my plan. I will go to this fella and explain. I will offer him my own 8 point antler that is a bit nicer than his own and I believe I should do his shoulder mount free of charge. What do you think? He is a potential good customer from a local hunting club. Thanks for your input.
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Carl, Maybe you could do a repro! I have some antlers in the shop and in a few weeks I'll have a ton. Let the customer pick one out that is close. I would do his mount for free, but I think either way you lost a customer. Let me know if you need help with a repro.
Don
bend over backwards and get him a 160" 12 point rack + do it for free. What ever it takes. But you're 8 for his 8, you're not giving up much. A 160 would make him forget his little 8, and forget that you boobed up.
I am a reproduction specialist and have been focusing lately on sculpting missing antlers and creating matches for single sheds. I am currently working on a large set for a client who has his trophy buck stolen. If you have photos and preferably a score sheet, I can re-create his set with precision if you like. Email for photos and references if you are interested.
thought would be to move. I would get every catolog I have that has repos in them and let him choose whatever he wants, I sure wouldn't offer him something I shot. Bend over backwards to please him and this still may work out O.K. for the future but for now I would kiss some butt. Also I would get his other deer done within the next couple weeks at no charge. Another option is possibly have Raven do a repo from a picture. No matter what you decide it'll cost you but let him know you'll do whatever it takes. Please let us know how this works out, good luck.
You could call your garbage hauler and see if the driver or anyone who works there might have seen them and picked them up for themselves. Maybe offer a reward and if they return them you are in the clear. John
A repro is going to be an insult at best. Tell me just one hunter who won't know that 8 pointer is NOT HIS regardless of where it comes from. He may not know the hide, but those "horns" are indelible in his memory. He won't remember the hide probably, but he WILL remember the antlers. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Expect to pay some sort of penalty, but it will be well worth it to save your reputation.
BTW, ALL CUSTOMER ANTLERS SHOULD BE TAGGED AND STORED. No exceptions then no mistakes.
George come on you know every eight point buck ever killed was a 180 score.
Everyone says I am sure my rack was bigger than that.
I never suggested to be deceitful about it.... let the guy know you can have a set made that looks just like his... but don't get it done and try to put one over on him. Just wanted to clarify that point....
John may be on the right track... you know what day they were picked up... go to the dump and find out where the trucks were tipping their loads that day. Ya it will mean some digging for you.... but odds are unless you live in a large urban area that you'll be able to find the rack if you get permission to rummage. Just a thought...
Before you offer this guy your first born male, etc, why? Big antlers, free mounts, etc...that isnt going to correct the problem. I know, I know, its just a gesture, I get what you guys are saying. But try this...
Contact him and let him know that you got the cape all set, and the antlers off the plaque for the new mount. BUT, in your haste, you seem to have misplaced the "small" extra rack from the cape you salvaged for him and fear its been disposed of by accident. Period. Now wait for his reply. He MIGHT say, ahhh, that was a dink buck, dont worry. He might say, sh*t, now what can we do? And yes, he might go bananas. You dont know his reaction. Dont promise him the moon just yet. If he really IS distraught, ASK HIM what will make things ok again. A similar sized rack as a gesture of good faith? A percentage off the mount total? ASK HIM how you can make it right after being honest with him.
Im sure Ill be told Im wrong here, as usual, but trust me. If you start out by giving him everything, many guys will hold out and see how long the guilt-fest will last in free stuff for him.
Bill, you impress me with you're wisdom everyday. You should be the first to answer the posted questions so we don't show our wild thoughts notions. But you set back and watch us shoot our mouths off and sure enough, you post up at the end to put the final nail on the top of the conversation with you're well thought out problem solving. I guess a wise man speaks when he has something to say, and a fool speaks because he has to say something. Really, I like you're post.
Nah, you guys arent shooting your mouths off, just answering with compassion. Thats a GOOD thing that shouldnt be tempered.
Please trust what Im going to say next as the truth, as I see it. Unfortunately theres folks in here that just dont like what I say regardless of how I say it, or that I say it at all. They also criticize me if I dont say it. So, I hesitate to even bother lately. Youll notice the games being played in here as of late, any idiot can follow along. Of course, I do sit back, and watch them have their fun. Let the fools be fools.
But I honestly dont sit back and wait for other answers to post and then come swooping in with the definitive great final answer. I think that every answer above was an honest opinion posted by each individual, based on their feelings on the subject. I just posted mine, and showed up later than the rest! Im happy you feel that I give advice you like, and agree with. I appreciate that.
Heck, we could go into great detail on stuff, like I used to. Like the guys suggesting certified letters when folks dont pick up mounts, for example. I could go ahead and tell you all that the BEST way to send that certified letter is to also send a copy by first class mail too. That way you have receipt of two letters, only one being returned without signature. THAT holds up in court. But, you know the rest, Ill say so and then hear how I think Im this and that. Im NOT the resident know-it-all here, and never was. I just dont need to here the crap for what I offer here because I enjoy it. Enjoy(ed) it, I should say.
Anyway, MrT, thanks for the kind words, and trust me, Ill always offer my best advice based on experience, not just to impress.
(Remember our conversation) I said the same thing you did without embellishments and YOU get the thanks. Bummer. Must be the name recognition. LMAO.
I'd try Bills way first.
I had a buck mounted two years ago before I began taxidermy myself. It was my first buck, a nice 8 pointer. I scored the rack and kept the paperwork from it and had plenty of pictures...just in case. If there was any confusion, I would have some sort of proof as to which one is mine. However, if something had happened to my deer and it disappeared before I got to see it again, I could at least have a decent reproduction done with the pictures. I would refuse, however, a set of "similar" antlers. It doesn't matter how alike they may be, a different deer grew those antlers. I would be rather upset by someone losing the antlers, but a reproduction by a skilled artist would make me feel a whole lot better if it was a buck that was special to me.
Even if he does say "Naw, it's no big deal anyway," I would still show your willingness to get a reproduction done so he doesn't think you didn't care all that much and are relieved that he doesn't care either.
Bill hit the nail on the head. What may seem like an insignificant buck to one of us may be more than that to the individual client.
Honesty seems to work whatever the problem. I have built a number of replacement antlers over the years, but even from quality photographs it is not always simple to reproduce a memory. Few hunters have photos from front, side and back or top views to use as reference in the first place. I just finished a nice ten point rack for a fellow who lost the original in a fire. He actually had the score sheet, all three views, and that was the first easy job I have had in forty years of playing with antlers. Reproducing a rack from guesstimates is a tough proposition. Better to use a replacment rack chosen by the customer.
The worst the hunter might do is burn down your shop.......you do have insurance, don't you? You need to provide a separate storage area for racks and keep them out of the shop until you are ready to mount.......but I guess you've figured that out by now.
What ever you do tell him the truth. Everyone makes mistakes.
Of course you guys all know, I dont answer these things without first doing one very important thing. I first think, How would George answer this? Cant hardly go wrong that way!
I figure we are ALL correct to say its best to be honest in this kind of thing. Hope it works out for you, Carl. Let us (me) know, will ya?