A taxidermist has had a goat head and was supposed complete a shoulder mount. He has had it for 19 months so far. I normally use a different taxidermist, but was talked into trying this guy by a friend. It has been 19 months and I still have no mount and he said it's just been sitting around and he doesn't know when he'll get to it. The taxidermist I normally use said the skin wouldn't be stretchable by now and that it will tear. He suggests that I will have to take the other taxidermist to court because he has taken so long, doesn't look like he will complete the work anyway, and the hide is no good after this long. I am going to contact the guy one more time and either ask for my mount or money. Is it too late to do the mount without the hide tearing?
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Well its kind of stupid to say the hide will not stretch without having seen it and handled it.
Like saying a cars paint job is not good over the phone.
Get the hide and horns and go somewhere else.
Maybe you should take the hide to several high quality taxidermist and get true first and second opinions.
Thats what I would do!
I would go pick it up, and head elswhere.... As John said, it is hard to tell if it is still good.
Good luck, and let us know how the story ends..
of how long tanning lasts.......we just mounted an african collection, 11 mounts in all, three lifesize mounts, that have been tanned and just stored in a cardboard box....for 22 years. Do not let anyone buffalo you into thinking that your tanned skin will not stretch or it will tear. If it is a good quality tanning job it will last for years with no hidden fears. We store lots of collections for people building homes, moving or just don't have the money at the time. We mount skins that have been tanned for years....all the time. Don't be hoodwinked by anyone into thinking otherwise.
These were tough one did tear on the face some , three diukers one red and two red flanked shot 1966 tanned 1967 laying in a guys house since then, couple years ago someone tried ,soaked one up and tore a leg off , he was just to rough on them. Tried my patience but I got them done and he's going to be so happy. Tanning is important, just as much as the skill reading that skin. Anyone telling you an old skin isn't going to mount, is just jumping to conclusions OR He doesn't have much experience.
But without more information it may be all Irrelevant. If you do not have a contract, Spelling out time frames, You may be able to get your hide and horns to take elsewhere. But if you have no contract, he surely may keep your deposit as you have no way to prove that he is in breach of an agreed time frame. Some Taxidermists are running as long as 2 years to complete a mount. Good luck.
Its always the "other" taxidermist that sends you after the other guy. Does this other taxidermist know whether the guy has the cape frozen? Wet tanned and frozen? Salted still? You brought the mount to the second taxidermist for a reason, right? Let him do the work. If you must, just ask him bluntly and to the point, is he going to get to this mount, or do you need to move on. Ask him to just be honest and forthright with you, thats all. You need to communicate more with the guy who HAS your trophy, and less with the one who WANTS it. Good luck with this. I take a long time too, but my tan works well for me and it would be senseless to attempt to take me to court over a time frame...
Many taxidermists have large backlogs of work. Still you should have at least some estimate of turnaround time. My feeling is you just need to talk it out with the guy like Bill said. As for the skin being no good- I don't buy that at all. I pretty much believe that anything can be mounted. If I were in your place I would try to get a pretty firm estimate on completion time and if that wasn't acceptable I would ask for my stuff back and try to leave under friendly conditions. Good luck, Aaron H.
The original taxidermist promised a six month turn-around. He was at the ranch and liked the goat so I agreed to pay for his hunt if he did the taxidermy on mine. Two to three months later, the hide was dry tanned in his shop. I know this because someone I know was picking up something else saw it and asked if it were mine. I talked with him one month ago and he said that he had made the promise of six months when he wasn't working and since then he has had to get two full time jobs. He said he doesn't know when he will get to it. I guess if the hide is still good I can ask him for the hide, horns, and money that another taxidermist would charge. What I am worried about is if he gives me that and then it isn't able to be mounted, I will be out of luck. I had a bear hide turned into a rug last year and the paws tore. The hide had been tanned three years before. I think a new taxidermist would only tell me what the last one said about the bear, which was that it might tear or it might not. There is no way to tell and if it does, I'm out a deposit. Anyway, I just want my mount back with as little trouble as possible. Thanks for the advice.
Old poorly tanned bears are notorious for falling apart due to acid swell as well as grease rot.