People keep asking me thinks like-- How big should a bass be before I get one mounted? Or-- My deer scored a 135, is that big enough to mount?
I don't like to insult my customers and tell them that it's a silly question and I'm not going to lie to them just to get more work in the door. I usually find myself giving them a long awkward explanation of why people have things mounted.
How do you handle that question?
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A trophy is not always a big set of Antlers or a big fish. A trophy is in the eyes of the beholder. There may be some stage of events that led up to the harvest of the animal. or whatever. I always tell them,"It doesn't have to big to make a pretty mount."
I tell them that they're all trophies. Not because of the size but because of the fond(hopefully) memories they hold while harvesting it. Thats the whole truth and in no way deceptive from a business standpoint.(IMHO) Peace- Jeff F.
I had a guy bring me in a TINY 4 point this year. It was his 1st buck he has ever shot. Now from my point of view a deer is a deer...and I enjoy doing them no matter what size they are. I remember asking him how much the deer weighed....65 pounds (don't laugh)...So when he came and picked it up I received the comment, "Oh....I thought my deer had bigger antlers than that".
I had to bite my tongue not to tell him that maybe if he let it go...it would have been bigger next year.
Bojack is correct. Trophy's are not always size, or antlers. The person should be getting it mounted because in some way it is special to him....not because of the size. Good luck!
And it doesn't take long. I can't make that descision. Everyone must decide for themselves what it means to them. The smaller the deer the bigger the deposit. buyers remorse can get you. That way it is totally their descision and I don't feel guilty if they decide to get it mounted. If they bring me a bird that is not fit to be mounted I tell them that also. Hi Bill!
Tony
Size doesn't matter! Just make sure if someone brings you a tiny scrub buck that you finish it as soon as you can and never after the next years deer season opens. Your customer might shoot a huge buck and stick you with the cost of the scrub buck! I always finish the little guys first!
God Bless
Size finally doesn't matter! hehehe
ROTFLMAO!
They walk in here, see many other mounts, many bigger, a few might be smaller. It becomes obvious that size doesnt matter in taxidermy. If they STILL ask, I simply say, as a taxidermist, "Would you ask the barber if your hair is too long?"
"The Weekend Lakes Crowd" all the time. Do you think I tell them that's rather small to have mounted? No.............
"The Weekend Lakes Crowd" all the time. Do you think I tell them that's rather small to have mounted? No.............
"The Weekend Lakes Crowd" all the time. Do you think I tell them that's rather small to have mounted? No.............
...is pretty much what I've been telling them. Of course, the only ones that buy that are the ones with small "trophies".
Thanks for your input folks.
Bill K.
John C once told me to never, ever let customers see the really big racks I get in. Never thought to listen to him until a guy was in my shop dropping off his antlers for me to do his mount. Not ten minutes before him, another guy was in with a deer that would have scored almost the same, but had more vertical. Guy number two saw the taller tines and dang neart cancelled his mount right there on the spot. I had to remind him that his deposit was non-refundable or he would have. Lesson I learned: Sign in the rack and put it in a secured, undisclosed location.
Number two: A regular customer for whom I've done a lot of work came in this year with a tiny 6-point, totally uncharacteristic of his hunting prowess. He told me he wanted an antler mount but not to go to the trouble I'd done on many of his smaller deer in year's past. He then told me that it was for his 6-year old son who was in the stand with him when he shot. It was the last night of bow season before firearms season opened the following morning. He knew he might not get another chance this year, so he asked his son to make the call. he said, "Shoot him." He did.
When he came to get his "just stick 'em on a board and clean 'em up" antler mount, he was surprised to find that I'd done the whole nine yards on them, oak panel, buckskin wrap and braided rope. I handed him the shop ticket for the reduced rate we'd agreed upon earlier (for a piece of barn wood and a dollup of soap) and told him that because of the circumstances surrounding the taking of this deer, and despite its rather modest size, both he and his son would some day look upon this rack as one of the greatest trophies hanging on their wall and that if he didn't realize it now, he certainly would later. He shook my hand with something of a sheepish grin on his face and told me that I was very, very right. Tiny, but definitely trophy class.