NTA Lifetime Membership essay contest......what's your story?

.......we need to hear it and hear your entire story told!....Did you say something about a book in your previous post? Now there's a book that I would buy. I luv hearing other peoples' stories. I subscribed to Breakthrough back when Bob Williamson had it. I never renewed my subscription, but I wish I had. I feel like I missed out and still enjoy reading those old issues that I do have. I've been saying, I'm gonna see if I can buy all the past issues. I was wondering if they had any autobiographys of people like Sallie, Joe Coombs, and many many others that I admire. I'd love to read their stories and any others.

My story would be much too boring.

 

Double, stories are only boring to the one it's happened to. Others would be fascinated by yours. Bring it on!

 

I agree with Swamp Angel, share your story!!

 

I'm sure there's a book in more than one of us. Hell, I already have an autographed copy of George's book. I'm thinking some just might be a quick read and some would seem more like a three part trilogy. Guess I'll be going over Jr.'s English book today to relearn how to outline again.

Mike, I'm looking forward to reading yours, as well as quite a few others on here. I'm almost, no, I am thinking it will be as inspirational as going to a competition without a piece entered.

 

Why is there no body playing? I was so looking forward to reading some good stories. I have already told my life story on here, in segments, many times. People don't want to read the negative stuff, they want to here the success stories. Am I a success story? No, I'm not making a million doing taxidermy, but, I am a taxidermist. I have paid my dues, stayed the coarse, struggled with it for 43 years. I have earned my right to be here. I've never had anyone leave my shop saying," i'm taking mine to the other guy." How good is my work? Good enough to hang with the other guys in my town, better than some. That has always been my goal, I'd pick the most sucessful guy around and say," I want my work to be better than his." Just good , quality, commercial work. Also, I struggle to get faster.

I'm 58, started as a kid in about 69 with the ole Northwestern School. Thanks to my dearly departed brother,"Bucky", who was 7 years older and it was he who saw the add and paid the 2 dollars a month. I still have his booklets and mine, after all these years.

I struggled with every aspect of it, as they only taught the basics. I always suspected that the school was older than we had been told. It was only after Tax.- net that I realized the manuals were from the 1800's. No dang wonder I had so much trouble. lol! I'd boil sculls, right there on mama's stove, smelled like venison roast and brains. I'd get Dad's skillsaw and cut the 2x4" for the neck and get a whoopin for using it because Dad was afraid I'd cut my fingers off. I'll try to cut an "oval" backboard with a skillsaw, then round it off with a hatchet. I'd get another whoopin for chopping that board with a hatchet. I had the greatest parents in the world, they just didn't want me to get hurt. We weren't rich by no means, but I think if they had thought it was going to go anywhere, they might would have bought me a headform or two.

I'd wrap those necks with excelsior, if I couldn't find some in an old chair or mattress, I'd use pinestraw. We had those "longleaf" pines in N.C., with straws a foot long, and cones almost big as a football. We used to paint those cones by dipping in white house paint, the kind you had to mix with linseed oil and turpentine, had lead in it, and we;d sprinkle glitter on the wet paint. When dry, we'd glue on little glass balls and sell them around Christmas time.

If I ran out of clay, I'd dig my own from the bank of the road, that pretty white clay. I thought those old methods were "state of the art", and I guess my parents did too. Maybe that's why they never invested any money in my venture. I was wrapping mounts as late as 1975. I knew about JW Elwood's and in 73 a guy gave me an early Van Dyke's catalog.

After 20 years struggling, VCR's came out. I was the last to get one. It cost $369 , and that was a weeks work for me back then. My work started to improve, little by little. I remember watching a video by WASCO, with Ronnie Gaylaird, World Champion mounting a deerhead. He said, " this form was sculpted in 1973." I didn't discover WASCO until about 88, so I'm thinking, "dammit man, you mean to tell me they had forms that good over 15 years ago?" You could have knocked me over with a feather. Then I saw stars, " I'm gonna dig up that Elwood guy and whoop hiz azz for jerkin me around with this excelsior crap and paper forms, which I couldn't afford anyway."

It's all about knowledge. You newer students of Taxidermy really don't know how good you got it, for real. There is so much info available on here today, they should be charging admission to Taxidemy-Net. Having a problem, ask a question and you get an immediate answer from someone like George Roof for example, always there , willing to help, with his vast knowledge and experience.

Then you've got Google, reference pics. at your fingertips, free info. If that's not enough, on the forum, you can tune in to the many discussions on various topics or take part an start one yourself. All the capes and horns a man could ask for, right here.

My work improved tremendously by watching the videos. During all this time, I have a lovely wife of 39 years, 4 kids, so I work construction. That's what puts the beans on my table, but, like everything, you have to work at warpfactor 12 to get the job done, bid cheap, to get the contracts, and it's getten outta hand. It ain't no fun anymore, plus I'm getting too old for that. What keeps me in it when it's been such a struggle? I hate my day job and when I'm in my mancave shop, i know I'm in my element. The beauty of these animals we work with is inspiring. The colors on the fish, and we get to put em back on once they fade away. I'm too tuckered out to hunt or fish, so I practice Taxidermy, meet a few people, and collect antique fishing tackle and guns.

As I get older, I don't even want to kill anything anymore. No, don't call me an anti, I still watch hunting on TV, fishing, but it's just that I've done my share. I still support hunting, go for it.

I don't know where my career is going, but I will always be in taxi, I think, at one level or another. I started out as an artist, drawing, painting, painting signs, airbrushing vans, cycles. I do believe true art talent is a God given gift. I do believe taxidermy is an artform, but I've often wondered if taxi. is a God given gift or did he just give us the talent and we chose to throw down the flat art and go three dimensional? Does he approve of it? I think he put the animals here for us, gave us dominion over them and yes, I do think it is alright to do it. But, I have struggled with this issue in the past.Not trying to blow smoke, but how could anyone look at that otter on the front page and not realize that it IZ ART, in its truest form and not just another stuffed animal. It took alot of talent and hard work to achieve that.

I don't know too much about the NTA. I do think that it's good that Antler and MP did what they did, and the others that helped. If these guys did wrong, misappropriated funds, I say, thro them in jail. I hope the NTA grows, I'm sure it will. With a commy government trying to take away our rights, our guns, bullits, our way of life, we need to stick together probably more now than ever before, to help protect our way of life.

One thing I'd like to see on T-net, is a little heavier monitoring, when it comes to sexual innuendo and inappropiate remarks if we are going to call it a family oriented site.

I wish others would post their story, mine is depressing I know. But, this ain't the first time I've made a fool out of myself on here, as you already know. LOL!

It would make a good book, if that's where this was heading. Out of 40,000 members, there's got to be some good stories, come on, let's hear some. Don't be shy. D.B.

modified, incorpriate remarks?? LOL! I meant inappropriate. Good thing I wasn't drinkin coors lite, the computer would have ran outta ink. LOL!

 

Hey Mike, when you said you were going to tell your story, I think you scared every body off. Maybe you need to withdraw. LOL! We still want to hear it though.

 

Good story DB....My foray in Taxidermy, started in 1958 at 10 years old, I'm 64 now.Started like most older guys on here with the elwood pamplets, and books I found at the libaray at the time,Leon Pray,John Moyer and Rockwell.I wrapped bodies for everything from the start, until the Van Dykes catalog was found, I mounted a lot of heads,using those bug eye forms...next was the Bess Maid forms that had eyes pointing straight....Finally Jonas Bros Forms fit better, then the others at the time...When I married in 1984, Taxidermy was earning me money for my new wife and baby boy...I worked in a chrome plating joint at the time, and was earning more with the taxidermy...but computers and electronics started interesting me more, so off to electronics school for me....today hardly anything made is worth being repaired...buy and discard...I came back to taxidermy in 1992, doing animals i never seen before...must of my work was with squirrels as novelty mounts, crab mounts for decorators and crab houses selling steamed crabs, plus a lot of fish work.I retired in 2011 and went back to computers learning up to date programming...now most things i do is playing with microcontrollers and game engines...I still dabble in taxidermy with crab mounts and a few fish, now and then....I still love to come on here and look at all the beautiful fish mounts and where it has improved so much,thanks to Rick Krane and others on here....Thats it........................Herman

 

Come on swamp angel and taxi girl, let's hear it, I challenge you.

 

Let's hear it Critter C.

 

My story......

I didn't start out like many of you did. I was however raised by a "craft" mother. Mother painted, sewed and made our cloths, was my pinewood derby car helper, and did her best to raise two boys in the ways boys would find interesting while dad was an over the road trucker whom was seldom around, even though we excepted that as him doing what he had to do to provide for us, which he did well. My Grandfather however, was the male figure in my life. He too was a craftsman who lived off the land. He taught me how to be resourceful with that which was available and turn those resources into something of value. For example, when he was 8 years old he carved a baseball bat out of a hickory limb so he and his friends could play baseball out in the cow pasture. He became "known" as the "batman", and spent the rest of his life producing several million baseball bats that carried the Louisville Slugger logo on them. He never worked for anyone other than himself, but provided work for many throughout the 50+ years the factory was in operation. When innovation came knocking on the door and aluminum became the material of choice, the crack of the wooden bat was silenced forever, and the "batman" was no more.

Somewhere along the way, the lessons learned from Ole Grandad must have worked their way in. I was in my twenties before I ever harvested anything other than an occasional rabbit or squirrel, which were for the table. Not wall decor. However, I heard tell of the stories of Ole Grandad and his coon hunting dogs. How fur was a resource that kept many a family fed and a way of life for many. How his dogs were always the best around and people would pay top dollar for one of his dogs, but I never got to witness this as I was not even born yet. But the stories, oh my gosh. They were told like it was something monumental in history. And to those in that little Tennessee Hill Country, it was.

I went on to pursue a short 10 year career as a Locomotive Engineer for the Railroad in Western Nebraska where I also learned to fly and would on occasion fly oil pipeline inspection all over Ne, Ks, Ok, and Tx. While there I got exposed to larger game hunting and harvested my first deer, antelope, and wild turkeys. All for the table. Not the wall.

Ole Grandad passed on and I found myself coming back home, after the death of my daughter and a divorce, to use the tools he had taught me as a timber cutter for a sawmiller here in Illinois. This man was a lot like my dear Ole Grandad. He had a clubhouse along the river and a pen where he had about a dozen head of whitetails that were as tame as puppy dogs. I found myself spending much of my available time in that pen, just admiring and wanting to be near such amazing creatures, where I also found solace. We started to bond and I felt loved and trusted amongst them. When they started to have fawns, the old timer taught me how to bottle feed them and care for the young. He sent me home with two of them to care for around the clock, and said for me to bring them back when I had gotten my fill. I never did get my fill. When the old man was getting to feeble to care for them, I bought every deer he had. I built a large enclosure and before you know it I had over 100 head of these gorgeous animals, and I had acquired the name, the DeerMan with the locals, who may not have totally understood my passion but were fascinated to say the least in my obsession.

As with all good things, there is usually a price to pay. In this case it was the feed bill. I knew I couldn't continue on without becoming more resourceful and somehow finding a way for my pets to become self providing. I had heard about a man in Southern Illinois who had a monster buck. His name, Jerry Stafford and the bucks name was Samson. I decided to seek out this man and he invited me down to see his operation and meet the Legendary Buck. Jerry was more than hospitable and gave me not only the tour, but he also shared with me the in's and out's of URINE collection. That was it. The resource I needed for my deer to become self sustaining financially. I came home and built a deer bathroom. Sales took off and soon I couldn't keep up with the demand. The more I produced the more the demand and soon I realized I didn't have enough deer. So I expanded with more and more and the next thing you know it became a full time endeavor.

Then, I met a girl who shared in my obsession. She came from a family of hunters whom liked to display their "trophies", my pets.......on their walls. Well, I knew about these strange people as I had been marketing my urine product to literally thousands of them for some time, but anyone who would want a dead animal on their wall is just weird. In an attempt to include her in my world, I recalled Julie Stafford, Jerry's wife as being one of these weird people who "stuffed" these so called "trophies" so I called her and asked her where we should start in learning this weird activity. She referred us to a man in Iowa named Joe Meder, some type of guru in this weird obsession with people who wanted dead things hanging in their home, so we made the call.

Joe was booked up with students and said it would be spring before he would be having another class. That was fine with us as we were planning to get married soon and any extra money could be used for a honeymoon trip. The wedding was a week away when Joe called. Said he had a cancellation and could fit us in his next class which was the week following our wedding on Saturday. We talked it over and you might guess that we spent our honeymoon in Salon Iowa studying with Joe on how to make dead things pretty so weird people could hang them on their walls, but it wasn't me who was going to be the one doing this weird activity, it was my new bride. So, where was I at when she was studying this weird activity? Where else......in Joe's deer pen. Doing what I did best.......making friends with his animals. First night of our honeymoon trip, I was helping Joe tranquilize and load animals that he had sold to a man named Jim Reimer while my new bride was at the motel.......alone. I told you I was obsessed. Just maybe not too smart.

We get back home and I find myself becoming interested in this weird activity too. Turns out, she wasn't as devoted to this weird activity as much as she thought she was, or me. As her interest diminished, mine increased. As Joe had suggested we do, we went to this thing called a convention and entered our first competition. Now how weird is this. People get together and they have a contest where awards are given to the best entrees as judged by some other known guru in this weird obsession of people hanging dead things on their walls in their homes. Ok, I thought I had seen about everything by now and realized there are a lot of these weird people running around, but I liked them and they seemed to like us. People seemed willing to talk to us, show us things to improve the appearance of these dead things and were just friendly helpful people who all gathered, I assumed, because no-one else wanted to associate with these "weird" people and they were always looking for new weirdo's to join their little weird society.

We received a green Honorable Mention that first year and people were congratulating us on a such a fine job we did. However, my new bride didn't take to well to that green ribbon. Seems she had the expectation that she would go to this weird gathering and win a BLUE ribbon. Boy was she in for a rude awakening. But the REAL rude awakening was yet to come, and come it did. See, before she became disenchanted with this weird activity, and me, we had advertised our activities with all the outfitters, sporting goods stores, and patrons of our URINE product business, so naturally when word got out that the "deerman" and his bride were engaged in this weird activity, people started showing up like as though someone was handing out free butter at the church social. I mean people came from everywhere to have us "stuff" these things I called "Pets". We didn't have a shop. Up to this point all had been done at the kitchen sink and table. Holy Crap.......what was I to do? People must have thought that since I was the "deerman", that I knew what I was doing. I didn't have a clue, but I decided I would learn what to do. So my quest started after I had 50 heads to do and no clue where to start. But like my momma always said: When life gives you lemons, make lemonaide. So, as any resourceful person would do, I started making phone calls to those nice weird people I had met who seemed to know something about this, along with whatever directions I could obtain from my not so enchanted new bride.

My first shop. A 12'x16' utility shed with 6' ceilings. Imagine when tall people showed up. The lights were bad and there was no insulation at first. A gas heater for the winter, and no relief from the heat in the summer, but I trudged on as if I had good sense. I had somehow officially became one of the "weird" people.

That was twenty years ago. Today I'm even weirder than I ever dreamed of being. Still stuffing dead animals for weird people who want dead things on their walls and doing antler reproductions which got me the tag; "Antlerman". Gone are the days of the big deer herds and urine collection, but I've had the opportunity to learn and experience a lot over the years. What I've learned most, more-so than how to make perfect these dead animals, is what a wonderful group of weird people this industry has, and how damn proud I am to be a part of such a wonderful society as my friend base has grown to reach from coast to coast, and to other countries as well, of people who share in this weird art form that we all love and cherish. I've also gotten to play host to 5) Yoxathons and coined the name after Bill Yox, the Foam Flying Party with Dennis Harris, Gator Wars with Tom Voyer and Dan "Psycho" Hudzik,(a benefit for Michael and Harry) and the Midwest Regional. All centered around education. Education is the one thing I feel we can still do better on, and next year we have 3) Rick Carter Castaroma's scheduled.

Maybe not so weird afterall, but like momma always said; Life is like a box of chocolates. You don't know what you've got until you bite into the center. In the center of all this is the Best Damn People on Earth. So Proud to be a part of it. Today I find myself not only interested in this as an art form, or craft, but I enjoy studying the history. A history filled with legends and icons. People who carved heritage into our culture much like how history has been carved into Mt. Rushmore. Preserving that history in our museums for the generations to come. People like Carl Akeley. The pioneers who left behind these wonderful works of art, who showed us the way. The curators whose task it is to bring history into the modern world. The innovators who bring new ideas, and those who keep us connected in this computerized society. The artisans whose talents inspire us. The associations which brings us all together. The publications that teach and guide. The beginner whose eyes are filled with awe, and the old timer who has seen more and forgotten more than most of us can even imagine. It all plays a part in this wonderful world we know as "taxidermy". It's beginnings, it's history and it's future. Where does it all end? It doesn't as long as we, "the industry", protect it's resources, hold dear to our hearts it's history, and respect and be grateful for it's beginnings. May the NTA which is a representation for us all, live long into our futures as we progress the resources in-which we have been given and from which, we take that which enriches our lives the most, our Friends we make along the way. What a Wonderful Weird Society we all belong too. I think I'll stick around for a while yet. I hear the future of the NTA is pretty bright.

PS...oh and by the way...I still don't have any dead things on the walls in my home. That's just weird. LOL But I do have a nice collection of my Grandad's bats that I will cherish forever.


Respectfully submitted;

Tim Thacker
aka..the "Antlerman"

 

Now that is cool, I really like the Batman part.

 

August 18th 1969 I was born in Indiana. My father was an Auto Worker born in Kentucky and my Mother a beautician from Indiana. at the ripe old age of 3 years old I was fascinated with wildlife and the woods. I accompanied my Dad on many a squirrel hunt in Kentucky and remember the task very well of holding those squirrels legs while he skinned them. I cannot tell you how many squirrel tails I had get eaten from our family dog and my mother finding baby food jars with squirrel eyes saved in alcohol. I remember well the 4th Grade myself and Rodney Sprinkle planning or taxidermy career sitting in a make shift tent in grade school amazed at the black and white pictures in the Field and Stream of rodents and frogs posed as humans in the J.W. Elwood advertisement with the heading "Learn Taxidermy" I was hooked from that moment. I remember telling my Dad that it was only $20.00 to learn taxidermy and they would send me the booklets in the mail. I remember the day I started getting those booklets and the task of collecting specimens. I headed out for the hunt with my German Sheppard Sam and my trusty Daisy BB gun. Those hunts brought in my first specimens which consisted of a starling and an English sparrow. I learned many things in those first weeks and put out some not so great mounts but I was so proud of my accomplishment. I then moved on to a squirrel which looked like a swollen odd shaped balloon animal and not knowing how to remove the tail bone it dried and broke in the middle. My Mom cherished that Squirrel which she named Clyde and displayed it for many years until my Dad finally threw the eyesore away. I then drifted away from my taxidermy when I had to get a job and then came the Air Force and at that time in 1991 I got deployed to Desert Shield and Desert Storm also Known as the Gulf War. I did my tour in the gulf and when I returned My interest was peaked again with the Northwestern School of Taxidermy booklets and I finally finished and got my Taxidermy diploma. I spent many hours in the dining room of our home mounting my first wood duck and then a donated Raccoon. Both pretty horrible as far as anatomy but they were my work. I then received a postcard inviting me to the Association of Indiana Taxidermists annual convention. I entered a fish that I was very proud of only to see the work of others that looked like real fish. That inspired me to learn learn learn. And I did just that. I bought books and videos from a supply company catalog I learned about called WASCO. Every spare dollar I had I purchased videos and the Breakthrough wildlife manuals which I learned so many new and valuable things from. Every family vacation of every year was coordinated around attending my state association shows as well as the IGT competitions. I remember being judged by Richard Christoforo and getting a third place ribbon on a wiper from Tom Sexton. One that really sticks in my mind is my first blue ribbon I received on a red fox at the IGT show judged by Larry Blomquist. My children have spent every year at our state show as well as IGT and the World Taxidermy Championships shows and learned to love this industry. I had not missed a state association show for 18 years until this past February due to financial hardship and we could not attend. It tore my heart out not being able to attend. It was the first time since my 20 year old daughter was 2 years old we did not attend. The shows to me are so much more than just competition and learning, They are a part of me and the friends and relationships I have made are too numerous to count. I enjoy nothing more than sharing the knowledge I have learned at the shows and paying it forward to anyone willing to listen and talk taxidermy to and with me. These are the things that keep me doing taxidermy and coming back for more. I am not getting rich from taxidermy but I am wealthy of knowledge that I have learned from all the great people in this industry. I have seen association presidents come and I have seen them go. I have seen The IGT in its hay Day and watched the NTA suffer at the same time. I have to admit that I all but gave up on the NTA awaiting better times to rejoin and am happy to see that time is here. I hope to see the NTA thrive as it once did and I plan on being there when it does. Thanks to all who cared.

Todd Buchanan

 

Mine is on the way...

 

I once asked myself “What is a Taxidermist?” and after a long deliberation I came up with several ideas. A taxidermist is a carpenter, a metal worker, a painter and a tailor. A taxidermist is also a businessman, an artist, a scientist and a fabricator. We must be knowledgeable of wildlife and anatomy, and must be able to duplicate animals with an amazing touch of detail. We must have patience, confidence and a soft touch. A taxidermist must also be determined, respectful, and strong. We have to carry ourselves with good morals and be of sound mind and good character. We have to have a love for the outdoors, and a respect for nature and fellow hunters.
The more I thought about the question the more answers I came up with, but the one thing that kept coming up over and over is “Class Act”. So my answer to the question “What is a Taxidermist?” is “A Class Act”. This brought up another good question…”How do you become a Class Act in an industry of such great taxidermists?”
This made me think of my story. I was already in my 30’s before I decided I wanted to dabble in taxidermy. I found a taxidermy school close to me and signed up. After I got out of a two week gamehead class I thought I was really good and wanted to conquer the industry. I decided to join my state association and attend the convention. Being confident in my work I entered the amateur division with just about everything I had ever mounted. Boy was I shocked after I arrived and saw some of the most amazing work I had ever seen. I was blessed with winning the Horizon Award on a coyote, but was really disappointed with my whitetail deer. After getting an Honorable Mention in amateur division (it doesn’t get any worse than that) I was determined to do better. The next year, again in the amateur division, I was able to pull off a blue ribbon. This gave me the confidence to enter the professional division the following year. During this time I was attending seminars and learning everything I could from people in my association. I entered the professional division the first time and again was blessed with a blue ribbon. This could not have been accomplished without the support and knowledge of our association. I have since decided to give back to the organization and have become part of the Board of Advisors. I plan on giving back to the organization and its members for as long as I can. I am now looking forward to becoming a member of our national organization and gaining more friends and family there. I am also looking to the future of the National Taxidermy Association and see it become the “standard” for state organizations all over.
So back to my question “how do I become a class act in an industry of such great taxidermist?” For me becoming a class act is all about learning while being able to teach others the things you just learned. This is what makes the industry so great. While I may never be the best in the industry, I will continue to learn and strive to improve. This is where state and national organizations become very important. How are we supposed to learn and improve if we don’t have organizations out there to help us? To me my state association is the main reason I have such improvements in the quality of my work and the success of my business. Our association is more than an organization that puts on seminars and conventions. It is an organization of great friends and family and I am very fond of them. I have seen our organization stand firm in the face of opposition and also bend over backwards to help out a fallen brother.
I said all that to say this; state and national organizations are set up to help people like me strive to be the best we can. These organizations are the reasons so many great taxidermists have excelled in excellence and have established themselves in the industry. I want to say a special thank you, to my state organization, the Texas Taxidermy Association Inc., for helping me on my journey to become a “Class Act”.

Jake Carter
Higher Ground Taxidermy

 

I grew up in a small town in south east Minnesota located along the Mississippi River. Our house was right on the edge of town. When I looked out our picture window there was an over grown field, then railroad tracks, and then the backwater and swamps of the river that I would come to call my second home. Backwater sloughs filled with fish and swamps filled with ducks, muskrats, mink and beaver became my playground. By the time I was 8 years old I used $50 of my paper route money to buy my first boat. It was a 14 foot flat and came with oars and an anchor. I was in business now. I kept that boat tied up to a tree at my favorite fishing spot. No need to lock anything up back in those days. I would ride my bike there almost every summer day and fish. I trapped pocket gophers along the railroad right-of-way on my way to and from fishing. What a life! In the fall I used the boat to trap and duck hunt.

Every summer I would spend a few weeks at my Grandpa Otto’s farm. He was a retired dairy farmer and he would take me trout fishing every day on the local streams. He would drive me around his farm and the neighboring farms and I would trap pocket gophers there too. My Grandpa had been an avid hunter back in the day but his health didn’t allow him to get out anymore. He had an old deer mount on his three season porch. Faded and weather beaten but I thought it was the neatest thing. It was a nice 8 point buck- his best ever. I remember that deer hanging there and hoping that someday I would get a deer like that. He had a huge gun collection. He had an old Marlin Model 39 lever action 22 that he let me use to shoot critters around the farm. I went through bullets by the hundreds every summer. The stock had been cracked in half and bolted back together. The family story was that an intruder had come into the farmhouse one day and my Grandpa had grabbed the gun by the barrel and hit the guy over the head and broke the stock. I was 10 when my Grandpa died. At the farm auction they sold off all of my Grandpa’s belongings. I watched as they sold off gun after gun wishing I had the money to buy one. I kept watching for the old Marlin 22 to come up for sale. I didn’t see it get sold. After the auction my Mom came over to me and said that she had set aside the Marlin and the old deer mount for me. She knew how much I liked them and she wanted me to have something to remember Grandpa by.

I was the youngest of three boys but my brothers were 4 and 8 years older than me and didn’t really want me hanging around with them. My Dad hunted but wasn’t much of a hunter. We didn’t have many deer in southeast Minnesota back then. In fact, my Dad only shot one deer in his whole life. In 1969 I turned 12 and could deer hunt for the first time. Somehow I managed to shoot a fawn buck the first day! The Minnesota DNR closed the deer season in 1971 due to extremely low deer numbers. I didn’t shoot my next deer until I was 19 years old.

All through middle school and high school my interest in hunting and fishing kept growing. My Dad didn’t hunt or fish anymore so I was pretty much on my own to learn how. After high school I went off to college and decided to major in biology. Of course on my dorm room wall was Grandpa’s old ratty deer mount! One of my classes the first year was a zoology class where we had to identify various animals. To assist with that, the biology department had what were called “study skins”. These were basically mammals that had been skinned, dry preserved and then stuffed with cotton. No eyes – just the skin. Wow – this was pretty cool! Almost taxidermy! Of course being an avid hunter and outdoorsman, this class was easy for me. Some of the study skins were in pretty poor shape from years of handling. I asked the professor if he wanted me to get some new specimens. He said sure but only if I skinned them and made them into study skins for him. He helped me with the initial skin preparation and showed me what to. Over the course of the next four years I probably prepared 30 study skins for the biology department. Everything from mice to beavers. So this was my first foray into anything taxidermy related.

I didn’t shoot my second deer until I was 21 years old. It was a trophy 9 pointer. Being a poor college student I didn’t have the money to have a taxidermist mount it so I decided to do it myself. Remember now, this is 1978 and Al Gore hadn’t invented the internet yet. I had absolutely no idea what to do. Up to that point I had only done those study skins. I ordered a form, eyes and Curatan and bought some play dough at the local toy store. That first form was one of those paper ones. You old timers will remember those. I was ready to rock! I decided to mount the deer at home over the Christmas break. I didn’t even have a mounting stand or any taxidermy tools. I fleshed the cape the best I could with my fillet knife but didn’t even turn the ears. I got as much meat off the ear butts as I could and rubbed Curatan over the whole hide. I screwed the rack onto the form and hung the form from the basement rafters while I mounted it. It was just a swinging! I didn’t know you were supposed to cut open the lip slot on the form. I just sewed the lips together and then put the cape on the form. No hide paste – I had never heard of it. I mashed the lips up into the lip line - mashed the nostril skin into the form and mashed the skin into the play dough around the eyes. Then I sewed it up. I remember using roofing nails to tack the skin down on the backboard. I was pretty proud of it. It looked almost as good as Grandpa’s mount! Amazingly, I never had any slippage. Of course, the ears curled just a tad!

Over the next 10 years I probably mounted a deer or two each year and they all turned out just as good as that first one. Yep – that good. By now I was working as a biologist and living in St. Paul, Minnesota. I met a taxidermist at the local archery shop who was kind enough to take me under his wing and teach me how to mount a deer. Up to that point I had never had any training, had never watched a video or anything. Back then – taxidermy was kind of a secret industry and nobody shared anything. I was totally self- taught and I was a horrible teacher. For the first time I saw what a properly fleshed, turned, and tanned cape looked like. Wow! That was an eye opener. My next mount was a huge improvement over anything I had done in the past. Over the next several years I gradually purchased more and more taxidermy tools including a fleshing machine. I was still mounting just a couple of deer a year for myself and a few friends in our hunting party. By now my mounts were getting pretty good. My taxidermy friend said I should open a part time taxidermy business. So I took his advice and decided to do that. Over the next few years I entered a few mounts into the taxidermy competition at the Minnesota Deer Classis. No judges – just a People’s Choice Award. I won that award once and took second another time and was more confident about my work every year. My business grew every year until the point where I was working on deer almost every night and every weekend all winter long. Between my biology job and taxidermy I was working almost 90 hours a week. Balancing my day job, family, kids and taxidermy was a real challenge. I’m sure all you part timers know all too well how life can spin out of control from too many hours in the shop. I began turning away work to try and keep that balance.

As my taxidermy business grew, so did my desire to better my taxidermy skills. I was online one day (Thanks AL!) and discovered taxi net. Wow! All of these taxidermists all over the world giving advice freely and willing to share long held methods. It was a real eye opener. I soaked it all in. My taxi net name is Bucknut. Funny story about that! First of all, my name is Bruce Norton and l am a nut about whitetail hunting. As I got older, my wife commented one day that my signature was getting sloppier all the time. One day she told me it looked like I was signing my checks “Buck Nut”. I took a close look and sure enough – I had to agree- my signature now did look like Buck Nut. I suppose one of these days I will start growing antlers or something and the transformation will be complete. I recently retired from my day job. Now I have more time to devote to taxidermy and hope to spend some time on a couple competition pieces that I have been thinking about. I still enjoy seeing my customers reaction when they see their mount. I recently had the privilege of mounting a mule deer for Hunt of a Lifetime hunter. If you get the chance - just do it. It is very rewarding.

Every year when I get my catalogs from the various supply companies I am always amazed at the new things that have been developed- new forms, eyes, habitats, tanning methods, paints, etc. Just when you thought nothing else could possibly be invented to make your mounts better - here they are in the latest catalog. So kudos to all you folks out there thinking outside the box to make my job easier and my work better. I also get Breakthrough magazine. Even though I am mainly a deer guy, I read it cover to cover. I find it amazing to read the articles about mounting other species. The fish guys really amaze me with their airbrush skills. I look forward to the future to see what innovations are coming to make our industry move forward.

Taxi Net has been an incredible place for me. I have over 4,300 posts and logged in over a 100 days. I have learned a lot – and shared a lot of what I have learned over the years. I have met some super folks. Some have been to my house and I have shared hunting camps with others. All great people. I had a chance to attend a Yoxathon at Antlerman’s place in Illinois. Met even more great people and learned a ton. I have started competing at our Minnesota show the last four years and went to the Wisconsin show this past year. I also attended the NTA show in Sioux Falls, SD in 2011. All of these events were great learning experiences for me. Do you know that you can attend seminars put on by world, national and state champions just for the price of admission? How can you go wrong? When I think back to 1978 and my first deer head and where I am today, it is all because of Taxi Net and taxidermy competitions. I am looking forward to the NTA becoming a stronger organization with a board that is committed to being transparent. I re-joined the NTA last week due to the hard work of many Taxi Net members. I want to say thanks and let’s keep it going.

Bruce Norton
Norton’s Lost Arrow Taxidermy (that’s because of all the deer I miss while bow hunting)

 

Im Dale and I live in Alabama I been doing taxidermy about twenty years are so. My grandfather got me in to it I guess when i was young he did taxidermy but lived to far away for me to learn from him but I still got to doing it on my on and did not have a clue what I was doing. But my grandfather did get to see the first coon and deer I mounted and could not believe it had bondo in the ears but sure was happy that he got to see them before he passed away. I sure have learned a lot over the years and the best thing that help the most was this computer and taxi net. I have been to state shows and did win in them a few time but like I seen George say on here I did not feel like i was one of the gang. It is not a lot of fun when no one talks to you. But I can still remember one guy named Shane Smith came over and talked for awhile and it sure meant a lot to me just to talk to someone that knew taxidermy. I guess that had a lot to do with me not going to shows much. I still do taxidermy today and love it more today than I ever have. I.would. love to do taxidermy fulltime but don't get enuff stuff to do but too much for parttime but maybe one day. I would like to thank everyone on here for all the help they have been over the years even if u just post stuff it helps everyone. I am looking to make it to the NTA show this year and enter something i really like trying to be the best. I like talking taxidermy and will help anyone I can. thats what the shows should really be about not just winning but learning and meeting new people. I would like to see the NTA have a few workshops over the year even if it cost a little to attend. Im going to join the NTA whether I make the show are not because taxidermy is part of my life and always will be. I hope this is the best show the NTA has had in a long time and wish everyone the best

 

sure was happy that he got to see them before he passed away...That sure brought back a memory for me. It was 72, I was 17, and had just gotten my diploma from The Northwestern School of Taxidermy. All I had to do was send them a pic. of a mount I done. My dad had pumped the pond too low irrigating the tobacco. All the fish died. I picked up a little bass about a foot long and mounted it. I painted it with a brush. I didn't do too bad , considering. The button outta mama's button box made a good eye, painted yellow with a black pupil. It was so small I got a good shape to it, and painted it with a wash. I had trouble blending if I put the paint on too heavy. I was proud of this little guy.

My Grandma was the sweetest, most umble person in the whole world. She lived a hard life in her early lears, mothered 10 younguns. One being my dad weighted 15 lbs. when he was born. She was a small woman, and fell and broke her hip. She spent the last 35 years in a wheelchair. I can only remember her as sitting in that wheelchair. She never complained, when she spoke you could hardly hear her voice. My mom would give her a bath when we would visit and I remember her hair that she wore in a bun. My mom would take it down and brush it and I remember it would drag the floor. Then she would roll it back up into that bun, or top knot. I took my little bass up there and gave it to her. I wanted her to have it to look at. I really don't know what she thought about it. I remember her grinning when I gave it to her.

Then on one of our visits, about every other week we'd make the 70 mile trip to High Point, N.C. to see her and Grandpa, I got up there and the fish was gone. I had this cousin that was a snotty nosed little brat and he had pitched a fit and showed hiz little azz and they gave it to him to shut him up. I was P.O.'ed to say the least. Not at Grandma but at Clifford. He was also the snotty nosed little twirp that would come to visit and would throw a fit wanting our model cars that my brother and I spent hours putting together and painting. Mama had them lined up accross the top or the curtain, over 20' of cars. I think Mama gave in and let him have one of those to shut him up. He needed his little azz whoped. Instead, he ended up with my fish and one of my model cars. And he probably got home and tore them up. If I ever run into him I still might give him the "what for."

I had another cousin that came visiting and he sneaked in my room and stole my authentic Indian Tommahawk. It was a hammerstone my Dad had found in the field. It had a hole drilled in it so I put it on a handle. I had it all painted up with yellow feathers from a "yellowhammer" bird. Cousins??? That little bas!^%@(*%^$% went right in my room and snatched the stone right off the handle and left the handle layin there, on my bobcat skin. Now ya'll know why I'm so messed up. Cousins done it to me! Geesh!

 

I was born in the Mississippi Delta and raised on a dairy farm near Indianola, MS. My interest in taxidermy began at an early age. My first memories of taxidermy were fish and deer mounts displayed in the barber shop we frequented. I also remember being fascinated by an old moose head that hung in an abandoned mansion near our home. When I joined the Boy Scouts, I saw ads for the Northwestern School of Taxidermy printed in “Boys Life” magazine each month. The thought of being able to preserve the animals I harvested really intrigued me. It really hurt me to pluck all the feathers off a beautiful duck. I wanted to mount my trophies and eat them too! In 1969, when I was 14 years of age, I had a little money, and ordered the first lesson book…birds! I set up shop in a shed on the farm and struggled to make my specimens have any semblance to the original creature. My work was hideous. I must have mounted a dozen pigeons and a few ducks, and I can truthfully say that the last one looked no better than the first. Then something happened that changed my life forever. My mother worked at the local Sears store, and a young man came in one day and ordered a freezer. He told her that his wife was tired of his taxidermy specimens being in their home freezer. My mother told him that I was dabbling in taxidermy, and he told her I should come over and visit him sometime. He would later regret that invitation, I’m sure. This man’s name was Kerry Carpenter.

I visited Kerry on Saturday after doing my chores on the farm. He had a very small work area in his utility room, and we were always cramped for space. He allowed me to observe him mount deer, waterfowl, and small mammals. Everything was mounted on paper manikins or excelsior wrapped bodies. I assisted him by serving as his mounting stand! We would always enjoy a cold beer in the afternoon, which swelled my ego as a 15 year old! He persuaded me to invest in “Taxidermy Success Training” by Mr Sam Touchstone. I purchased those lessons, and my work began to improve dramatically due to the updated information and the “hands on” experience I was getting from my mentor, Kerry. He also persuaded me to join a newly formed organization called the National Taxidermist Association. That was in 1972.

I did very little work for customers then. Most of my work was for myself and a few close friends. I remember mounting a mink for a gentleman, and when his son saw me at my dad’s funeral 35 years later, he told me the mink looked just like it did the day I mounted it. I thought silently to myself…”Oh, my god”!

Taxidermy took a back seat in my life for almost ten years between 1975 and 1985. I did a little work along the way, but a new wife, college, a career in agricultural research, and a young family put large demands on my time. In 1984, I began communicating with my mentor, Kerry, who had a booming part-time business by that time. He kept me abreast of changes in the industry, and once again, my interest was rekindled. I set up a small shop in our back yard, and before long, the work started rolling in. I had a professional career, and had limited time to devote to taxidermy. Each year my workload increased, and in 2005, I retired from agricultural research, and opened a full time shop. I lacked one month being 50 when I made that move.

Taxidermy has been a rewarding career for me and my family. It has allowed me to work, produce income, and remain close to my family at the same time. In 2006 I had a website constructed. The return on that investment has been phenomenal. I wanted my mentor Kerry to see it. He had no experience with computers, so I told him about it in a phone call one night. He had developed severe health issues, and told me he would like to see it sometime. Tragically, he took his own life before I had a chance to visit with him. I was devastated. This man had a tremendous impact on my life. He had more talent than I could ever dream of having.

Sometime between 2000 and 2005, I noticed a forum called Taxidermy.net on the internet. I signed up as “joeym”, and have been a frequent participant in many of the topics posted there. Taxidermy.net has been a godsend to me. The sharing of information among taxidermist is a wonderful experience. I suspect I have learned more there than from all other sources of information combined. There have been a myriad of changes in taxidermy since my introduction into the art 40 plus years ago. The exchange of information between taxidermist through publications, videos, conventions, and the internet has made taxidermists tremendously more educated. The information available now has allowed taxidermist to become much more talented in making their work both lifelike and artful. The future holds unlimited opportunity for advancement in taxidermy. I cannot imagine what we will see in the competition showrooms of the future!

I have a taxidermy business that keeps me busy as many hours a week as I want to spend on it. There are days now when I don’t even want to think about taxidermy! I have to force myself into the shop some mornings, but once I get started on a project, I’m pumped with energy and enthusiasm. I love taxidermy, and often wonder what my life would be like without it. Certainly there would be an unfilled void for a profession that has totally consumed me and filled my life with both joy and meaning!

 

Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a wildlife artist. As a kid all I would do is draw deer and mountain pictures. I went off to college to learn to be a professional artist and couldn't find a job. I worked 30 years at stuff I hated to pay the bills and raise a family. About 15 years ago I started getting my own trophies mounted by a guy that could mount things but had no artistic talent at all. I thought, I'm an artist, I could do better than him. His work looked like crap. I bought all the videos and Breakthrough manuals I could find to try and learn taxidermy. My trophies still look like crap but they don't smell as bad...The end!