Paint color for deer noses...

Are you sure that nose is black, because if it were I shouldn't be able to make it "blacker".

 

Make sure the color reference photos you're looking at are taken in good, bright lighting, then you'll see the true color there. The noses are a dark grey with fleshy tones underneath. Without good lighting, the noses in the photos will look black or too dark.

 

I think the real issue is that most customers believe its black and its really hard to talk them out of that. Afterall, when they see it awhile after shooting it most likely appears black to them and that's how they remember it. Yes you can educate them with photos and explanations but the first time their "buddy" tells them its wrong they will forget everything you told and showed them. Sometimes you have to give the customer what they picture, not what it was. Kinda Like a snarling attacking 150 pound black bear.

 

R. J. That is a pretty true statement, but I'll be damned if I am going to let a deer go out my door with a nose that is only painted with black. Now I can shade a nose to appear almost black, at a customer's request, but only after enlightening them to the truth and they still insist it to be black.

 

Same here. Wouldn't put my name on a deer mount with a black nose. If the customers want to be willfully ignorant, that's their problem.

 

Good point RJ.. The customer (and his hunting buds) has an idea what they think a nose should look like - black. The same goes for pinkish/flesh ears. It's not a color they saw even when they first walked up on the deer after shooting it. And neither of these nose and ear colors show up in the Field & Stream magazine.

 

Since 1989 literally thousands of whitetails have went out the door here, and never once has a customer complained about the color of the nose pad. Also, never once was that nose painted black. I can only assume that if clients are complaining, then the color of the nose isn't correct.

 

My opinion is that they all are different. It also seems that the part of the country and time of year alters the visible color. Winter vs summer. WI vs TX. But I don't have a deer farm either. I just look at a lot of pics. The only thing that I do know is that I've seen a lot of live photos of deer that probably wouldn't place that high in a taxidermy competition a cording to what I've seen. Wierd ear but shape. Odd hair patterns. No bottom lip showing. Odd eye shape. Etc.... Deer are all different.

 

Yup! Good post

 

HunterArchery,

No matter what you do or how hard you try you will NEVER satisfy 100% of your customers. They will find issues with your prices, the position of the ears, the form not having enough turn, the form having to much of a turn, there expectation of turn around time. Customers will complain and convince themselves that there capes have been swapped out because of the faint double throat patch that miraculously appeared. Of course they forget the deer was caked in mud and blood when they brought it to you so the patch doesn't show in any of there photos. They will complain when you call them after thawing there deer to tell them that there cape is to short, even though there friend who has skinned hundreds of deer told him it was done right. They will complain if you don't accept Credit cards. They will complain about the time you take off to hunt instead of working on there mount.

Your better off doing your thing and letting the customers weed themselves out. You will drive your self ragged trying to please all of them and you will not succeed. There is a difference between good Customer Service and working and stressing yourself ragged for no reason.

 

Good summery of being a taxi ; Michell Nelson`s Taxidermy .

 

The truth be spoken there !
I am a deer farmer , ever deer in the pen is different. Enough we know each of them by sight not tags.
Quick examples one buck has a under bite. His bottom lip is a inch under it cant be seen unless he raise his head to the sky. One doe holds her bottom lip protruding most of the time. She looks as if she has a dip of skoal in here lip. Some of them look big bug eyed others small eyes. Same with nose pads. Use to have one buck whose nose pad was white half way up.
But I dont have one single deer that looks like he has been pumping weights and taking steroids.

 

What do you use for the eyes

 

Personal experience...I used Yox nosepad gray once, darkened it a little, and everyone that had a deer already hanging on the wall called and complained...their other deer had black noses. When they bought them back, I oversprayed them all to black. Every nose leaving my shop since has been black.

 

I use 3 sometimes 4 colors - Flesh, Yox nose pad gray, sometimes a touch of burnt umber, then a dusting of black. I get a very good natural look. Yox Nose pad Gray works well in a number of other applications as well, especially as a transition color blending from a lighter to a darker color. I probably use more of that color than any other.