Northern Deer Mounts And Over Exaggeration Of Muscle Tone And Skin Folds

The answer to your question is all of the above. I'm not certain where or why it started. Every customer that walks through the door thinks their 1 1\2 year old buck is a 8 year old giant with loose skin and wrinkles and that is what they expect to see when they pick it up. We as students of animals know that most often deer don't look that way but, we also have to try to separate ourselves from the guy down the road and attempt to attract customers in our door. Somebody at sometime either a taxidermist took a stock form and sanded them in or a sculptor of forms added them to the forms they sell and it took off. Customers don't know or understand that our northern deer killed in late fall with a thick long winter coat will not show such details but they see pictures of southern bucks mounted with short hair that show more detail and that's what they like to see.

 

Had an ol’ Cajun style nice tell me “Don’t put all dem ripples in his skin, blow him up big as possible!”

 

I blame Dan Chase. He sculpted all his forms that way.

 

He made a fortune selling heavily-sculpted forms!

 

It also has to do with trade marking the forms, also because of Dan Chase . He was copying forms remolding and selling. Big law suet , as he lost in court, had to burn all those molds and forms and pay over $400,000. In restitution. So since then all forms have to be a certain percentage different then others by trade mark . How do you do that ? Extra folds and more muscular detail , heavy vaining , different size nose cavity’s and such . Plus to add to that muscles that they really don’t have. Then taxidermist that have no clue and they sand all those details even heavier to enhance. Don’t matter if they belong or not , it’s on the form so it must be right . Lastly it’s also market ability, you see a form with no details in it and it’s bla bla bla that’s not right, compared to a form that has a lot of detail and it looks good , as it’s more eye appealing, the guy must of took his time and he cares , and yet the form is really wrong . AND THAT MY FRIEND IS THE REST OF THE STORY.

 

you say you’ve been out of the business for a while?

It’s not about how perfect you want a deer head for a competition

It’s all about ego without ego. None of us would ever have a job.

every hunter wants the biggest bad ass buck they can get
It’s the client that has evolved it’s no longer about what you want to do. It’s about what they want in there eyes. They have the money and other taxidermist opinions don’t make you any money.

they see the pictures of the muscular deer and they want it , whether it be a southern deer or northern deer doesn’t matter they want to pay for what they want. If you can’t do it, they go somewhere else or you can blow things up as big as you can and in northern dear, it’s even easier because you can put the fat and muscles rolls in with hair patterns.

give the customer what he wants and what HE has evolved into with his ego and you won’t be left behind

call it what you want artistic stylized, forming a brand and doesn’t matter. This is about commercial work, and I need to be a judge by other Taxidermists and they aren’t paying for it. The guy who wants to fat rolls and the muscles is.

 

View attachment 268817 Started with someone that took a step out of the box and started producing exaggerated muscles on the deer with the Internet getting around people saw pictures it gave them something to want View attachment 268817
12 years ago

 

Muscles and rolls 14 -15 years ago
Northern deer

 

I blame the hunting/guiding industry, and the magazines and all the propaganda that goes with it.
Heck, we used to just go out for deer for some sausage meat.
Now we have hunters going from state to state to state and taking 7 trophy deer a year! Call that conservation?..I call it piebollywood lol.
When outfitting started to get going in Saskatchewan the govt allowed every outfitter to let their client take 2 trophy bucks, it may for a year or two 3 trophy bucks!!
Look what Sk. Has now thanks to poor management and people that claim they are spokes people/leaders for " the hunting industry" the real answer to why you see big muscles on deer

 

Do you happen to know if this is a McKenzie 8900?

 

Well that had nothing to do with exaggerated muscles and fat rolls
Someone’s mad about game management and hunting multiple states
I wouldn’t get mad at a guy hunting 7 states taking more deer , more$$$more mounts to do and if the client has that time and money don’t be jeoulous he’s going to spend plenty of money on taxidermy
Not a person to be talking bad about
I’d give him all the muscles he wants!

 

Yeh made into pedestal first ones they poured back then clients love em

 

thanks, I like this form even though I know some people really don't. Seems like it would be a challenge to mount tho

 

Do yourself a favor when you measure your cape measure it take to the ears and take an inch off a good inch and a half off check the swell there’s been times when I mound it like this and I’ve gotten the neck with a C measurement two inches smaller
You’re gonna need that extra skin to cut that neck muscle in and add those fat rolls the muscles on the shoulders
without having them drum out on you will need be loose
That hard turns a killer to do. You’re gonna have an opened up all the way down the back get a ton of glue in there and play with it. It’s a hard ass turn, so yes it’s not fun enjoyable only after you get the skin on.