my first deer mount

my fiance does taxidermy and we have opened up buisiness. He has been teaching me how to do. I didn't think I would like it because I don't like hunting (I could never do it) but I do kind of enjoy the taxidermy. It is really interesting and there is ALOT of hard work that goes into it.

here are a few pics of my first deer. I did it with alot of daves help.
sorry the pics are so crappy, my camera broke and I had to take them with my phone
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...22a_865051.jpg
8 point buck

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...23a_782851.jpg
he isn't finished yet, he is just on the drying stand. Dave put pins in the lips to hold his mouth in place while he dries and he has paper towls in the nose, lol. He is going to airbrush him this weekend and then he will be finished. I'll get better pics later when he is done.

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...23b_853611.jpg

meme aproves
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...24a_891061.jpg

here are a couple of my brothers deer that Dave mounted for him. I didn't get any pics of it finished though, just on the drying stand.

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...xidermy011.jpg

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...xidermy012.jpg

What does taxidermy mean?

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Originally Posted by Genny

What does taxidermy mean?

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taxidermy is done when a hunter kills a game animal (such as deer, bear, fox etc.) sometimes they will want to have it mounted. What we do is skin the animal, we also have to take the cartilage out of the ears, salt the hide, wash it, flesh it (which is where you use a machine to shave extra skin off and to make it as thin as possible, put it in curring for a few days, neutralize it, wash it again,tan it, wash it and flesh it again, and after all that which takes up to two weeks, we then stretch the cape (skin) out and place it over a mount (which is a plastic or styrofoam material manikin) and then sew it up. We then have to place a plastic ear into where the cartilage used to be, fix the eyes, nose, and mouth the way we want them, and then it sits on a drying stand for about 1 week or so. Every day we have to make adjustments to it and make sure nothing moves because as it dries the cape will shrink some. After it has dried we then use an airbrush to paint in the ears, eyes, nose, and lips. The point is to make the mount look as real and alive as possible which can be increadably hard.

Like I said, I didn't think I would like it, but I grew up with hunters so it is really just a way of life around here. (everyone in my family and Daves hunts and eats deer meat) I used to be against hunting, but deer around here have no natural preditors and there are just too many to handle. I almost hit one every time I drive to my moms house, it is crazy.I just wish that the WV hunting laws could be more like OH. There people are only allowed to kill 1 buck (male deer) per year and in WV I think it is 3. I'm not sure what the number is for Does (the females) or other animals. Working in the shop has really been pritty neat to do and I actually like it.

a few pics to give you a better idea of what we do

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...xidermy002.jpg
dave working on an eye. We place clay around the glass eyes that are placed into the manikin. The clay is sculpted the way we want it to look before we place the cape over it.

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...xidermy015.jpg
trying the antlers in the manikin. We have to take exact measurement every where while working on a mount to make sure it is exactly like the original animal.

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...ace1319/s5.jpg
i finally got our buisiness cards done. I was pritty happy with the way they turned out.

Wow! Sounds like a lot of hard work, but I think you did a great job on them! :);)

thank very much!

WOW I had no idea it was THAT big of a process

What is the airbrushing for?

As you can see I know little to nothing about taxidermy lol.

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Originally Posted by sparks19

WOW I had no idea it was THAT big of a process

What is the airbrushing for?

As you can see I know little to nothing about taxidermy lol.

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it is a very long process and takes alot of work. I never knew anything about it untill I met Dave. Airbrushing is done after the mount has completely dried. We do airbrushing in the ears, nose, eyes, and mouth because the hide dries out and loses it's fleshy color. We paint those parts to make it look more "real" also we add a little bit of filler on the bumbs of the nose to give it back it's texture and then add some gloss around the mouth and nose.

ah I see. wow interesting to know.

I really always thought taxidermy was just stuffing it. I had NO idea what all really went into the whole thing.

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Originally Posted by sparks19

ah I see. wow interesting to know.

I really always thought taxidermy was just stuffing it. I had NO idea what all really went into the whole thing.

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alot of people think that. stuffing was used back when people would stuff game animals with rags. Now taxidermy is refered to a mounting

My dad did a little taxidermy when I was a kid. I remember not wanting to go into the basement during that time period, I never knew what critter ... in what state of being processed ... I was going to see.

I hunt for meat. The last thing I consider is the rack. Bonus if it is nice. :)

No problem with with trophys on the wall.... But I am amazed at the lack of responce from those who ruined my harvest thread. (Karen?????)

Telling.

/ rant


back to your normal programming.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Puckstop31

I hunt for meat. The last thing I consider is the rack. Bonus if it is nice. :)

No problem with with trophys on the wall.... But I am amazed at the lack of responce from those who ruined my harvest thread. (Karen?????)

Telling.

/ rant


back to your normal programming.

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I was thinking the same thing...where are all the meat eating hypocrits???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Puckstop31

I hunt for meat. The last thing I consider is the rack. Bonus if it is nice. :)

No problem with with trophys on the wall.... But I am amazed at the lack of responce from those who ruined my harvest thread. (Karen?????)

Telling.

/ rant


back to your normal programming.

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That's what I like to hear. I wouldn't mount a deer that was shot illegally or just for the rack. I believe that the almost every part of the animal should be used. Scraps and bone even go to my dogs. The meat is processed, and the cape and rack, if it has one,goes to my fiances and me to mount. I am actually suprised that noone has been negitive towards this thread. Not that it would bother me. I didn't post this to upset anyone. This is just a part of my culture and is turning into what I do for a living. I made sure not to post any pictures that could be upsetting to anyone and I made sure that the heading was clear so whoever doesn't want to see it, doesn't have to:) I am suprised by the number of people who are actually more interested in the art work then disguested.

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Originally Posted by caseysmom

I was thinking the same thing...where are all the meat eating hypocrits???

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haha! The thing that got me was my fiances friend and his girlfriend were over the other day while I was working on a mount. She was talking about how bad she felt for the deer ( which I understand but like I said I think hunting is important for the environment) and the whole time she is talking about how much she doesn't like taxidermy, she is wearing a leather belt and boots, she had pictures on her myspace of her holding two dead squirrels her boyfriend shot, and she has even ate deer meat at our house. :rolleyes: I just smile and nod, lol... that's all I can do.

I dont care for trophy mounts, Ive seen to many animals taken just for the mounts. Even if the animal was taken for food as the primary purpose, I still dont care for the mounting.

I too am amazed the drama lamas that got Pucks thread deleted havent over taken this thread with their disgust of the killing of a wild creature being mounted as a trophy. After all this is a animal loving website. Wait this is a pet web site and deer arent pets, why was Puc...thre.......

Wait... what?

ETA: Stace, I understand its hard work and takes skill, you did a good job.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sparks19

I really always thought taxidermy was just stuffing it. I had NO idea what all really went into the whole thing.

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well.. you can add me to the list.. I too thought it was just stuffing and wiring..

very neat hard process.. and awesome outcome.. very nice..

thank you all so much for all your support and nice comments! :) The way I see it, is if someone does want to express their dislike of my work then that is fine too, all I have to say is I like what I do and no one is going to change that. Everyone is intitled to their own beliefs and opinions, as long as they keep it civilized. I must have missed the thread that got deleted but I think it is sad that it had to come to that. This thread isn't going to be here for a drama seen, it is here to show a part of my life and what I do everyday. It is something I love and I put alot of work and time into it. If someone doesn't appriciate that then awell! lol.. they wouldn't be the first and definatley won't be the last:D

[QUOTE=blue;2217592]...I too am amazed the drama lamas that got Pucks thread deleted havent over taken this thread with their disgust of the killing of a wild creature being mounted as a trophy. After all this is a animal loving website. Wait this is a pet web site and deer arent pets, why was Puc...thre.......

Wait... what?...

QUOTE]

I don't really think it is necessary to try to ignite a flame war. JMHO.

FRIENDLY PEOPLE!!! FRIENDLY! lol

By the way, I've often wondered, how does one mount a fish? Is any real part of the fish actually used? Or is the real fish just used as a model? It would not seem to me that fish skin could be tanned and used like mammals skin. Random question ... LOL

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Originally Posted by Twisterdog

By the way, I've often wondered, how does one mount a fish? Is any real part of the fish actually used? Or is the real fish just used as a model? It would not seem to me that fish skin could be tanned and used like mammals skin. Random question ... LOL

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Oh... I want to know the answer to this too. I hadn't really thought of that before.

Stacie... do you and your boyfriend only do Deer or has he done other things too?

as for the leather belt and stuff... you should get her to watch The Dirty Jobs Episode where Mike Rowe goes into a facility where they make leather. talk about GROSS lol

haha! I've never seen that episode, but I did see the one where he went to a rendering plant.. that was pritty bad, lol. I think Dave has done a fox before. We have a variety of animals in the deep freezes right now, a couple coyotes, foxes, bobcats, about 8 deer or so, a few birds to practice on (he is wanted to learn how to do birds (alot of turkey hunters around here asking about it) and the fawn my mom brought to me over the summer. It had been attacked by her dogs and died before I could find someone who could help it. I think it died for internal injuries. I remember spending hours in the bathtub pulling magots out of its wounds :(, I felt so bad for the little thing. It was only a day or two old. Instead of burrying it, Dave put it in the deep freeze :rolleyes:. I think he is going to do a half body mount on it. I'm anxious to see how it turns out. I am wanting to do a bobcat soon, I think it will be hard to make it look good though. I see alot of crappy taxidermy out there, lol.
Fish are done the same way all other animals are, they are skinned and then the cape (hide) is processed. and as always the eyes are glass. After it is dried it is spray painted to bring the color back to the scales. All the skin and fins are all that is real. Or you could cheat and just order a replica. lol. That's what I would do anyways.