# Taxidermist Issues and Wait Time



## UPaquariest (May 13, 2010)

I have 2 birds at a taxidermist, a bufflehead from 2020 and a sharptail from 2021. Initially the timeframe was ~12 months, after about a year I was told next month or pretty soon. I left well enough alone until September this year and reached out again. The response was basically "you will get it when you get it". Ive got a couple questions.

At what point does a bird become unmountable? 
At what point do you just say f-it and give up?
Is there any recourse at my disposal to recoup the small deposit I put down or try and get my birds back?


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## Scottupnorth (Jan 6, 2022)

I would go get them and find a new Taxidermist. That kind of attitude running a business does not set well with me. Might lose the down payment, but i would not do business with them. 
This is also why some people I know won't fully pay for a mount when they drip it off. They have your $ in full so on the back burner it goes.


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## Sasquatch Lives (May 23, 2011)

A guy told me 9 - 12 months on a shoulder mount. After 12 months called him and he said a few more weeks. Called after a few more weeks and he said the same thing. After waiting 16 months I got it back but he lost a customer.


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## Smallie12 (Oct 21, 2010)

I'm still waiting for a school of monster crappie 15"+ to 18 5/8". I dropped a couple off a week apart toward the end of winter '21 and then 6 more at one time at the end of winter this year and have yet to see anything or hear anything. He told me up front with the first pair, it would be a while because he had taken more deer in than he should have and getting parts was hard (peak covid) and he preferred doing fish during the summer months due to painting and weather conditions, etc. Then he told me as much again when I dropped off the 6 and hadn't even started the first two yet but didn't take in more than a few deer this past season so he could get caught up. Luckily, he only took a deposit of $150 each on the first 2 fish and nothing when I dropped off the 6 and I'm glad he didn't ask because I probably wouldn't have gave him one until I saw some production. I realize it is an abnormally large scale (pun intended) job to do 8 master angler crappie in one batch but I'd like to see a finished product of a couple to ensure that I want him to waste his time doing all 8 of them. I've seen some of his other work and it's decent to good but I've always preferred skin on fish mounts versus replicas and he talked me into replicas saying they would come out just as good if not better in some cases especially considering long term aspects. So we'll see but he reiterated that if I wanted them any time soon he'd gladly refund me and move on no questions asked. He's got a large job for sure because I was thinking all of them on one piece of drift wood but he noted that it would be a bitch to hang or ever move so he thinks he can put a couple each on a piece of wood so that they can be mounted together to look as if they are one school but also have the option to separate them any way I want and be much easier to hang and move. I'm not expecting them any time soon either. He's going to be spending some out of pocket for all the supplies so I'm thinking that should be enough motivation to get them done once he gets started if he hasn't yet. I think doing them all at once would go faster than one at a time too because he can prep them all to a certain point, put all the base coats on at one time, and then do each layer from fish to fish as the others dry and once he figures out his formula and paints each successive fish should go faster than the previous but I'm not a taxidermist so maybe I'm wrong.


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## shell waster (Nov 5, 2004)

Call the local CO...tell him your story


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## shanny28757 (Feb 11, 2006)

My dad dropped off bear hides from our alaska bear hunt to a taxidermist he got referred to by a hunting buddy a few years back. Fairly large deposit. We called 12 month later - ‘not ready yet’. Called 6 months later ‘not ready’. Called 6 more months later ‘still not ready’.

At some point he finally admitted the hides were ruined. The hair was slipping on both and they couldn’t be saved. When we dropped them off we were nervous about hair slip so we asked him to go over then in great detail to make sure they were in excellent condition- which they were.

He refused to refund our deposit. He did offer do taxidermy work for the amount of the deposit we lost - which was a joke because i wouldn’t ever send any work his way again.

that was a once in a lifetime hunt for my dad and I to go on together and a pretty big bummer to have it end like that.


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

shanny28757 said:


> My dad dropped off bear hides from our alaska bear hunt to a taxidermist he got referred to by a hunting buddy a few years back. Fairly large deposit. We called 12 month later - ‘not ready yet’. Called 6 months later ‘not ready’. Called 6 more months later ‘still not ready’.
> 
> At some point he finally admitted the hides were ruined. The hair was slipping on both and they couldn’t be saved. When we dropped them off we were nervous about hair slip so we asked him to go over then in great detail to make sure they were in excellent condition- which they were.
> 
> ...


Wtf... HE ruined them and then wouldn't refund you? To me that's pretty much putting the blame on you.


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## shanny28757 (Feb 11, 2006)

sureshot006 said:


> Wtf... HE ruined them and then wouldn't refund you? To me that's pretty much putting the blame on you.


May this point I’ve come to terms with the situation. At the time it was infuriating.

We made sure that we did everything possible to keep the hides in great condition to avoid any issues.one Hide was frozen in less than 24 hours of the kill. The other was frozen is less than 48. Temps were cools at night and cool during the day where we hung them. They we’re frozen solid upon delivery to him. It’s definitely possible thatthere was Ana issue before he got them, but I highly doubt it.

My dad still have the hard leather hides he returned to us in his garage. I think he intended to take them somewhere for a second opinion on whether they could be salvaged.


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## Night Moves (Jan 28, 2021)

Some advice from a retired taxidermist:

If you keep calling to check on the the status of your mount, you will likely get shoved to the back of the line.

Never use a taxidermist that does not require a contract which should spell out time frames and other details. 

Don't expect quick work and high quality if you price shop for the cheapest taxidermist.


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## throughtheice88 (Feb 15, 2015)

I've got a good one. 

Memorial day weekend of 2020 I caught a nice crappie that I decided to have mounted, add to the wall collection at the lake. The guy I used to use is retired so I picked another guy. Was told he wasn't overly busy so would have it done by the 4th of July, meaning a little over a month later. Guess I should have asked of what year .

Fast forward a full year, I call the guy. He mentions having shoulder surgery and how the fish was mounted but just needed painted. He'd call me in a couple weeks. Bunch of time goes by, nothing. Legit waited until this past August and called again, so we are talking well over 2 years at this point. Apologizes profusely, says how it just needs painted (Lol!) and how he keeps seeing it and telling himself he needs to finish it. Said he was leaving for a vacation, but as soon as he got back he would finish it and give me a call. Said before the end of August.

Well, it's now late October and nothing. It's almost comical at this point. If the guy calls I have half a mind to tell him to keep it. What a joke. And this is a fairly reputable taxidermist with a beautiful showroom, and seems to do great work.


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## Gsphunteronpoint1 (Mar 8, 2018)

Dropped a hide off to my taxidermist told me it would be pretty quick as I just wanted to the hide. A full year later and still no response on the hide.


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Can you imagine if these guys ran lawn services LOL


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## Sasquatch Lives (May 23, 2011)

sureshot006 said:


> Can you imagine if these guys ran lawn services LOL


Yeah after several months the guy would finally show up and say "well since the grass has sprouted trees I have to charge you for trimming too".


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## UPaquariest (May 13, 2010)

shell waster said:


> Call the local CO...tell him your story


Is there a legal avenue I can go down?

I spoke to another taxidermist on Friday about moving the work to her, and to her credit she turned me down stating that it would be 18 months before she could get to them meaning the one bird would be 3.5 years old at that point and not likely mountable. 

I spoke with the guy who currently is doing the work on Friday as well. He told me the bird from last year was done and the one from 2 years ago should be done in the next week and promised pictures of both. I have yet to see any pictures. I'm trying to be patient but at this point I am pretty fed up and frustrated.


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## shell waster (Nov 5, 2004)

Not sure if there is a legally but a chat with a CO might give you some insights or a maybe they would call and light a fire under this guys butt...this is why I use parkey in Indian river, costs more but you get work fast and it's quality..I am pretty sure Bob won't take additional work once he has his quota for the year, hence never wanting long, not 100% on that...I think there are just some crooks who just keep taking work that they know they will never get too timely..kinda like contractors who keep saying "we will get to you", meanwhile you see their trucks at the bar at 3:00pm every Tuesday and getting laid off for "winter weather" is Christmas day for them.


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