Taxidermy price question

[miassmaro98]

how much does this cost?and how long does it take?

[Bowhunters]

how much does this cost?and how long does it take?

What are you asking about getting mounted?

As far as what it costs and how long it takes are questions filled with variables, the prices vary based on what it is you are having done and the taxidermists experience level and maybe even where he is located in the country.

I know a young guy (ex military) that has only been doing deer for a few years that will do a whitetail shoulder mount for $400-500 and I know a big name guy near here that is in his 50's that has done taxidermy since he graduated from H.S. and he has even done African game and is nationaly recognised and he would probably want around $800-1000 dollars for doing the same identical mount but his mount will look nicer.

A guy with no experience can mess up a mount so thats why its important to go see what they have done when deciding who gets to do your mount whether its a deer, coyote, bird, fish, etc.

Whether its worth it going with a big money taxidermist that has done thousands of mounts is in the eye of the beholder, is it worth it to you to pay extra to have that perfect mount of a lifetime

As far as how much time it takes also varies, it may only take 2-4 months if a guy isn't very busy but someone that does a lot of mounts each winter he may be working a large number of mounts for different customers at one time so it may take 6 months to a year to get the phone call that its done.

[miassmaro98]

thanks for the info it was very helpfull

[Bowhunters]

Your welcome bud!

[DocHolladay]

BH, $800-1000 is ALOT of money for a mount if it is just a deer head. Around here, the prices rane from $250-$500 depending on the person and how good they think they are. Hank Parkers and severl other of the TV personalities lives about 30 minutes from me and charges $450 for a deer head. Thats a little high in my book, but he does great work and is dependable. My reg. taxidermist does it for $300 with a plaque and it is quality work.

[Bowhunters]

As I already explained in my previous post.

A taxidermist's prices can and will likely vary based not only on what you want done but on your location in the U.S. and also with the taxidermists experience and how good he is considered to be.

As I also said there are guys that will do a deer chest mount for $300-400 dollars but there are some taxidermists like the second guy I refered to in that post that would probably charge a lot more.

Too explain further -

He is an award winning nationaly known taxidermist and artist that even has animals shipped to him internationaly for him to do the work on, he has done all the big and small game mounts you could imagine from the North America, Africa and Asia.

He's done most all African game from small monkeys all the way up to Elephants and he's done squirrels to Arctic Muskox and everything in between (including full body mounts) for some very rich people over the years.

I looked up his price list on his site and his lowest price for a Whitetail or Mule deer shoulder mount is $635 and the price goes up to $3,500 which is a full body mount that is likely in a walking, running or some similar action pose.

His price list on his site includes a wide variety of species of African, Asiatic, Exotic and North American game, fish and birds, he's not just a local hunter's, fisherman's taxidermist but he is also an International Sportsman's taxidermist and he is even under contract with some Cabelas stores in the midwest and does work for them.

The below pic's are of some mounts he's done that are from the front page of his site. His mounts are works of art.

[Wac'em]

I just got some deer mounts back, I live on the East Coast(Delaware) and they cost $450 each and took almost a year. What do you think about the taxidermy work?

[DocHolladay]

Those look good. I like the one going down like for a nite to eat or sniffing a hot trail.

[Wac'em]

Doc - that mount with the head down is an extreme sneak, middle is semi sneak and the one on the right is a sneak pose. Thanks

[Kaiser Hirsch]

My buddy just got his back here in eastern Ontario. It took a year and a half and cost him $475 tax in. This guy is good he has won many awards in Canada and the US. My Dad went to the same taxidermist serveral years back and it was about the same price but took almost 2 yrs. I guess it would all depend on how much work the guy takes on at a given time.
KH

[FOODPLOTPLANTER]

we pay about $375 for a shoulder mount deer head in georgia and i thought that was kinda extreme. thats why the last few bucks i`ve killed were done as euro mounts. $100 don`t seem quite as bad. but $400-$500 and $800-$1000...man i`ld be sawing some horns off for that.

[Kaiser Hirsch]

After shooting a wall hanger this past year and wanted to get it mounted I did a lot of homework on taxidermists. When you shoot an animal and you get it mounted not only does it become a conversation piece but it beings back a lot of emotions and memories of not only that hunt but all hunts. So I felt that it was important to look at all aspects of picking a taxidermist. Firstly, dont look at the price. Talk to people that you know that have had mounts done and see how they feel about them. DO NOT ask for references through the taxidermist himself. Second, try to narrow it down to 2-3 guys and go visit their shops and see what and how they do things. Important too is see if they do all the work themselves or if they have others do it for them and the cleanliness of the operation. Third and most importantly, look at the mounts and look for high detail...ie... the long hairs on the neck, detailing around the eyes, nose and ears. I visited about 8 shops this past fall and once you see a lot of mounts you can start to see the small differences. If you have to pay $100 more out of your budget....dont buy that extra flat of beer or carton of smokes...you will be happier in the end.
KH

[Tenpoint]

The buck I got this year will cost me $800.00 and be in the shop for a year. The taxidermist is top notch. Like Fraiser said, I went to check out the shop and really liked what I saw.

I'll post picks when it is done.

Tenpoint

[Twisted tines]

I do taxidermy work on the side for friends and family. What always gets me when price comes up is every one seems to think the price is high. We all spend alot of money on a gun, scope, amo, camo, 4 wheeler, tree stand, trail cameras, and on and on. Now your trophy is in your hands and your going to pay someone to create a piece of art to hang in your house so you can always rember the fruits of your labor, time and expence. Dont skimp on tha cost of a taxidermist to me its like paying thousand to restore a classic car then painting it with spray paint.