Giving It A Shot

Discussions about learning taxidermy & picking taxidermist.
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purebowhunting
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Giving It A Shot

Unread postby purebowhunting » Mon May 02, 2016 12:07 pm

I'm attempting my first go at taxidermy. Always wanted to try taxidermy from a young age, probably just part of the obsession I have with hunting whitetails. Put everything together yesterday, had some struggles but think it's turning out ok. Nostrils were the worst, not sure if I had too much material to try to tuck or just didn't open the nostril enough. The eyes I think are OK so far. Definitely learned a ton, know I have to thin down the skin more around the mouth and nose next time. Don't think I'll use the plastic ear butts again, I'll try clay next time. I probably shouldn't have tried a early season cape for my first but hey, jump in feet first right! Take it easy on me guys! ;)

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I'll post up some final pics next week after it dries and I continue babysitting it.


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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Mon May 02, 2016 12:12 pm

8-)

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jmaas07
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby jmaas07 » Mon May 02, 2016 1:22 pm

Looking good man, something that I want to try my hand at one day as well

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Jeff G
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby Jeff G » Tue May 03, 2016 12:37 am

Every whitetail you mount , you will learn something new. There are new things i find or try each time I mount one.
Keep at it, get the next one started and keep good reference material. Good start!
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Stanley
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby Stanley » Tue May 03, 2016 3:57 am

My taxi man from about 15 years ago, always told me he likes to do a little better on every head he mounts. I like that approach.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby deerhunterdon » Thu May 05, 2016 6:03 am

Ive only done a couple , so take my critic lightly. I agree about the clay ears and butts, it gives you way more positions to use. I think your ears butts are a slight bit low. your eyes look really good and soft. the pre orbitals look good as well ! I cant really see the nose , but it looks nice and straight. Hard to believe it is your first, Ive seen guys have terrible one at their 20 th. Good job ! I take it your are fleshing and tanning you hides in house ? fleshing wheel makes it waaaaay easier . Great Job though. looking good.

Edit; your antler placement and angle look really good too, The lips look like there done good as well hair line around the lip tuck all facing down. I like when the back of the mouth has that look, more alive and fleshy if you will. Ive seen too many that had the lip line too straight and hard. good job on looking natural.

Did you cape and flesh this mount ? eye lashes look realy good and are the right angle . It looks like you havent done the finishing yet am I right ? eye gloss , etc. are you going with wax or airbrush ? or combo ?

dont forget , dont do the nose pure black , lol !
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purebowhunting
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby purebowhunting » Thu May 05, 2016 1:11 pm

deerhunterdon wrote:Ive only done a couple , so take my critic lightly. I agree about the clay ears and butts, it gives you way more positions to use. I think your ears butts are a slight bit low. your eyes look really good and soft. the pre orbitals look good as well ! I cant really see the nose , but it looks nice and straight. Hard to believe it is your first, Ive seen guys have terrible one at their 20 th. Good job ! I take it your are fleshing and tanning you hides in house ? fleshing wheel makes it waaaaay easier . Great Job though. looking good.

Edit; your antler placement and angle look really good too, The lips look like there done good as well hair line around the lip tuck all facing down. I like when the back of the mouth has that look, more alive and fleshy if you will. Ive seen too many that had the lip line too straight and hard. good job on looking natural.

Did you cape and flesh this mount ? eye lashes look realy good and are the right angle . It looks like you havent done the finishing yet am I right ? eye gloss , etc. are you going with wax or airbrush ? or combo ?

dont forget , dont do the nose pure black , lol !


Thanks for the imput, appreciate it. I can see the eat butts being a bit low, I tried to follow the form and when putting them on they seemed hight actually, but now with the cape on it seems they could be a bit higher. I did tan in house and do not have a fleshing wheel. I honestly started fleshing by hand and it sucked, so I got the bright idea to pull out my 4" grinder with a wood sanding wheel and it actually worked fairly will. I'm guessing it could be thinned more with a fleshing wheel than what I was able to achieve. I used a scissors to thin down around the mouth and ears after trying with different knives and struggleing. I ended up with 3 small holes around the mouth that I've been able to blend in fairly well.

I still have to finish the mount, I have an air brush I'm planning to use but any tips on colors and tricks would be appreciated. Honestly dreading that part.

I'm surprised how long it takes to dry and the amount of time you can work on the nose/eyes/and other wet areas. I was able to manipulate the nostrils through the drying process and started to feel ok with how they're turning out. Some epoxy inside and paint and I think it will be liveable. I noticed my biggest error yesterday, when mounting I worked the cape into place then flipped the entire thing over to put the brisket hair into place. In flipping I lost level of the mount. At the time I was sure it was centered, but not so much. It's about 1/4"-1/2" off center. Live and learn I guess.

Here are a few new pics after 4 days of drying.

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Jeff G
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby Jeff G » Thu May 05, 2016 1:57 pm

If you have any questions let me know, I would be happy to pass along anything.

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BassBoysLLP
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Fri May 06, 2016 12:18 pm

Looks good. I want to start mounting my own once my kids get a little older. Keep up the good work!

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purebowhunting
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby purebowhunting » Mon May 16, 2016 8:06 am

Here it is finished up, painting turned out fair. Look forward to the next one!

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Thanks you Jeff for sharing the colors you use and the guidence, looking forward to getting better at this.
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby oldrank » Mon May 16, 2016 8:33 am

Looks pretty good PBH. Id hang him on my wall !! Nice job.

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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby seazofcheeze » Mon May 16, 2016 9:26 am

Looks great man, nice work. I really respect guys that dive in to new things.

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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Mon May 16, 2016 11:56 am

8-)

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Ghost Hunter
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby Ghost Hunter » Mon May 16, 2016 12:05 pm

Looking good. :clap:
I'm reason they call it hunting and not shooting.
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Re: Giving It A Shot

Unread postby sheddinva » Tue May 17, 2016 12:36 am

Looks good, you oughta join the taxidermy forum listed below. I did when I started mounting a couple and you can learn a lot and see tons of reference pics, finished mount pics, and even get good deals on capes to practice with if you wanted.

http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.ph ... wwRedirect


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