Well Ive been interested in Taxidermy for awhile, and after getting my first deer I took a shot at a shoulder mount. What do you think? I had some hair slippage problems and messed up the ears...but all in all its not bad for a first....:)
its drying right now...Ill doe the finish work later.
I do need to practice hidding my stitch better.

That is really nice Shed!

Wow good job!

Is the hide wet? The deers coat looks really dark.

I cant see anything wrong with the mount, and i kinda like the way you can see the wrinkles in front of the ears, makes it look realistic... Great job!

Nice work, I'm impressed!

I love that you left the porcupine quills in it's nose, very realistic.

Willy...

haha yea, those porky quills came with the doe...so I figured what they hay, Ill go with it.

Travis - Yes the hide is very wet still and adds to the already dark coat she had. the wetness is also the reason for the pins...to keep everything in place as it dries. I too like the wrinkles at the base of the ears. I used clay around the ear butts to keep them in place, so with a tool I just indented into the clay to give it the wrinkles! pretty neat.

thanks for the comments everyone!
I hope I improve the more I do.

Very nice!
How did you tan it?

that's cool, looks really good to me

Yankee....After salting the hide I threw it in a solution of salt and pickling crystals. Than after 3 days of that I took it out, thinned out the hide, and threw it back in for another 24 hours. Than I neutralized it in a baking soda solution, rinsed, and rubbed syn-oil all over it. Let it "sweat" for a minimum of 6 hours. Towel dry the hide, and mounted her up!
I think I will be usnig an alum tanning method for my next one though.

Dang! Looks pretty good shed. Stick with it, you might just have yourself a taxi business someday

For a 1st attempt Shed you did really good

OK, So you pickled it. When did you tan it??? I am a taxidermist in Indiana. When you pickle you also need to put it in a tan. A lot of people use Lutan F for a tan after the pickle. Look up Krowtann. This pickles and tans all at the same time. Dont need 2 different soakings with Krowtann. Got any questions fire away.

ndawoods25 - Thats what the tanning oil is for if im not mistaken. Ive been chatting with a taxidermist of 50 years and he went through it step by step. The people at taxidermy.net are also very helpful. He also suggested the alum and liqua-tan for next time. Very informative guy.

I also followed step by step instructions of a deer mounting kit from van dykes...

Trophy - since Im going to school for veterinary tech, they often dont make a whole lot of money. If I practice enough...maybe I could start a part-time side job of taxidermy? Its fun to think about

not bad at all!

You are definetly getting the idea. We use an auto tanner that uses pressure. Keep it up and if you have any questions, maybe I/we can help.

OK, SHed. Im glad you asked. That shows me that your really interested in taxidermy. We always have questions. Tanning oil is just to help make the hide pliable and (easier) to break. When I mount a deer I dont use tanning oil. I use tanning oil on flat hides to be hung up. Send me a PM and I will give you my cell phone number. You are right. Taxidermy.net forum has a wealth of information. I will answer any questions you have. My email is ndawoods25@aol.com. I started out 8 years ago from vidoes. I am now on the state competition level of taxidermy. I took 3rd last year with 2 deer. Another thing. Get an old washer and spin cycle your hides to get more liquid out before you mount. Shed I WILL help you anyway I can. If you was closer I would take you under my wing. You have ambition.

that is a great job for the 1st attempt. wish i could try it myself but i have no patience for that. GREAT JOB

Holy Cows Shed...That is great for the first one
the threads on the back of the neck is the only thing i see

I'll get her to post some finished pictures. It looks even better now!

I told my dad i wanted to try this and he laughed and told me if i wanted to do taxidermy then i should go work with one

I'm still probably going to do it next year... How hard is it?

There are lots of steps and it'll be a little above 100 for everything you'll need.

Wow Shedego,that looks very very good for your first one,keep at it.

Buckmaster, Its alot of work andfrustrating as HECK at times. I was so close to giving up many times. But when It all came together I had the biggest smile on my face ever! Its just a first, but I can only hope to improve. Doing a raccoon next, and then a pronghorn antelope.

MN_Whitetail is right...It gets pricey!! and being a college student I have a common problem of (No money-itis...)

thats cool, could you post an after drying pic :)

Shed That is a great job! Way better than I could do I am with MI also would not have the patience for that.

I love the way you just go do new things, that is very cool!

Nice work. I might need a good taxidermist one of these days.

Yup, I will post pictures after I paint the nostrils ...everything else is painted (the best I could do).
On my next deer I would like to detail the nose and make it more life like.

Hoping for an airbrush for x-mas but for now everything will be hand painted.



Well, I was interested in doing it for awhile...but it wasnt until now that I gave it a shot. And I like it a lot!!!

She just needed someone to boost that interest.