So I was excited to go get my goose and wood duck yesterday and was very upset after looking at my goose. Should I be???
Bump on the chest is hard and not going away...wings look terrible to me.

It looks 15 years old...

Here you can see metal pins and holes through the wing...

Woodie turned out fine...


How have you guys handled this type of thing in the past? I researched on here and a few other places and the guy had a great reputation but this doesn't look good at all...This was my first goose and he was a dandy!

Looks like his dog or kids got ahold of it.

Yeah I'd be pissed! I got a yellow eyed cinny teal last year and a jacked up wing.

Unacceptable. Why would the woody come out fine and the goose looks like you took it home mounted to the top of your truck down the interstate?

Yeah...this was my first Canada and one of a triple I shot. Had a group of 5 come into the duck decoys. I've never goose hunted so I was very excited. This just ruined it all for me.

You guys ever have taxidermists offer free birds or discounts to make up for something like this?

You can't see it in the pics but multiple wing feathers were broken and glued back together on both wings!

I'd be furious, let the taxi know what you think.

Even if the wings were that bad start out the taxidermist should have called you up and offered a different pose!

Could be two different people did work if big shop or the goose sucked to begin with.

Yikes....

Goose could of been pretty tore up to big with..

Those big birds take a beating when the go down, also dogs tend to tear up big birds more.

Just reach back out to the taxi and talk to him.see if he can fix it

Not a big shop. He's got some amazing animals and had some good birds when I dropped mine off. I took extra precautions to ensure the bird made it to him in good shape. He even made the comment that it was "one of the best Canadas" he'd seen come into his place because so many of the feathers were still there and no major wounds to patch. I just wanted to run it by you guys before I let loose on him. Kinda strange because he had such a good rep and nice animals.

The bird hit the water 6ft in front of me and a dog never touched it (not before it made it to him anyway). It's so frustrating being so excited about this and coming to this resolution...

Does the taxi only do birds or big game and birds

Both. He actually had an African Lion and Red Stag that he just finished. Had plenty of birds when I dropped them off this spring and they looked good...not sure what happened but I'm going to find out.

Ive only had one animal that I didnt like when I got it back. A beaver. He told me when I dropped it off he could do a specific pose and called me back when he was working on it and said the mold would not fit and ordered a bigger one in a different pose. he said he would mount it with the mouth open for free(which I didnt want and he did anyway). I said ok to the different pose because I dont know what molds came in what sizes. Im...ok.. with it. But when I got home and had time to really look it over(he rushed me out of his shop saying he had something to go do) I started noticing a lot of little thing. The inside of the nose isnt painted, you can see stitching on its back, its front paws look a little off, and the kicker...he used a freaking popcicle stick for its front teeth.

I already took it home. My loss. I just wont use him again.

Well I am not a taxi but I do know that there are times when the individual bird does not make a good mount. I have a friend that had a wood duck pair mounted. Both ducks were shot on the same day both thken to the same taxi and both chared for the same way. drake turned out really bad but the hen is immaculate. sometimes the bird does not work out. sorry for the luck. hope you can get it fixed.

That guy is not a good bird guy... Period. Goose looks horrible. Looks like the primaries in the wings were shot up. That's a tuff fix for sure. But the pose is awfull and feathers are out of place everywhere. The only reason the woodie looks good is because the goose is soooo bad. The woodie is bad too. Next time take your birds to a bird guy.

Put that woodie next to a good one and you will see the difference.

I would just chaulk it up as a loss. Maybe ask for a refund but don't expect it. Next time use avian arts.

Who recommended that guy?

Don't let it ruin it for you. It happens sometimes, and there might be a good reason, I don't know. I had a taxi jack up a deer mount of mine once. It was absolutely terrible, and she even mounted it on the wrong size mold, after I went so far as to pick out the mold from her catalog for her so she would not mess it up. Plus there were staples left in the deer's ears, and the ears were full of mold and mold stains. When I moved a couple years later, I gave it away. I had a friend pick it up for me, so I did not get to see it until after I had paid for it. I never bothered complaining cause there was nothing that could be done. I did not let that experience ruin it for m though. Now you do the same. Do it. Dooo it.

Absolutely no reason you should have to live with that.... That goose would be going back or likely never picked up.... A guy of the calibur you described would agree to replace it with a similar bird or provide a refund. Doubt he would want his name or his company associated.

Yeah I wouldn't be very happy with that goose either

I'll be going to avian arts or birdworks (if he's OK) next time. It's worth the $$$ to save a memory the right way. I remember every thing about the morning I shot that goose and this pisses me off every time I look at it.

Not to laugh at your misfortune, but that's funny. I've got a hooded merganser with an afro instead of the flat fan they make. I do know a really really good taxidermist. he's mounted at least a dozen birds for me and my friends and everyone is top notch. What I think makes this guy special is that he has never been hunting before. Not ducks, not deer, nada. He's a true artist. Who would have ever thought you could find a taxidermist who has never been hunting? His lack of bird movement knowledge or however you want to phrase it doesn't show up on his mounts, except on my merganser. But only a trained eye would notice it, kind of like your yellow eyes.

Wow, that is pretty bad. Four or five years ago I sent a buddy to Birdworks to fix a very bad mount(who unfortunately will be out of pocket for a while). Matt took a horrible mount and turned it into a work of art. So a good taxi person should be able to fix that. Cost about $75 back then.

I remember he was so peod when he sent me a picture of it and I could not stop laughing. It was commical how bad it was.

Sorry...not much else to say. This is proof to the guys that don't think you get what you pay for.