My taxidermist nightmare

Well after waiting 1 year 4 months of waiting, I go to pick up my deer from the taxidermist and he had mounted it in the wrong position I wanted semi sneak turned to the left and he mounted it straight up right, it looked really odd in that position, I explained to the taxidermist’s wife it was mounted in the wrong position and needed to explain to him the mistake but, he couldn’t come out and talk to me, it’s almost as if he knew already. As I am driving home I’m getting even more mad, so I call the taxidermist and he tells me to bring it back and he would fix it. This time he doesn’t take the deer from me and sends his daughter to answer the door and takes my buck. So I get a call saying it’s ready on Friday and I pick it up on Sunday. And again his wife is the one to give me my deer because he couldn’t out. I can already tell it looks like chit so I can’t very well take it up with his wife so when I get home and look at it close and it looks like an old mount that has been in some ones garage that has been eaten on by bugs. It doesn’t even look like the same deer the coat color is now redder. I think if he would have come out and talked to me about my deer I would have been more understanding about all the mistakes, but by him not even coming out just to apologize for his mistake the first time and then for the 2nd him not even coming out it just told me that he doesn’t even stand by his work. So needless to say I will never be going back to him nor will I ever recommend him to anyone else so if you live in the Houston area stay away from the deer park area!

What suck this was my biggest buck to date and now it look like it was mounted 20 year ago!







My buck on the right is from the same lease my drop tine bucks cape use to look the same but now it is totally different

The way them eyes are squinted, you might wanna put some sunglasses on him.

looks like your camera flash made him squint his eyes lol. Im sorry im not laughing at you or anything. I would go back and tell him you need somthing mounted (bobcat) and ask for a price and when he comes out to check it out talk to him about his work. Did you already pay everything?

Also if you are not happy, i would post all his info on here, criagslist, other places. thats just what i would do.

That deer is stoned!

ps by the way thats a stud for sure, has lots of charactor to him

got a pic of the deer after you shot it?

Horrible mount of a great deer.

Name the taxidermist

My wife said i should put a cig in his mouth and some sunglasses on him. .

Yes, please name the taxidermist. ITs to only way others wont be hurt by the same individual.

What ranchman said.

sorry man, I've had two of those experiences, so I know how that feels... it sucks. My brother and I cought an 11.5 lb rainbow years ago that the guy lost completely (says his wife got pissed at him in their divorce and she took all this taxidermy stuff, threw it in a pile and burned it)... and I've got a real nice 5x6 with dual eye guards that was absolutely ruined by another guy. Horns weren't mounted in the right place on the form, and its eyes look like it is high on meth. The taxidermist I use now though is AWESOME and his prices are low, but he doesn't do fish.

name him

Great looking buck, mount isn't that bad, I have seen worse! but I do understand what your saying. Put a stop on the check or something. I wouldn't pay full price for something you didn't want!

looks beautiful in your hands.....NOT so much so on the wall!!!

I think that he used a different cape. Name him!

Man I am SICK. My wife says i should go and pay to have it redone somewhere else

did you pay all upfront? this guy seems shady, i would post everywhere about the guy

I'm with the other guys, that deer looks high! That sucks man, it's a great deer, at least you have the satisfaction of knowing you killed him

Yep I paid half up front and the rest when I picked the buck the first time. When I talked to him on the phone he said he would make it right so I took it back to him to fix and this is what he call making it right. Never once did he come out to talk to me he sent his daughter or his wife every time.

Wow that sux. I feel your pain but I got what I paid for.

It was my first big buck (a nice 8pt) that I shot when I was 14. Saw a flyer at the processer where we took the buck and it was for $150 and he was just starting out. Got my buck and it looked like it was on a doe manikin.

I plan on having him redone one day when I get a nice cull cape . Hopefully you can get him fixed up right though.

Did the same guy mount the one on the right? If not, then why did you take it to a different person???

Nice buck, terrible mount. Also, how much did you pay for it? $350-$400 I am betting.

i would try and talk to him in person if you could. He sounds very sneaky, letting his wife and daughter cover for him.they are proboly used to coveing for his sorry a$$

Call him out on here.
Sucks, but that is still a beautifil rack.

Your wife is right, I'd pay someone else to redo that deer. Maybe no one would notice if you didn't bring it up to them, but I couldn't leave it like that.

Well it does have character.

Sorry that happened.

It’s not the same guy that did my other buck. I used a guy off the forum he did some nice mounts on bobcats and foxes so i figured I would give him try. Price wasn’t the issue I would have gladly paid 600 to get my buck done. It looked like he did good work. Hell I didn’t even know how much he charged till I took it to him.

Nice Deer, bummer on the mount! I had the same thing happen about 3 years ago. I canceled the check on him, gave him a chance to fix it, improved some and I settled with him for less $. It still burns my Backside though!

So this was done by a forum member?

agreed!! I have my idea of who, but I will wait on the OP to reveal his name. He needs to announce this info.

Yep it was a guy off the forum.

El Cucuy, right?

I remember the story. Great hunt, great buck, lousy mount.

I HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN TO A RED STAG I HAD MOUNTED . FUGER STOLED MY CAPE AND THE MOUNT SUCKS .. HAD TO BUY A NEW CAPE AND GET THE THING REMOUNTED . I USED THE SAME TAXIDERMIST BUT A DIFFERENT EMPLOYEE DID THE MOUNT . NEVER USED HIM AGAIN!!!!!

YEP El Cucuy Now he is EL ugly!! I am so disappointed

You've now been asked by SEVERAL people to name the taxidermist, but you have yet to do so. What gives?

Read this page .......

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2299682/Re_Bobcat#Post2299682

Eyes sure look the same as some of the others he has done.

Dang shame, because the exotics and some of his other mounts look great. It's sad that someone as good as they seem to be, are proud enough to post multiple animals, and solicits work on here, doesn't have the desire to make this right or even meet you face to face.

Good luck getting it corrected. Great buck

Learned my lesson many years ago not to have work done out of town. An old man in a small Texas town assured me his work was excellent. This buck was relegated to the garage the day I picked him up at DFW air freight. I believe the old man let the "hired help" do it. I subsequently found a world class Taxi to do my mounts.

That thing is a little scary...

LOOKS LIKE HE USED COW EYES.......

i thought a good price or average for a mount was around 350-400, is that to cheap these days? what has it gone up to

Well obviously he used another cape if he changed position, not like you can tear it apart and remount, once it has been done

You can get good work for $375-$400 maybe not competition work but good clean work

o ok, i knew i had a buddy that did taxi work charge 350-400 and he did great work. I was just seeing if that was considered low end or what. I can assure you if that was my mount and that big of a buck i would of raised all sorts of hell with the taxi. I wonder if hes looking into this thread any?

Looks like he mainly stays in the taxidermy section

Yeah and the other one was asking for his advice he may have not done that cat.

i wonder why he stays there, i know he isnt learning anything overthere.

When called and ask him if he used another cape he said that he didn't. The cape that on my buck now looks like it has been eaten by bugs or something.

It is not the same cape I assure you he is lying.

This mount looks like he's been shot up on Crank!

[/quote]

This one looks like he took a Quaalude, or been tokin weed and shootin tequila.

Sorry it turned out like this for you, I know it means a lot to have it looking right. Call Binnion Taxidermy in Devine 830-663-4958. He re-mounted 2 mule deer for me that my father killed in the early 50's and did a excellent job! His whitetail mounts are spot-on too! If his work wasn't good I would not recommend him on this forum. He has been in the business for a looooonnnnggg time.

It looks like when you asked for a different pose he just took your antlers off and stuck them on another mount that was already hanging on the wall- maybe one somebody never picked up from 15 years ago......

Exactly this!

That's a great buck and deserves an equally great, quality mount.

Here's a quote from the taxidermist from another thread. Yeah, I'm calling BS and calling him out.

"But we are are biggest critics most people are happy with what ever you give them as long as it looks like a cat lol.I have seen horrible mounts that people love."

Perhaps he took the OP for a sucker and just cranked out some carp hoping that the OP would be happy with it. As Desi used to say to Lucy, "You got 'splainin' to do".

So, Mr. Taxidermist, what gives? If I were the OP I wouldn't trust this guy to fix anything. I'd expose him for what he is and move on.

Sorry this happened to your deer. That buck deserves better.

My guess he was about to finish someone elses mount in that pose and just took your horns and then used their form and cape for the mount. Saved your old form and cape for the next poor guy to get screwed.

Where's the problem with this buck? He's sooo lifelike!!

The look on that buck's face makes me wonder what's happening to him on the other side of the wall. Looks like he's being violated.

You must be from East Texas...he has the that look...you know the one... "a deer in the headlights"

Just because he doesn't stand behind his product and won't face someone that he bent over, doesn't mean he isn't good at what he does. He has posted a lot of mounts besides the cat...


And @ LP

On the other side of the wall is the rear end mount with the tail up and a door bell button in "the hole". Someone might be "at" the door so to speak.

The throat patch on the OP's deer looks the same as the photo of it. . My guess is he reused the hide and in pulling it off the mount some hair came off with it.

The search feature is your friend!!

if he calls him out, i bet his wife or daughter would come on here and defend him. They seem like there the ones who are the man of the house

Not possible

Sure it is....If you didn't put it on worth a damn the first time...it would probably come off pretty easy

Its a whole different color. I don't think you could just compare throat patches and call it good.

Doesn't matter he just put his horns on another cape. The real question is why isn't he trying to make it right on here Like give him his money back!

I didn't even get an apology. When he called to say it was ready he said it came out real good. I don't know what deer he was looking at! but it wasn't mine.

Post it in the taxidermy section and ask if it is a "good" mount

Wheres that worst taxidermy thread THAT WAS HILARIOUS!

I would this is good plan!

That sucks

Sorry about that man. I have been there and done that with taking my animal to a forum member who isn't a full time taxidermist and I learned my lesson.

It sucks for the ones on here (who might be the majority) that produce great work and do it full time, but I wouldn't ever trust another part timer to do my mounts after my last encounter.

X's 2

Dude you really need to talk to this guy. I would go back without calling and talk to him face to face.

Yea i would but it would be a wast of gas. His wife would come out.

Another thing he did was put some kind of stain on my bucks antlers to make them look darker.i didn't ask for that chit. That pissed me off as well

The dude knows he screwed up and couldn't make it right the second time. What good would it do to go back a third time. Wash your hands of this fool and be done with him. The guy's way of dealing with customers is avoiding them. That tells you all you need to know about him.

Sad thing is that I have seen this guys work on here and complimented himon it, but after hearing this he will get no more praise from me.

None of his work is great. Far from it. But he gets all kInds of kudos from people blowing smoke up his butt. " Looks good, awesome mount, blah blah." So he thinks he is good. Terrible.

For the stain on the antlers, use mineral spirits and rub really hard. May have to resort to acetone. But it will come off. Get you a replacement cape and take it to a good taxidermist that you know and trust. OR comes highly recommended.

That is a hell of a buck to get treated like this!!! The buck deserves better!!

I'm sorry but, this guy's not that great, even before this story. He has a problem with eyes and that's where the true work is on the mount. I was lucky enought to work for a taxi, Tri-State, and I learned alot about mounts.

Look at the eyes on these nilgia's in his thread.

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/u...ted#Post3001784

I feel your pain...My full mount bobcat came back with his eyes crossed. Looks awful !!!!

Hopefully it will be made right

I hear ya. It's so dam frustrating to tell a taxi want you want as a pose or position then when you get it back the taxi only wrote down a basic form to start witn and not your full instructions! All too often they've done something to the hide that makes it impossible to get what you asked for in the beginning. W/O your original hide, all I can say is good luck!

It sucks to hear about it. He should have made it right. I had to read thru the whole thread to find the link that hopefully points me to what taxidermist it was to make sure it wasn't the one who has my Oryx and Fallow but fortunatly it isn't

I don't have the luxury to use a local one. I hunt all over the state so usually take it to regional/local taxidermists close to where I took the animal. I've used 6 different ones so far and SO FAR (knock on wood) have never had a bad experience.

Earl

More like Richard Pryor and he caught on fire!

Man that sucks, and that is not your cape. BMD is right he took your horns and put them on that deer. Take your loss and find a good taxi and buy a new cape and re-mount. And did you check his deer mounts out first before using him?

I know you have spent some money on the mount but I have a good cape that I gave my taxi this past season off a 250lb buck off our ranch. If you don't mind the drive to Bryan he does excellent work and I know he could redo your mount and it will look excellent and He will always answer the door. If your interested give me a shout 979-587-1024 and I will get you some pictures of my mounts and his contact info.

Bring it to me and I will remount it and make it look great take a look at sniper johns post on his aoudad that I remounted for him he had a tai nightmare as well!

He gets this alot "Look's like the eye's are squinting?? Nice deer though!!"

popcorn anyone?

Why not???

Any left?

animal scammer?

Still no reply And he posted nilgai pics huh?

Told you, he stays in the taxidermy section

Well, Y'all called him out directly...I am waiting on his wife to show up...she is going to unload

True I forgot

I just looked at all tha mounts...hes gota be smokin his cigs with tha left hand

They will not reply

Look im right here and you cant please every customer the animal was dropped of at a location and tag said mout straight for one so I remount the deer to what he wanted, Im not hideing from this guy I talked to him when he brought it back for fixin.Im not a shady Taxidermist you guys on here say what you want opions vary.Cant please everyone ...and I will leave it on that....the funny thing is if it where chetty mount why did you leave with it.

Pass the salt and bring a bigger bag

Seems to me if there were issues you would have talked with him everytime and not let wife or anyone else handle your business but that is my opinion,.

Got mine

And your proud of this mount and it represents how you do business?

Well David looks like you have said what you had to say ,That wasnt me who spoke with you when you returned your deer.Also that deer dosent have or looks like it has bugs.When you where on the phone and stated your deer sucks,I got the message.As for my wife dealing with you was because I was working not that im hidding from you, Why would I be scared to talk to you.I tryed to make you happy..I have alot of customers that are happy,and I don't think your deer mount is gonna ruin it for me it is a nice mount.Have A NICE DAY!!!!!!!!!

I think you guys should go easy on him. I mean heck if I ever want a squinty eyed animal he is the guy I am taking mine to.

Nice mount or hat rack?

Hey Ranch Hand call it it what you want.looks better then the other one on his wall he paid for.. i tried to make it right.Im done with this conversation..

Wow. I think I am going to side with the other guy on this one...Sure wouldn't give me much reassurance with a response like that. Most folks would be willing to make it right

Might have been better off hiding

Yep you would be right about your mount if he brought you a squinty eyed pointy nose greyhound. But he didn't.

Seems to be the pattern don't like it so pick up your marbles and go home

Just curious who's cape was used when changed the mount

I guess thats your choice I tried to make it right.

The next "satisfied" customer I guess?

From your responses and attitude, it doesn't seem like you tried to make it right. Perception is pretty difficult to get off the internet, but you don't seem concerned, first you say you met him, then you didn't, then you were too busy to meet him...

The mount looks like hell. No ifs/ands about it. Seems that if there was a misunderstanding about the position, you would have talked with him and explained the mix-up, then told him what you were going to do. Not take a crappy cape, make a crappy mount and have your wife give it to him since you were so "busy".

My

@ bmd that cape was sent to tannery.I soaked the whole hide .Pulled the cape of the manikin,It is his cape! Ordered the manikin he said he wanted mounted it to semi sneek left short manikin for adjustments.Say what you want but it can be done ....

That is obvious from the picture of the mount

I was working when he came to pick the deer up,I took the deer out of his hand when he brought it back..I told him I was sorry he felt the way he did. I was not there when he picked it up. all he had to do was leave it there and tell my wife he still wasnt happy.But instead he calls and tells me his mount sucks and lesson learned.I would have gave him 50% of his money back.

There is nothing semi sneak about that mount. LOL

Did you tell him on the phone when he called you "would have gave him 50% of his money back" or is that just a special internet offer today?

Your saying this cape is the same cape?


So how did the hair in the ears change color from white in the kill shot to black in the mount around the edges of the ears? How did the black hair get under the deers mouth from his kill shot to the mount? The hair color of both coats is not even close to the same.

He hung up on me. Im not the a**hole your making me out to be.I have been doing taxidermy work few years and I always try to make my customers happy! And as you know in life you cant please every one.

Wow who would have ever imagined this after all the story changes on here this morning.

My mother was a professional artist. I was raised around professional artist. The one thing that the good ones all had in common is that they were the most critical of their own work. As such they would strive for perfection.

I consider taxidermy work to be very closely related to art. So my question is very simple. Are you, Animal Scanner, pleased with your work on this deer? After seeing the pics of the actual deer and compared side-by-side with your mount, are you satisfied? Are you proud to have your name and reputation associated with that mount?

Seems like if you wanted to make him happy, talking to him and telling him you would give him 1/2 his money back would have solved a lot of the issues. Might have left him with a bad taste in his mouth and left you with one less customer, but wouldn't have made you look like a coward with an attitude.

From the responses on this thread, I am sure that there are a few folks that would have hung up on you.

You are correct. You can't make everyone happen, but control of collateral damage and mistake management is an important part of business.

I also agree...there is no way that is the same cape.

I ain't buying that for a second!

Have a wonderful day guys glad I gave you something to keep your day busy!

Sure we won't give you anymore to keep yours busy after this.

I was asking a serious question.

If you are satisfied with this work then you are not a topnotch taxidermist and never will be. If you aren't as critical of your own work as other are then you are relegated to a professional life of mediocrity.

If I wasn't happy with my own work then there is noway I'd let it out of my door until I got right. The fact that you continue to defend and be defensive gives the perception that you are only trying to dodge the real issue.

You do what you want. It's only your reputation on the line.

I was hoping he would have answered your question.

Did you run another one off?

Guess so. Am I too direct? Should I tone it down a tad?

Nope...I like it

LOL...This guy has no clue what he is doing to his (what he has) reputation. Now all the people on here are aware of how he works and hopefully will let everybody they know what kind of stand up guy he is.

What's the old saying? "Never miss an opportunity to shut your mouth and let people think you're a fool rather than open it and remove all doubt".

You ever thought of a career in Law Enforcement? It seems that it would fit your personality.

Sad thing is this guy is really close to me and Im always looking for a new taxi. Seen him on here and figured I might give him a try till I started following this topic. I just sat back, had a few luaghs and watched what he said. Man you guys have no mercy. Im glad yall called him out and held him accounatable on here. Gave him a chance to show a little character. Epic Fail on his part. Thanks OP for posting this. Your mount has saved me and probably other people from the mistake of using this guy.

Man I lost interest in this thread when it was 2 pages cause I figured the true taxi would never be revealed. This was a good read.

yeah... Even better when the guy started talking and really showed his rear...

Yea he definetly bit his own tongue. I can think of a 100 different ways I would of approached the situation to satisfy the customer and not tarnish my name. I am sure a user name change will happen soon.

Well, hopefully the Mods will step in and not allow that to happen...

Everybody here is in agreement that the mount is sub-par work. Something went terribly wrong on this job. That's why I asked the guy if he was happy with his work. His failure to respond was a really big answer to the question. As a craftsman you cannot allow poor quality to leave your shop. If you do and you're ok with that, then you're not much of craftsman. It's sad really because he could have taken the high road and made it right. He chose to tuck tail and run the other way. And worse yet, with everybody watching.

Exactly.

Well I figured he would leave when heat was turned up just like he did when he left his wife to deal with the sub par work

Looks surprised! I'd make that face, if somebody put a round through my a*&!!

Brian, I don’t hold any ill will towards you or your company, but my mount was crap! The fact that you said that it wasn’t written on my tag on how my deer was supposed to be mounted is false because when your wife looked at the tag she said “yes we looked at it wrong”. As far as you offering 50% off because I wasn’t happy with my mount was NEVER offered! Fact of the matter is was that it wasn’t even about the money. It was how you handled the whole thing. This buck was a true trophy to me and I expected it to be treated as one, and to you it was like no big deal that you messed up my buck. As far as you not coming to the door to talk to me, you knew I was coming I even talked to you on the phone that I was coming.

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I can understand having his wife handle the pick ups and drop offs. I bug the tar out of my taxidermist, because he is available to me. Im sure I delay his work quite a bit to. By having someone else take delivery and pickup of the animals it keeps him doing his work. I wish I could do this at my job and I could get a lot more done.

David for one you didn't give me a chance to say anything to you.You stated you where comming by on saturday!I dont sit around all day waiting on my customers you didn't say a time or anything.All you had to do was say I don't want to take it Im not happy with it and I would have done what I could make it right with you ,But instead you call me tell me your mount sucks and then the phone was dead .Then I get a text message saying you are bashing me on here. And when you dropped the animal off you stated you wanted it on a stump straight .then a few months later I get a message your wife told you no on the stump.Im very sorry you are not happy with your mount.Anda all you had to do is say you wanted to talk to me and this could have all handled a lot different.. I really don't care what the people on here have to say.

the thing that pisses me off the most is you made it out that I hid from you! If you would have said i will be there at a certain time I would have been there.

7 PAGES!!!! CANT BELIEVE I READ THEM ALL!

As far as the mount is concerned.......I have seen worse and I have seen better.

Would I be happy with it????....NO!

Carry on.

Well im glad you kept up its people like you that keep the world turing.. Im glad im not your taxidermist!!!!! Happy Easter....

Look at the white behind the nose in the kill shot vs the mount....0% chance that the actual cape was used on the mount. Here's an idea: if you "were" going to offer him 50% money back, then why don't you just send him a check now?

You guys are grown men and can handle this however you want to.

I'll just keep sitting here eating popcorn...

I'm glad you're not my taxidermist.


Poor workmanship and lousy customer service,,, what a combo.

Did i not call you on Sunday and tell you i was on my way. And if my mount was so good why didn’t you post it in the Taxidermy section of the forum. Like i told on the PHONE lesson learned

Oh yea the thing that PISSED me off is you ruining my buck

I'm pretty sure after this thread, you may not have to worry about being too many people's taxidermist (at least on this forum anyway)...regardless of how you handled the situation, the mount just doesn't look like it should. That's a trophy of a lifetime that was botched during the mounting job...

good luck, quit passing the buck.

Happy Easter!

Hell you can bet we are glad your not ours too!

And I bet the OP wishes you weren't his