Very Upset!!!what Do I Do??

H

harleybabe69

New member
I think several of you got to see the buck that I shot on opening day last fall. Well I took him to a taxidermist to have him stuffed. I got him back and was highly disappointed. On his one shoulder there was a patch of hair missing. I would say about 2x2 inch square. The guy said that it was from trauma or the way that the deer fell after I shot him or how he was dragged into the back of a pickup or even damaged when the butcher caped him out.

At first, I believed him, got the deer head home, my husband looked at it, I told him what the taxidermist said about the spot, and then my husband asked me what the smell was.........you know that smell of 2 week old hamburger...basically rotten meat. I had know idea, I didn't smell it at the time I picked the deer up. So stupid me, instead of taking his word that it smelled, I bent my head down and breathed in - then ran to the bathroom to vomit. It was bad!

After I recovered a bit, I called another taxidermist guy and took the deer head out to him and he looked it over and said that the tanning process wasn't completed -- that there was still bacteria in the skin --(keep in mind as this guy is touching around the bare area - the surrounding hair is falling out!!) that is why there is that rotten smell and it would continue..so now I don't have a 2x2 bald spot--its more like 3x3. I left there and was in tears!!!

This was my once in a lifetime buck -what kind of recourse can I take???

:(:(:(
 
First, send a letter certified mail, return receipt requested, demanding a full refund, and threatening to sue if you don't get it. Describe the problems. If that doesn't work, yes, sue in small claims court either with or without a lawyer and have your expert witness (another taxidermist) ready to testify at the hearing. Watch a few Judge Alex shows to get an idea of what goes down. Good luck.
 
Or, you could go back to the taxidermist and ask him nicely if he could be so kind as to ask the commercial tannery to send him a new hide and make it right for you. If your guy is a decent businessman, he will do this at no additional cost as whitetail capes wholesale at around $40 from the tanneries last I checked. He should be able to match hair density by ordering from a northern or southern tannery. Bottom line is: if he won't make it right of his own volition, dragging him to court is not going to get your trophy fixed. If you try to force him, you'll never be happy with the result. Either he fixes it on his own or you take your mount to a reputable place and pay to have it re-caped with a matching hide. What is ultimately important is that you have a nice mount to remind you of the experience, not that you got it made at the absolutely lowest price possible. --rr2241tx
 
I’d ask him to make good on his mistake. If he refuses then take him to court. Use the money recovered in court to take it somewhere else to be repaired. I agree with rr2241tx that the original taxidermist wouldn’t do a good job. But don’t let him get away with ripping you off.

Around here it's only $35 to file a small claim.
 
If a new cape is unobtainable I'd consider a European style skull mount. I wouldn't rule out small claims court either if you taxi driver can't make it right.
 
Oh yeah, I would say that the idea of asking him to make it right first before the certified letter is obviously a good one. :) Why make it harder than it has to be? There may be a way to fix it, and the taxidermist might gladly do it at no charge.
 
Actions stated above ;)

But hey. As much as it cost or whatnot at least the Rack is still there and can't be ruined by bad tanning :)
 
Harley:

The first Taxidermist has already screwed it up. :mad: I don't know much about mounts, but that is one heck of a deer. Can the second taxidermist fix it so that it's done right, and will it cost an additional amount to do repair the damage? Find that out.

Then go back to the first taxidermist, who needs to make things square. By that, I mean you need a full refund for the money you've given him, and compensation for the additional money that will be required (if any) to fix the damage that's been done by his poor job. Don't have the new mount done by the first guy (who has already screwed it up); have it done by the second guy.

PM me if you need help with this. You know I'll help you out!!!! :)
 
A lot of small time taxidermists tan their own hides using different types of cures...either wet or dry. Both are effective if used properly, but many times(as in this case) especially if the taxidermist is in a hurry, it's easy for the hide to suffer.....and the signs of this are smell and hair loss. I've seen it several times myself from a local taxidermist(his excuses sound like the ones given to Harleybabe). Altho I have tried to tell folk to go to a different Taxidermist, time and money wrongly influenced their decisions.....and their disappointment again sounded a lot like Harleybabes. Most of the time this is not a problem of commercial tanning, as long as the hide was in good shape when sent in. The problems arise when the self tanner either does not apply enough tanning agent, applies it improperly or applies it to a improperly prepared skin. Improperly prepared can mean anything from not defleshing or degrerasing properly to trying to hurry the defrost time of a frozen hide with heat(Which will cause it to decompose...thus smell and loss of hair). There are several steps to curing a hide with any of the home tan methods of which can easily be screwed up by a wanna-be professional.....from proper hide temperature and technique to drying and rehydrating. One way or the other, the hide on the mount now is ruined and cannot be redone. Either the taxidermist or hunter will have to obtain a proper fitting skin to have the mount redone. Iffin it was a reputable taxidermist this should not be hard to have done, but I figure a reputable taxidermist would've never let that mount out of their shop in the first place. I think the best case scenario is just to get your money back and either go with a European mount or pay for a new hide and standard mount.......from a different taxidermist, of course.
 
I guess I read harleybabe's post wrong and thought the stinking and hair slipping started after she got home with the mount. Certainly, if the problem was already evident when she picked the mount up, then skip the going back and being nice part of my previous advice and jump ahead directly to the go somewhere else option. As far as recovering her expenses, if the job was charged on a credit card, she might be able to dispute the charge and get it charged back to the taxidemist, thus avoiding all legal hassle. But, going to small claims court is a waste of a vacation day and could end up being very expensive. Been there, Done that.
 
People who are saying that the mount could be turned into a European mount...Aren't modern mounts a McKenzie (or other brand) form that is then fitted with the hide? This would make a European mount hard, since the antlers and skull have been seperated, and the skull most likely discarded? I know there are ways to reaffix the skull to the antler plate, but I doubt it would look authentic. Just trying to clarify options for the plaintiff. ;)


http://www.mckenziesp.com/6400_series.asp
 
Last edited:
Onlybrowning is correct. The forms used nowadays mandate cutting a small wedge out of the skull where the antlers are attached. I'm sure the skull has long since been pitched by the taxidermist. I would try to get your money back from the original taxidermist and take it somewhere else. Most will have a new hide they can sell you to recape the mount. Unless there were some highly unusual markings on the cape, the new one should be indistinguishable from the original.
 
Or you could get a rack mount that all you mount ar the antlers. Not as impressive but cheap if you have antlers and want them mounted.
 
If you want to redo it and are not in a hurry, wait a few months till this season, then ask your buddies for a big hide from one of their harvested deer this year, or you may just get a big doe and believe it or not once done you would never know the difference. Also, a lot of processing centers will sell you a hide/cape at a reasonable price...around 25.00 in my area. Any hide can be used...but you need a competent taxidermist for it to turn out well whether the hide is cured right or not.
 
Any hide (big of course) can be used to fix this mistake. Sue the hell out this guy and have a new taxidermist fix it with a new hide. Simple to fix for a good taxidermist. Once it's fixed, you won't even notice the hide isn't orginal. It's the antlers you are really showing off after all.
 
Sorry to hear about your mount. You have gotten some good advice from the other guys here. Buck460 is deadon with his explanation of the process. I have done quite a bit of "Do it yourself Taxidermy", and I know what happened. It was his tanning method. When he cleaned the cape, he did not scrape the hide thin enough to get the dry cure(what ever brand he used) to penatrate completely thru the hide. The cape needs to be replaced. You have a poor looking mount now, and it will only get worse. The smell will never go away 100% because even a rise in humidity will feed bacteria in the hide and cause a smell. Also, the hide will shrink and expand causing openings around the stitches, eyes etc and will look bad. More hair can and will fall out. Do you know anyone else that has had bad luck with this guy? If you want a new cape now, look at some of the Taxidermy supply houses and they can suppy you with one. Hey they can even hook you up with a 200+ BC rack if you want
https://danchase.3dcartstores.com/Whitetail-Deer_c_492.html
http://www.northcountrytaxidermy.com/capes.html
Good luck and hope this helps
 
harleybabe, don't use a doe hide. The hair pattern and color on the head is different than on bucks and it can never be made to look right. My son had one done that way and it is awful. I'm going to have to have it redone for him because I can't stand it hanging on my wall looking so stupid. Trust me, you can have it redone with a proper buck cape and only you will ever know the difference, but if it is redone with a doe hide, everyone who sees it will know it is wrong. rr2241tx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top