The Difference

This page is dedicated to explain what to look for in the quality of work between the Fly By Night Taxidermist and the Master Taxidermist. When complete, you will know how to look at the small and large differences as well as the things you never see, like just how your taxidermist is tanning your valuable hide.

This is the most important page on this site. I will hopefully upload info before March 2007.

First, never pick your taxidermist due to the price of the mount. If your promised the mount within 90 days, this should be a red flag. A reputable taxidermist takes time and extra effort into mounting your trophy. This should take on average 9 - 12 months.

Second, take a close look at the mounts in your taxidermists gallery. I won't even get into why you should never use a "out of the garage" taxidermist. Look at the eyes, do they look like the eyes of the animal you harvested? Do they look alive? Are there color to the eyes, or are they all dark? Look close at the tear ducts and where the eyeball touches the eyelids. Click on these pictures to get a closer look.

Next, look at the nose, does it have texture? Is it black and shinning? Look at the mouth and lips? Is there depth to the nose, some color in the nostrils?

Now that you see these the external differences, it is time to ask some questions. Ask how they tan the hides. A lot of taxidermists are tanning there own hides now. (Bucket Tanning) There are a multitude of problems associated with this like slipping, fleshing holes, missing ears and trashed tails, to mention just a few. When you consider the time involved, it costs about the same as having the hide professionally tanned. All you want to know about tanning. Here are the differences:

Bucket tanned: When done right, this hide can look and feel as good as the professional hide, however, most taxidermist do not specialize in this therefore it is rarely done right. If not properly done, the skin will be a rough and hard. In time the hide could start smelling bad, like rotting flesh. I had a trophy mounted a few years back by a bad taxidermist and ask Paul to redo it for me. When he took the hide off the manikin I saw first hand what the difference truly was. This hide ripped like thick paper. Leather should never rip, no matter how strong you are.