(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/Hallstead/deermount2.jpg)
I got my head back from my new taxidermist. Honest opinions, how does it look? I like it, but I tend to pick apart thing like this. Wondering what the taxidermy experts think.
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/Hallstead/deermount.jpg)
The neck looks wrong to me but I'm no expert.
Yep, that is the concensus here too. The buck had such a large neck, he said he had to use a mule deer form. That made me say :confused:
Seems like he could have sanded the form down to make it blend a little better.
They make whitetail forms to fit almost any size neck i believe, it doesn't look that bad, was his neck that swollen when you shot him?..
Big River, I've been a taxidermist for 15 years. Its hard to give any good critiques without any close up pics of the eyes, nose, and mouth areas. From what I see the brisket looks ligned up properly and it looks like a good commercial mount to me. I'll have to tell you though thats not a mule deer form. Thats appaers to be a Meder form which is a form molded to fit the big northern and midwestern deer. You should be happy with that mount.
Dannon
I'd be happy to hang it on my wall! Looks good to me. The first nice buck that I shot was when I was in high school. I didn't have the funds for a pro taxidermist, so I got wind of a guy that did them in his back shed. I didn't know the guy and a neighbor took the head to him. He called a couple months later and the head was done, with a friend, I drove to his place. We knocked and entered his display area. My friend and I looked at the deer mounts, the duck mounts, the rabbit mounts, the fish mounts and they were ALL cross eyed!! including my deer head! I yelled "Hello" and the old gent came from the back room, HE was cross eyed!! I guess that explained it. Sorry for the long story but I learned a lesson on picking taxidermist at a young age.
Ears don't look natural. I see that alot.
Here's some pics of natural looking alert deer ears.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/WhitetailBuck.jpg/800px-WhitetailBuck.jpg
http://www.chestnutridgewhitetails.com/images/herd/breeders/locust2.jpg
http://garyleeper.com/web%20images/wildlife/big%20pics/12%20dee_B061462.JPG
Brian,
I know must be painful, so if it gets too unbearable, just give me a call, you have my number from when you refinish my bow, and did a great job on my bow. I'll take the mount off your hands that way you don't have to look at it. That will ease the pain a little more. That is wonderful looking 8 pointer. But it looks like he was older than what an eight pointer would be.
Matter-of-fact, I will just drive down, that way we can save on shipping :pray: :pray: :pray: :biglaugh:
Pastor Carl
Looks kind of sleepy to me.
And I think if the photos were taken from eye level the ears would look different. The ears look like they're up because the photos taken from a downward position. And if focus was on the nose of the deer, the neck is going to look bigger, if it was taken with the wide-angle lens, the sides of the deer are going to look a little bit more noticeably bigger. And because it is an upward angle the antlers are going to look a little out of shape in the photo. Also the bottom of the neck, is going to look larger than what it is because of the angle of the photo, the eyes will look smaller because of the angle of the deer, and the angle that the photo was taken.
The photo needs to be taken on level ground eye to eye and you would see the difference, if the photo was taken from above the neck with look smaller, the eyes would look bigger.
There are a lot of variables to consider when taking the photograph.
An example is, how large a deer looks if you take a photo from a lower angle, it's the same thing if you take a photo of a person, and the camera is that waist level, instead of eye-level. It's more of authority look, is the way you see most executives photos taken or CEOs, the waist level gives them the look of power. Note I did say the look !
I did photography for over 20 years, and I'd like to think I could improve anything with the angle and lighting and also my filters of my camera. There is only one thing I could not improve with the camera,
That's a person's heart, and attitude !
Pastor Carl
i like em!
nice job :thumbsup:
I'm not a taxidermy expert, but I stayed at Holiday Inn Express last night :saywhat: ...That's an awesome looking deer...Here's what I'd be doing if he were on my wall... :D :D :D :D :D :D
David
Well he doesn't look as good as he did at 15 yards walking in front of me last fall. But a nice mount and memories for sure.
Looks like he could use a bigger smile... but then, he's been shot! :^)
Captain Dick in Seattle... whose only set of antlers is from a deer killed with a 57 Chevy.....
Dick,
I hunted deer with a 56 Chevy for four years and never got one.
As for the mount, looks good to me.
Looks OK to me. The eyes look natural from what I can see. The neck does look a bit large just below the head on the lower picture. But tough to tell from the pix.
I too found out long ago to spend a bit extra with quality taxidermist. You have to look at them for a long time, hopefully. I do try to stay away from the top end guys that win awards however. Those mounts don't look like real deer to me. Too pretty. Like the difference between a "hooker" and the "girl next door".
I'm getting two next week myself. Saw them the other day, They just need to be painted. Look great. I may post them on here.
It's a real nice deer, but here are my thoughts on the mount. I'm definitely NOT an expert but I've seen many mounts so that's what I'm going on.
IMO, the neck looks kinda rough, he could have blended it better where it widens. The eyes look rather strange, not sure how I would describe them, just woke up mabye?? I also think that the ears are perked up a little too far.
It's not bad, but if it were me, I'd go with a different taxidermist next time.
Zane
I am w/ ya on the sleepy look. Still a fantastic mount! I would LOVE to catch a dude like that while he was nappin'!
Brian,
my son just got one back from last year's gun season (or I'd post the picture here) and it is very similar to yours. He killed his at the peak of rut for this guy and his neck was freakishly large. I think your mount looks just fine. Each deer has it's own look and I'd sure be proud to have won a battle against that dude.
FWIW, I don't think any mount can match the dynamic beauty of a live deer. They all seem to lose a little luster for me with an eternal pose.
OK, Here's my opinion.....pix are tough to critique!
Just a little backround,and not to brag at all,most folks don't even know I'm a taxidermist...but....I'm a two time National champion whitetail taxidermist(Highest scoring/best head in the country ), I've judged many shows,some big one's too...like I said,not bragging,just wanted to let Bigriver know that I kinda know what I'm talking about....
From the pix....You sir have a fine looking mount!
The guy earlier was absolutely right....that a Meder whitetail form. There isn't a whitetail that's alive today that you can't find a form for.They make them extremely big now! Back in the "old days", maybe.....
The neck is typical for a big swelled neck form. When a deer turns it's head one way, sometimes the opposite side of the atlas vertebrae looks like it's sticking out too much.Especially on a big swelled neck deer. Some forms are a bit overdone,and this one might be a little.But not out of the realm of whats possible....
The eyes look like they are done very well to reproduce the heavy eyed look of a mature buck....very nice!
To me the ears look fine too....focused forward,but not too much....
Skin and hair patterns all appear to be where they should be...
Like I said this is from the pix......
He's a good lookin' dude!!
Bigriver looks good to me. Beautiful buck. I also think that it is hard to capture the real mccoy in any mount. Every deer is unique in it's own way.
Guru has the credentials and he gave it a :thumbsup: I'd be proud of him hanging on my wall.
Thanks for all the input. This deer is just really different, maybe I`m just not used to having big deer on my wall.
Guru, that makes me feel better! Thanks.
My normal taxidermist is getting to the point where he wants to retire, so his prices reflect that. He was over $500.00 for a whitetail. He is an artist, but I just couldn`t justify it. I still have to pay for 2 caribou mounts this year.
I checked out a lot of this guys work before I gave him my biggest deer. He has won numerous awards & competitions & seemed like a good guy to do business with.
I like it... The only thing that really matters is that you do as well.
Congrats on a beautiful buck.
III
I agree with Curt. He has mounted one of mine and it is much better than the others, they look real natural to me. I would say it is a nice job! Shawn