Back in 2004 I had the privilege of taking a beautiful 45" Buffalo. Because of personal ties with the PH and Taxidermist, I agreed to have the bull mounted in Africa and shipped home to me.
After months of anticipation, the big day and the crate arrived. When I opened it - my heart sank. There was my great buff.....looking like a cow. (MOOO-COOOW, that is) After toooooooo many years of looking at, and tolerating that (buff ?). I said to heck with it, and when my new son-in-law offered me an extra Buffalo cape he had, but was not going to use - I jumped at the chance.
Took the old buff down......sent it to Dean Schulte of "High Uintah's Taxidermy" and with the new cape. Dean did his magic! (Actually it was Dean's son.....Steve)
Well.....just got it back and hung it yesterday. MY FACE HURTS FROM SMILING!
Somehow.....magically.....a Cape Buffalo has just stuck his head through my wall.........And once again, my grandchildren are properly scared to death to look upon him. My New, Old Buff was worth every penny!!!!
Some of you know how I feel......cause many of you have, and ARE there now.

well done , lets see a pic ....

Pics man! We gotta have pics!!

"And once again, my grandchildren are properly scared to death to look upon him"



Now that's funny.............

Awesome BC but we need some pics so that we can enjoy it with you buddy!

I know exactly how you feel however as I have Brown bear that has a face like a clown (will have to be redone at some point) and just recently, my first leopard was reported completed by the taxidermist. Pictures on the Taxidermy forum page. Small cat but looked fine until I scrolled down to see that he mounted it with the claws extended! My heart sank. Told him I wouldn't accept it that way. He worked on it and is now acceptable, but not right. Good thing my monster leopard taken last year is in the good hands of a different taxidermist.

It's very disturbing when your hard earned trophy gets ruined because of "artistic license" that results in something other than a natural pose.

Glad you got it corrected to your liking.

bcoyler-

Glad for you! Keep smiling.

Todd-

The cats are often considered the toughest to get correct, and I believe Leopards are a real challenge. If you've been among them alive in their native habitat, you recognize poor mounts immediately. Even at the DSC and SCI shows you will see taxidermy that you know is just not right. I think Carl looked at every Lion mount at both DSC and SCI last January, twice (I was with him), before selecting who he would have do his 2011 Lion mount.

quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter:
bcoyler-

Glad for you! Keep smiling.

Todd-

The cats are often considered the toughest to get correct, and I believe Leopards are a real challenge. If you've been among them alive in their native habitat, you recognize poor mounts immediately. Even at the DSC and SCI shows you will see taxidermy that you know is just not right. I think Carl looked at every Lion mount at both DSC and SCI last January, twice (I was with him), before selecting who he would have do his 2011 Lion mount.

Regarding the difficulty of the cats Mike, I agree 100% with bears being right behind them. The fellow had the face on my leopard pretty close but claws extended while standing on a log?

Wow, Brennan, he got that done quickly!

Alright boys........MANY things I can do very well. Getting a damn picture on this site IS NOT one of them. I'll take a couple of quick pics.

NOW WHO THE HECK WILL POST THEM UP AFTER I E-MAIL THEM TO YOU.

Send it to me Brennen. I'll post them.

Thanks Todd: Sent a pm. Pic not turning out well with flash tonight. Will take them tomorrow.

Send them when you can bud! I'll post em for ya!

Here ya go Brennen!







See you in Dallas!

Oh man...I'd say....very nice! I understand the perma-grin!

Thanks Bax..........You should have seen the crap that was on my wall for 5+ years. And that is a 45" Buff.

Nice.......... that's the grumpy look we all know and love.

To tell the truth looks to small for me to shoot. See you in Dallas.

Mike

Mike.........You are a BaaaaaaaaaaaaD man!!

Hey....send me a pm with your cell phone #. I'll give you a buzz during DSC. We can find Larry & Todd and tell lies!

Very nice.

OK, so lets see the new one.............

quote:

Originally posted by bcolyer:
Mike.........You are a BaaaaaaaaaaaaD man!!

Hey....send me a pm with your cell phone #. I'll give you a buzz during DSC. We can find Larry & Todd and tell lies!

Hey ... I never tell lies! See what I mean!!

Well.....I guess I opened this can of worms! So let her fly - do your worst! But I'm lovin' every minute of it.

Nice buff!

Excellent re-do, you will be able enjoy him now for many years.

very nice and a great case fopr "doing it rioght the first time " great decision and as i always say well worth it , you may hunt for ten days but you will look at your mount for the rest of your life !!!!

thats a honker of a buff !!!!!

Nice looking Buffalo!!

Great buff + good taxidermy = HAPPY HUNTER.

For 2 yrs. I've been looking at an awesome cape eland blue bull.
The horns belong to the 1 I shot, but the cape belongs to someone else.
Somewhere, somebody is looking at my cape on their horns.
Sure would like to get this sorted out, but no one from outfitter to taxidermist has a clue what happened or when.
Forgive my shortsightedness, as I've had 3 excellent safaries & if this is the worst thing that happened, well I guess it just ain't that bad for me.
Congrats to Bax for getting his situation worked out to suit him.
Life is good!