I tipped over a very nice Barren Ground Caribou this fall and so this one will get mounted. I have a problem however, because of the height of the a typical head & shoulder mount in rooms with 8 foot ceilings. (I was forced by a job relocation to leave my vaulted ceilings back in Idaho) Has anyone seen a Caribou done on a pedistal mount? I've seen some terrific pedistal mounts over the years but they seem to mostly be of African game.

If you could send me links to any examples, I'd be greatful! - EB

Here's a mount I did a couple of years ago . . . it's about 2" shy of 8 feet tall.



Good luck!

JDS

jds, very nice!!

Beautiful jds! You have really done a fine job with your Trophys and think the 8' ceilings have actually enhanced the mounts. Your correct use of illumination also add's to the presentation.

JDS - Whoa! That's outstanding - and a heck of a 'bou too! This is the kind of thing I was thinking about. My Caribou will easily be one of the nicest trophies I'll ever take so I'm thinking of doing something special.

Your post left me with the impression that you did the taxidermy. True? I really like the way it turned out and wonder if the lichen covered rocks and plants are readily available to taxidermists, or is this a special/custom fabrication?

Thanks! - EB

Try here. Robertson's Taxidermy

Thanks, Artic. Robertsons shows some very nice mounts as well. These are great idea starters, guyz. One is sticking in my mind in particular.

Consider a pedistal mount where the base is made of oak (etc) with a square/rectangle footprint. My idea is to have the base built to have a couple rows of book shelves on each side, or one book shelf and one nick/nack shelf. I'm always picking up interesting artifacts during hunts (arrow heads, sheds, etc) and a short shelf for some of them above a row of my outdoor books seems like it would be handy and attractive.

Keep the ideas coming. I love helping my buddies spend their money, so you might as well help ME spend some this time! - EB

Thanks for the kind words . . . although I'm a little disappointed that "Shootaway" didn't chime in with his . . . er . . . "opinion".

I did do the taxidermy myself, built the oak base, and built the rocks from scratch. All of the groundcover and plants is from Michael's and Hobby Lobby. The lichen is paint but looks suprisingly realistic in person.

The mannikin is a stock mannikin with no alterations. It's from Joe Coombs Taxidermy Supply, item # CCB-15

Robertson's Taxidermy has some great ideas as well.

As far as your square/rectangle base, here's an idea . . . Have the shelves on each side but on the front, finish it off with a piece of hair-on caribou hide (the back hide from a bull). It will give a visual tie in to the mount above.

Good luck!

JDS

JDS -
Nice suggestion. I'd love to do that, but I fear I won't have enough back hide left after the head/shoulder mount as I caped it from just behind the shoulders. Maybe so though.

Could you send me a couple photos by email showing a closer view of the rocks, plants, etc? My wife is a very accomplished artist and when I showed her your work this AM she immediately commented how real the "habitat" looked. So, with her painting skills and my wood working, I'm thinking I might be able to pull off a nice pedestal. I'll PM you my email address if you don't mind.

One interesting side-note. I also ran my idea of book/nick-nack shelves past the wife and she IMMEDIATELY said "I think the book shelves would be out of place on something no nice becasue there's no tie between the shelves and the beautivul caribou mount." (who'da thunk it, eh?)

- EB