Taxidermists are a bunch of thieves if they charge for their work? If you cant get a deer mounted for $200, your getting screwed? Im glad my clients don't have the attitude that seems to proliferate through this thread. I can tell you that my price on a deer is right at $400 and Im going up to $425 or more the first of the year. When I set my prices I take into account my cost of supplies, overhead, my wage and profit. I set my hourly shop rate at $50.00 per hour for "extra work". That's right $50.00 an hour, that's less than I paid my mechanic to fix my brakes last week and they only last 30,000 miles. Your deer will last for the rest of your life. I live in a nice home, eat out to dinner 1-2 times a week, go on a hunting trip 1-2 times a year and buy my sweetie some shiny things now and then. Wow, Im just like all of you, I expect to get paid the most I can for the job I do. And I don't feel one bit of guilt for charging you enough to let me do all those things.

You all think nothing of blowing thousands on a hunt, buying a new rifle, dinging the hell out of your credit card at Cabela's, tipping the guide, etc. and you whine about your taxidermist trying to make a living? If any taxidermist is making less that $400 on a whitetail he would make more money and have less hassles if he flung burgers at McDonalds. He will get swamped with work, fall behind, start cutting corners, quality will suffer, and he will start losing customers. Go to Taxidermy.net and read some of the posts about pricing.

Further if hes putting backboards on the piece at $275.00 he's using DP. A good walnut/oak panel wholesale is $40 plus shipping, engraving on the plate is $15.00, $40 for the form, eyes, septum, nictitating membrane, ears $30.00, tanning $40.00, shop supplies(glue, staples, thread) $5.00, Overhead(20% of cost) $34.00 is $204.00. That leaves him $71.00 in wages. Divide that by the 10 hours it takes to mount the deer and hes making 7.10/hour. And what about profit? Where's his profit to invest back in the business to buy new equipment? attend seminars? etc. Tell him McDonalds is hiring.

Would you trust your "trophy of lifetime" to somebody at $7.10 hour? Im amazed at this thread, it started out about guides and now its turned to bashing taxidermists.

Sorry if I offended anyones sensitivities, but if I walked into your office and started telling you that you were worth what you were getting paid, you'd get a little jumpy too.

Hughiam:

Glad the business I own sells to Fortune 500 companies...

Fallow Buck,

That's for whitetailed deer, usually the mulies and elk are higher. Not really sure how big a Red Deer is or what mold would be used.

An elk can be had for less than 500 so, I'd think the red could be mounted for less than that depending on what extra supplies are involved.

Good Luck

Reloader

quote:

Taxidermists are a bunch of thieves if they charge for their work? If you cant get a deer mounted for $200, your getting screwed? Im glad my clients don't have the attitude that seems to proliferate through this thread. I can tell you that my price on a deer is right at $400 and Im going up to $425 or more the first of the year. When I set my prices I take into account my cost of supplies, overhead, my wage and profit. I set my hourly shop rate at $50.00 per hour for "extra work". That's right $50.00 an hour, that's less than I paid my mechanic to fix my brakes last week and they only last 30,000 miles. Your deer will last for the rest of your life. I live in a nice home, eat out to dinner 1-2 times a week, go on a hunting trip 1-2 times a year and buy my sweetie some shiny things now and then. Wow, Im just like all of you, I expect to get paid the most I can for the job I do. And I don't feel one bit of guilt for charging you enough to let me do all those things.

You all think nothing of blowing thousands on a hunt, buying a new rifle, dinging the hell out of your credit card at Cabela's, tipping the guide, etc. and you whine about your taxidermist trying to make a living? If any taxidermist is making less that $400 on a whitetail he would make more money and have less hassles if he flung burgers at McDonalds. He will get swamped with work, fall behind, start cutting corners, quality will suffer, and he will start losing customers. Go to Taxidermy.net and read some of the posts about pricing.

Further if hes putting backboards on the piece at $275.00 he's using DP. A good walnut/oak panel wholesale is $40 plus shipping, engraving on the plate is $15.00, $40 for the form, eyes, septum, nictitating membrane, ears $30.00, tanning $40.00, shop supplies(glue, staples, thread) $5.00, Overhead(20% of cost) $34.00 is $204.00. That leaves him $71.00 in wages. Divide that by the 10 hours it takes to mount the deer and hes making 7.10/hour. And what about profit? Where's his profit to invest back in the business to buy new equipment? attend seminars? etc. Tell him McDonalds is hiring.

Would you trust your "trophy of lifetime" to somebody at $7.10 hour? Im amazed at this thread, it started out about guides and now its turned to bashing taxidermists.

Sorry if I offended anyones sensitivities, but if I walked into your office and started telling you that you were worth what you were getting paid, you'd get a little jumpy too.

No, My friend, it appears you're getting screwed.

There's no way I'd have a Taxidermist w/ your attitude even come close to an animal of mine. This kind of mentality goes back to what I said about the smart elic, snoby, know-it-all, cocky, and thieving Taxidermist I mentioned hearing of earlier. If you like ripping your clients off, that's your own conscience. If there's a pile of Taxidermist around here that can mount Deer from 200-300 dollars, you sure as heck could too. Matter of fact, you should probably call some of the numbers I listed and get some pointers on where to buy supplies.

These post about Taxidermist were in no way Bashing any Taxidermists until you got all offended about what folks are paying.

On another note, did you ever stop to think that most of the guys that do Taxidermy are just part timers that have other jobs and don't do it for a living, it's just a hobby.

Over 400 for a whitetail, Give Me a Break , for that much that sucker better jump up on the wall onto a nail he just hammered in himself .

Have a Good One,

Reloader

This thread has gotten fun and interesting. I enjoy a lively debate about something Im dearly passionate about. I may come off as "arrogant", but I call it passion about my love of taxidermy and trying to put out the best damn deer I can.

I have no doubt there are a pile of taxidermists that do deer for $200-$300. I mearly stated that they are doing it for $7.00 hour. My time is worth more than that. The time I spent training is worth more than that. The mount I give you back is worth more than that. If someone wants to work for free, more power to them. I choose not to. I have a competitor that lives within 3 miles of me that does deer for $185.00. I get asked every year if I will meet his price and say no. If you want to pay $185.00 go do it, those aren't the clients I want. I want a guy who has looked at my work, my credentials, my awards and chooses me. I want a client that looks through my reference library at eye shape, nose shape, ear anatomy etc and compares the live photos with my work. Then I encourage him to take the photos and compare my work with anyone they choose. If Im not worth the $400.00, that's fine with me. But, Ive rarely lost a customer by doing that. "Tirekickers" that like my work, but want it done cheaper aren't good for business.

As for "cheaper" forms, the average price for a quality form from McKenzie, Research, Coombs is right at $40.00. The only cheaper ones Ive seen are from small companies and can lack the anatomical features sculpted into the better forms that I demand for you, my client. You can't get around your fixed costs of forms, supplies etc, the only thing you can cut is your wage/profit.

I'd never, ever run down your preferred taxidermist, his work, or his dog. He chooses to work for less than I do. And if your happy with his work, again, more power to you.

But, industry wide, we as taxidermists are the last ones paid, and the most criticized. Yet have one hair out of place, and the client can go nuts. Top shops, like Animal Artistry, Woodburys, etc get over $700.00 for a whitetail gang, think about it $700!.

If I could get that, wow, I'd mount 1/2 as many deer and make the same money, have more time to spend with my family. Ahh a perfect world.


Again, if someone walked into your office and said, Im only going to pay you half of what you think your worth, how would you take it?

In Peace

Reloader:

There is no way a part timer is ever as good as a full time guy. I won't bash those pictures, because the detial on them isn't that great.

Like I said, I never look at any of my mounts and think, "Gee, I wish I paid less."

You started this with the jab that some of us are idiots for paying so much. I have never felt that way. Let's put it this way: anyone who works for less than the prevailing rate does it because their quality is low or they just don't know what the market will bear (or they are just plain dumb). If they don't know what the market will bear, they aren't keeping up with their craft.

If a guy is charging 50 bucks an hour, he isn't making a killing. It is certainly less than a lawyer, and I can tell you I would rather deal with taxidermists any day than lawyers.

I don't believe I ever bashed a taxidermist on this thread. And I do appreciate good work and am willing to pay for it. The actual supplies haven't gone up terribly, it's the shipping.

Plus, all of the foam manikins have to be made of that newer material, as the old stuff was found to be "unsafe." The new foam is more expensive.

Hughiam, do you like the Meder manikins?

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Reloader:

There is no way a part timer is ever as good as a full time guy.

mmmm, I can think of an exception to this. I do agree with you and would have up until recently. I got a deer back from a guy I used to use. I was a little unhappy with it for various reasons. He is a full time taxidermist. His mistake was: "How's it look?" on the day I went to pick it up.

So, I told him. The eyes weren't open symmetrically (a real surprise considering past work), the eyelids weren't symmetrical. There was still some spray from the nose stuck to one of the glass eyes. The tear ducts were too exposed with epoxy showing, and one of the ear butts was bulkier than the other. Plus, he sliced the cape right in the middle of the neck when fleshing it, and had the balls to tell me it was like that when I brought it to him. At that, I reminded him that HE caped it in the back of his shop. I know slices can occur, but this one was quite noticeable, and he blamed me.

I told him, I just assume pay him MORE money but give me a competition mount, spend MORE time with my stuff. His last mistake was telling me: "I just like to knock 'em out, get 'em done...mount 3-4 per day."

Therefore, he likes to do rush jobs, get paid, and get the stuff out. He also stated that he's "burned out" on deer after doing 200+ per year for the last 20 years.

What sucks is, when he does a good job, it's outstanding. He gets $425.

quote:

You started this with the jab that some of us are idiots for paying so much.

AZ,

I never said anyone was an idiot by any means my friend you should reread the post or lay off the coffee pot for a bit .

I started by mearly talking w/ Doc about how I thought he could find better prices, I don't think I offended him or any others by our friendly chat. If you want to spend big money on a Whitetail mount or any other game for that matter, go ahead, I wont hold anything against you. I certainly don't think we need to make the honest hardworking (By The hour) man think that he has to spend 500 dollars to get his buck he killed mounted and it be "A Good Mount." Simply telling a man if he spent 200 bucks or 350 bucks on a mount and he got "screwed" or his mount must be insufficient at that price is wrong in my eyes and just plain not true.

On your comment about part timers not being as good, you are truely wrong my friend, there are some unbelievably talented artistist in this world that are just "Part Time" simply because their passion/hobby can't give them the lifestyle ($$$) they desire.

A good friend of mine is a wood carver part time and let me tell you, He could knock your socks off w/ the work he does, it's absolutely awesome.

Just another example is folks that wood work. I came from a family of carpenters and wood workers and while some of them only do that parttime or for a hobby they'll blow the doors off of your every day High Priced Contractors any day of the week and for less money. I think it just comes down to a mans values.

Hughiam, I believe you about your prices, it's something a man's just got to do in some instances. I'm sure you are proud of your passion and your work probably definitely reflects it.

Ya'll Have a Good One

I fixin' to see about plotting on some tree rats tomm. morn w/ the ole' 22lr.

Reloader

Well, we had fun with that one while it lasted.

WOW!!! I have not had any bad experiences. I have had very good guides and outfitters and my Taxidermist is great. When I have work done at my taxidermist we have a contract, and the price is up front, no hidden costs at all. As a matter of fact I get charged less than his price sheet due to the amount I have mounted there.

I have about 40 mounts in my house, done by 4 different taxidermists. All local. I only have one that I trust and continue to take work to. He is in Casper, Swann Studios! Great work, fair price,and done in a very timely manner.

My previous taxidermist, I would pay 50% the day I took it in, then make monthly payments to finish it off. And the last piece took almost two years to get back after it was paid off in less than a year. What I found out was that, he was doing the wealthy guys stuff and putting the locals on the back burner because we only brought in one or two piece per year. No more!

quote:

Originally posted by MrHawg:
As a general rule of thumb, all guides/outfitters are shitheads. At least the ones in Northeast Wyoming.

MrHawg,

This kind of hits home to me in that I just arrived home from mule deer hunting in NE WY. Although I would not agree that ALL are bad apples, there are quite a few.

I have never hunted with a guide or an outfitter in Wyoming but that does not, by any stretch, mean that you won't run into these buttheads. I hunt on public land in NE Wyoming. The group that I hunt with regularly runs into outfitters trying to kick us off public property claiming that we are "on private property" and need to leave immediately. Having a good GPS along with electronic maps have allowed us to tell these bozos to take a hike. In some cases, we know the areas better than they do and have both map coordinates and a GPS to prove it. In a nutshell, their tactics ranging from intimidation to posting of public land is a cheat. They cheat their clients (because they advertise having exclusive access to large blocks of land - unfortunately, not all of their land is truly private) and they cheat other hunters they are successful at "evicting".

I'm not sure what the topic even is any more .. If it is about taxidermists ... (or was) .. the first three guys that I used many years ago were all weasels to a degree. The taxidermist I use now is a very nice fellow .. but certainly ain't cheap. In Canadian bucks he must charge at least $500 for a deer .. maybe a bit more. On guides .. hmmmmm ? I've had a bunch as I have hunted in Africa a lot and also five trips to South America and a few other places ... The most irritating guides that I have ever had have been the young kids that Roger Whittal would hire in Southern Zimbabwe. He'd give a good price and then the the 21 year old guy would show up. This never much worked out ... While having almost no experience in dangerous game .. they could talk about soccer or cricket ... Puhleeasseeee!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Reloader:
No AZ, He buys them many at a time. He told me he trys to make a good guestimate on which form will be the right size and if he thinks he can get it on a larger one he does.

I think that says it all.
Guestimating and putting capes on larger forms
Sorry but i go for accurate measurements and dont pump up the animals.

quote:

they are just as good as the mounts I see at Bass Pro

I havnt even been there but i have heard of the poor quality rush jobs in there.



I am a little offended by the 'taxidermists cant be trusted' comment....what a crock of shite.
Sure there are cowboys out there as in all occupations.
LOL - our plumbers and trades people earn twice the salary i do, for less work.

I get clients to sign a contract so no upping prices midway thru a job. I wouldnt do that regardless - change taxo's if you didnt sign a contract.
I DO tan myself as i believe i do a nicer job than whats available here and i know its done properly, i get the result i expect. I've done that for 10 yrs. Another benifit is i can baby sit a risky cape thru the tanning process instead of just telling the client to go buy another cape.

MC is right...there is more to the cost of a mount than just the form.
power, water, tans, clays, epoxies, hide glues, pins, needles, threads knives, eyes, ear liners, jawsets, my pay per hour, super fund, tax, license fees, insurance and all the other stuff that wouldnt be covered with our equivilent of a US $250 mount.
Or maybe you just dont get quallity materials. it might look ok now....lets see in a few yrs.

I get guys who say "oh, so n so's cheaper"....i say good, go there then.

I have been on three Western United States hunts and one South Africa hunt. All of the U.S hunts were less than my expectations and the South Africa hunt exceeded what I expected.

The US outfitters did all provide the hunt that I paid for but the amount and quality of game I was told their hunters would see was over stated or or lied about.

The South Africa PH told me he would guarantee that he would find me the animals on my list and more if I wanted and he did and even let me shoot additional animals for free.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Reloader:

There is no way a part timer is ever as good as a full time guy. I won't bash those pictures, because the detial on them isn't that great.

Like I said, I never look at any of my mounts and think, "Gee, I wish I paid less."

You started this with the jab that some of us are idiots for paying so much. I have never felt that way. Let's put it this way: anyone who works for less than the prevailing rate does it because their quality is low or they just don't know what the market will bear (or they are just plain dumb). If they don't know what the market will bear, they aren't keeping up with their craft.

If a guy is charging 50 bucks an hour, he isn't making a killing. It is certainly less than a lawyer, and I can tell you I would rather deal with taxidermists any day than lawyers.

Well AnotherAZWriter I think you are full of crap with some of your statements especially the one where you stated that there was no way that a part time taxidermist will ever be as good as a full time one, Well for your info I am a part timer who knows a lot of taxidermist from several states and there are some part times who are every bit as good as any full timer around, I am not bashing full timers because it is not whether he is full or part time that makes him good it is his talent and willingness to do good work. As I said I am a part timer who has competed in more than one state and have won ribbons for deer, fish amd ducks and will let my work talk for its self to anyone who would like to see it. I also dont believe price has anything to do with quality because i know of several extremely high priced as well as some of the cheaper taxidermists who do crappy work as as well as some who do great work, its all in the individual himself.

If you consider finding out only after you've gotten in the boat that the fishing guide is a rude asshole with zero social skills, yes.

No, but I was burned by a Thai hooker one time. Can you say getting rodded off the range!

quote:

Originally posted by douglast:

quote:

Originally posted by MrHawg:
As a general rule of thumb, all guides/outfitters are shitheads. At least the ones in Northeast Wyoming.

MrHawg,

This kind of hits home to me in that I just arrived home from mule deer hunting in NE WY. Although I would not agree that ALL are bad apples, there are quite a few.

I have never hunted with a guide or an outfitter in Wyoming but that does not, by any stretch, mean that you won't run into these buttheads. I hunt on public land in NE Wyoming. The group that I hunt with regularly runs into outfitters trying to kick us off public property claiming that we are "on private property" and need to leave immediately. Having a good GPS along with electronic maps have allowed us to tell these bozos to take a hike. In some cases, we know the areas better than they do and have both map coordinates and a GPS to prove it. In a nutshell, their tactics ranging from intimidation to posting of public land is a cheat. They cheat their clients (because they advertise having exclusive access to large blocks of land - unfortunately, not all of their land is truly private) and they cheat other hunters they are successful at "evicting".

Douglast...what part of NE Wyoming were you hunting, and do you know who the outfitter was? I have heard of this type of thing occuring, although it has never occured to me. I would contact the Wyoming Board of Outfitters if you know the culprit, and report this crap!!

MG

quote:

Originally posted by jwj4856:

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Reloader:

There is no way a part timer is ever as good as a full time guy. I won't bash those pictures, because the detial on them isn't that great.

Like I said, I never look at any of my mounts and think, "Gee, I wish I paid less."

You started this with the jab that some of us are idiots for paying so much. I have never felt that way. Let's put it this way: anyone who works for less than the prevailing rate does it because their quality is low or they just don't know what the market will bear (or they are just plain dumb). If they don't know what the market will bear, they aren't keeping up with their craft.

If a guy is charging 50 bucks an hour, he isn't making a killing. It is certainly less than a lawyer, and I can tell you I would rather deal with taxidermists any day than lawyers.

Well AnotherAZWriter I think you are full of crap with some of your statements especially the one where you stated that there was no way that a part time taxidermist will ever be as good as a full time one, Well for your info I am a part timer who knows a lot of taxidermist from several states and there are some part times who are every bit as good as any full timer around, I am not bashing full timers because it is not whether he is full or part time that makes him good it is his talent and willingness to do good work. As I said I am a part timer who has competed in more than one state and have won ribbons for deer, fish amd ducks and will let my work talk for its self to anyone who would like to see it. I also dont believe price has anything to do with quality because i know of several extremely high priced as well as some of the cheaper taxidermists who do crappy work as as well as some who do great work, its all in the individual himself.

Welcome to AR. I am curious as to how you learned to be a taxidermist. Did you work for someone? What exposure have you had to stuff outside of Louisiana? Ever do any African stuff?

Most full time guys I have met started out by working for some else full time. They learned the ropes and got experience.

Perhaps there are many part timers who do excellent work. So why aren't they doing it full time?

One thing I don't do is use the highest priced taxidermists. The second worst job I have had was by a guy who had a great reputation. Unfortunately, I think he started subbing out his work but keeping the prices high. There is a guy in Phoenix who charges a bundle. I looked at his work and was not impressed.

quote:

Originally posted by Madgoat:

Douglast...what part of NE Wyoming were you hunting, and do you know who the outfitter was? I have heard of this type of thing occuring, although it has never occured to me. I would contact the Wyoming Board of Outfitters if you know the culprit, and report this crap!!

MG

Madgoat,

These "run-ins" have happened in the TB grasslands. As we have gotten more sophisticated (electronic maps and gps') and confident, we are not backing down anymore. I don't know outfitters by name because they are typically the type that don't have it written on the sides of their trucks.

I hear what you are saying about pursuing the conflicts with officials but sometimes the confrontations can get heated and knowing what happened here in Wisconsin last year (Vang killings), one is always weary about how another might "take matters into their own hands."

Will keep AR posted if future incidents occur.

Doug

Hey AZ, I finally got to see some work of a local guy that I've been trying to meet for a couple of years. He's always gone hunting or shooting.

Anyway, He only does work for close friends. No advertising. He went through Joe Meder's class some years ago, as well as a couple of others.

I'm trying to convince him to take my business. Not sure I'm getting anywhere yet. But he only mounts up about 18-20 heads per year. But his work could easily grace the cover of McKenzie taxidermy supply catalogue.

Taxidermists, outfitters, buying a home, a car, investments, etc. The bottom line is it is always worth doing your homework.

Jeff

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by jwj4856:

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Reloader:

There is no way a part timer is ever as good as a full time guy. I won't bash those pictures, because the detial on them isn't that great.

Like I said, I never look at any of my mounts and think, "Gee, I wish I paid less."

You started this with the jab that some of us are idiots for paying so much. I have never felt that way. Let's put it this way: anyone who works for less than the prevailing rate does it because their quality is low or they just don't know what the market will bear (or they are just plain dumb). If they don't know what the market will bear, they aren't keeping up with their craft.

If a guy is charging 50 bucks an hour, he isn't making a killing. It is certainly less than a lawyer, and I can tell you I would rather deal with taxidermists any day than lawyers.

Well AnotherAZWriter I think you are full of crap with some of your statements especially the one where you stated that there was no way that a part time taxidermist will ever be as good as a full time one, Well for your info I am a part timer who knows a lot of taxidermist from several states and there are some part times who are every bit as good as any full timer around, I am not bashing full timers because it is not whether he is full or part time that makes him good it is his talent and willingness to do good work. As I said I am a part timer who has competed in more than one state and have won ribbons for deer, fish amd ducks and will let my work talk for its self to anyone who would like to see it. I also dont believe price has anything to do with quality because i know of several extremely high priced as well as some of the cheaper taxidermists who do crappy work as as well as some who do great work, its all in the individual himself.

Welcome to AR. I am curious as to how you learned to be a taxidermist. Did you work for someone? What exposure have you had to stuff outside of Louisiana? Ever do any African stuff?

Most full time guys I have met started out by working for some else full time. They learned the ropes and got experience.

Perhaps there are many part timers who do excellent work. So why aren't they doing it full time?

One thing I don't do is use the highest priced taxidermists. The second worst job I have had was by a guy who had a great reputation. Unfortunately, I think he started subbing out his work but keeping the prices high. There is a guy in Phoenix who charges a bundle. I looked at his work and was not impressed.

I began learning taxidermy from some tapes and books to try and get the basics then visited and worked a little with a couple other local taxidermists to learn more, plus I go to taxidermy conventions and while there go to all the seminars and learn quite a bit. I have done a few african mounts which turned out very well and I have had quite a bit of exposure outside of louisiana, I have competed in several states and have won ribbons in each state I have been to, mostly competing in gameheads, fish and birds. I think some of the part timers, instead of going full time as in my case is that by trade I am a licensed professional surveyor (recently retired and do not need the full extra income) but still am not going into taxidermy full time but keeping it more as a hobby so that I enjoy it more than if full time and I think I as well as anyone else do their best work when they enjoy what they are doing.