To Mount or Not To Mount-Taxidermy

[Duckhunter14]

The last few years my mindset about spending money on taxidermy has changed. When I was younger I mounted a lot of animals…my first of a species, my biggest to date, etc. After experiencing deaths in the family/close friends family, etc. I’ve changed my perspective on how much I’d like to mount and leave behind someday.

Curious your approach to taxidermy. I personally love the look of the European/skull mount and mostly go that route with animals I harvest. We made an exception last fall when my wife killed a bison, we did a euro of the skull but we also made a rug with the hide. Both turned out super cool, and we’ll probably never draw another bison tag. So I thought the investment was worth it.

I’ve made a decision for me personally that an animal will have to be a certain size in order to pay for a shoulder mount. I’m unsure if I draw a sheep or goat tag if I’ll even shoulder mount them. I love taxidermy, I love looking at the wall and seeing an animal brought back to life and being able to remember the entire story with one look. But someday when I leave behind my worldly possessions to my children, do I want them to inherit a pile of shoulder mounts that may end up in the dump? Resale value seems very poor for most mounts. I know my kids will enjoy a few of them, maybe from hunts they were a part of or my biggest. But doubtful they’ll want it all.

I personally have two mounts that are not mine in my home. My late father and grandfathers biggest mule deer bucks. I had them remounted and I love looking at them. But if there was say, 12 or 15 left to me. I don’t think I’d have all of them hung in my house.

I was having this conversation with an older gentleman recently and he was showing me all of his mounts from all his guided trips and I mentioned my recent change in thought about taxidermy. I don’t think he had ever thought about it from that perspective and he got quiet and then kind of dismissed it and said the mounts were for him, and whatever his sons did with them after he was gone was fine with him. I appreciate that response, but I’m curious what your take on taxidermy is and if you have your own rules for what and how animals get mounted, skull capped, or euro’d?

I guess I’m not 100% convinced either way, and I really do appreciate a good taxidermist and taxidermy that is done well. Love to hear your opinion on the subject.

 

[waspocrew]

Personally, I've not shot an animal that I thought was "big enough" for a shoulder mount. They get expensive for sure and take up a lot of space. Most of my mounts are euros. I have a Dall sheep hunt coming up in Aug and still undecided what I'll do, but I believe I'll likely do a pedestal mount with replica horns and a euro of the real deal. Who knows if I'll do another sheep hunt, so I feel it's worth it.

At some point though, I'd probably just cut the antlers off my euros and sell them to an antler buyer. I doubt my kids will want old mounts, nor do I care to leave behind a pile of stuff they then have to deal with.

 

[MuleyFever]

I don't plan on doing anything other than boiling the skull. One exception is if I get a Mountain Goat. Other exceptions would be to tan the hide of some animals, mainly predators. I've even thought of cutting the antlers off my deer shoulder mounts I have now and putting the antlers on those printed skulls.

 

[keystone112]

I normally prefer the shoulder mount. Whatever my kids or nephews don’t want will be offered to the natural history museum at my wife’s alma mater. After that, maybe sold to a local gun shop.

 

[Pickettpuncher]

I’ve got 5 shoulder mounts of whitetails. It’ll take a heck a heck of deer to do another. Euros are easy and take little room and time.

I might would do a mule deer or antelope if I ever get the chance to go.

 

[Ross]

I always wanted two bulls bugling at each other, so I did 4 of them and one muley. Have room for 2 more elk and could do it with some that sit on the floor. They are awesome to reflect on and enjoy their beauty, but are not for everyone

 

[Sneaker]

I had too many shoulder mounted when I was young, wish I would have done euros on a few of them. They start adding up and you eventually kill things much bigger if you are a dedicated hunted for decades. Room also becomes an issue. But yeah, they are really for the hunter most the time. When the lights go out nobody cares as much as the hunter did. An exceptional specimen may pass down a generation or two but many times not even that happens. It can be a burden for posterity to deal with too. My dad has some absolutely amazing animals, but when he dies, I won’t have room for them… am I going to get rid of some of mine to make room for his? I say enjoy them while you are alive and tell posterity to do with them whatever they want, yards sales for many of them I suppose.

 

[Maverick1]

It is all just personal preference and an individual decision.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I don't even do euros anymore. The horns get cut off, boiled and hung somewhere (or usually thrown in one of many horn piles). This is mostly deer. The mounts are just too expensive.

 

[PopNFresh]

years ago we had a client pass and his family had me trying to find someone to buy the front half of an elephant that was made to look like it was charging out of the wall, harder to move than you'd think

that said there is a small market for decent taxidermy but it's pennies on the dollar for sure

 

[pirogue]

Like said above, personal preference. As one gets older, the bar gets lifted on whether it’s a shoulder mount or a Euro. With the exception of a pedestal mount for a sheep, which I may never draw the tag again, my decision to Euro mount usually doesn’t take much convincing. And the thought of handing them down in the family, they may have the same thought as me, which is, “If I didn’t bag it, it ain’t hanging on my wall”

 

[roadrunner]

The only shoulder mounts I would ever do going forward are bighorn sheep (likely to never happen) and antelope.

I would do a horn plaque on a mule deer even if it went 200+.

Have no desire to do a shoulder mount because it's "big enough".

 

[Huntndog]

I plan to mount a couple more and then quit. I know they are just for me. I did tell my wife to take the big red stag I killed in NZ to the local Cracker Barrel when I die to hang over the fireplace as a conversation starter.

 

[dsotm]

Euro everything for me unless I ever draw a sheep tag here

 

[Andrew12gauge]

With the cost of a shoulder mount these days I think I’m euro only from here on out, even that is getting expensive if you don’t do them yourself. Paid $325 to have someone else do the euro on my elk because I didn’t want to take the time to do it before heading home, I guess that’s the cost of doing business when hunting across state lines with CWD restrictions these days


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Banana_Horn]

I like keeping hides, bear hides and mountain goat hides are super cool and worth the money IMO, and are the only taxidermy I have in my house.

Shoulder mounts don’t really appeal to me, and not for the money, but taxidermy is such a personal thing. I could definitely understand wanting a shoulder mount or two in the right space.

If/when I get a 200” mulie or a Dall ram, you can bet those skulls are going in the house, and maybe if I am feeling it, those could get shoulder mounted.

 

[Irish Miner]

I've always wanted that one"big muley" for the wall. Likely it wont ever happen, but would do a shoulder mount if it ever happens and its the right one. One elk and a pronghorn is all I have and they're good enough for me. I have a couple of fish too that I really like. When I'm gone just skin and bones for somebody else to deal with. Chuck 'em if need be, I wont care.

I really do like taxidermy though.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I do a lot of my deer killing in MO and WI and with WA's CWD import rules, a euro would take too much time and would most likely not fit in my giant duffel bag on the plane whereas just a skull mount would.

 

[Kimber33]

I enjoy looking at well done shoulder mounts but euros are much easier to display and store. Plus my wife is bigger fan of a European over a shoulder mount with only 8ft ceilings in the house.

 

[Tobe_B]

I have quite a few mounts, mostly shoulder mounts, a few euros. There’s a few more I’d like to have if I can make the harvests in time. But all mine have a different meaning to me. My dad’s a taxidermist, he brought me up hunting, it’s our biggest bond in life. He’s getting closer to retiring now, once he’s done I’ll go to all euros as I can do those myself. But I see my dad in every mount, once he passes I’ll still have those. Once I’m gone my girls can do whatever they want with mine, but I don’t want to leave them a huge load they have to deal with.