stalkincoues Report post Posted November 12, 2008 I have a buddy that killed a nice Tom in the fall hunt. Does anybody know a taxidermist that does great work and is proven for Turkey? He is wanting to get it in a full strut pose if that helps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Basser15 Report post Posted November 12, 2008 http://www.trailsendart.com/Home_Page.php Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted November 12, 2008 Chuck Meacham in Tucson did a wonderful flying mount of my grandson's turkey. I've seen none better, but it was not inexpensive. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Sniper Report post Posted November 12, 2008 Chuck Meacham in Tucson did a wonderful flying mount of my grandson's turkey. I've seen none better, but it was not inexpensive. Bill Quimby Heard many good things about his work Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted November 12, 2008 Chuck Meacham in Tucson did a wonderful flying mount of my grandson's turkey. I've seen none better, but it was not inexpensive. Bill Quimby Heard many good things about his work His background includes several years at the Jonas Brothers of Denver studio back when it was the premier taxidermy shop in America. He also did many of the high-quality mounts at SCI's International Wildlife Museum, including the lifesize mount of Dan King's big non-typical Coues whitetail, the lions attacking a Cape buffalo bull, and the desert-bighorn-drinking diorama. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Verndog Report post Posted November 12, 2008 Clay at Mogollon Taxidermy did mine. It turned out awesome! Turkey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted November 12, 2008 Give Clay a call. He is a sponsor of this site and does some great work. Lots of members of this forum use him alot. We recently featured him in the spotlight sponsor: http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...showtopic=11037 http://www.mogollontaxidermy.com/index.html Mogollon Taxidermy Clay Goldman- Artist 1007 N. Mud Springs Road Payson, Arizona 85541 (928) 474-4249 Clay at Mogollon Taxidermy did mine. It turned out awesome! Turkey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kdog Report post Posted November 12, 2008 R and R taxidermy did a great job on my 2007 spring tom. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
couestaxi Report post Posted November 12, 2008 stalkincoues -tell your buddy congrats on his turkey! I have some bad news though. As a general rule, fall turkeys are not mountable. The reason being is they are molting for the winter. Most turkeys are in mid molt during the fall hunting season. They completely change over their feathers for new ones to survive the winter. The quickest way to tell is to look at the bases of the feathers. If you see a dark purple/blue base to the feathers these are new feathers or blood feathers which are actually growing. Many will fall out during the washing process leaving a really ratty looking bird. Depending on the growth stage of the feathers you may be able to save the tail if these feathers are fully developed. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule but this is rare on fall birds. One important question to ask is if the taxidermist you choose does his own birds or does he/she wholesale them out? If so they may take in the bird for work but not be aware of the potential issues. Congrats again and good luck in life! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted November 12, 2008 Nice looking ocellated birds, couestaxi!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Browning'sCustomMeat Report post Posted November 12, 2008 Clay at Mogollon Taxidermy is top notch for sure. -Jeremy- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted November 13, 2008 http://www.trailsendart.com/Home_Page.php Would not recommend this taxidermy. And if you do by chance use him, do not pay in full until done. Be prepared to wait about 3 years. Quality on my animal was poor. I've used Greg McBride at Trails End for many years and I've always been real happy with his work. I've recomended him to numerous friends and family members who have likewise been happy with his work. I currently have a coues deer, two mule deer, an antelope, and a mountain lion being mounted by him. I hope to add another coues deer to the list next week, and yet another coues deer again in January. He uses quality materials and stands behind his work. I'm sure if a person communicated any problems to him he'd be happy to address them. After all he is running a word of mouth business and strives for repeat customers and referrals. Yes he is usually backed up a couple years, but to me that is a testament of his great work and many satisfied customers. I think a lot of times people don't know what to expect from a taxidermist and thats where the trouble starts. Also different taxidermists have different styles and one paticular style may appeal to you more than others, but that doesn't always mean there work is bad or lacks quality or detail. I also think that a lot of people have unrealistic expectations from there taxidermist and think they can work miricles. They can't re-grow skin, they can't magicly erase rub marks from when you dragged your buck out. They can't turn a maingy summer deer hide into a beautiful winter coat. There are boundaries and limitations they have to work within. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stalkincoues Report post Posted November 15, 2008 Thank you for the info all. CouesTaxi those are some beautiful birds! I had heard that most taxidermists would not mount fall birds but wasn't sure why. The molting thing is what was never explained. I will pass this info along to him and wish him the best of luck. Don't think he'll be happy to hear he may not be able to get his Tom mounted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowsniper Report post Posted November 15, 2008 Fall Turkeys are tough for a full mount. Here is a picture of a Fall Turkey Sven Eberson did for me a few years ago. This is probably the most that you can do with a Fall turkey. (there is a gap in the feathers because that's where I hit it, and asked him to leave it that way.) Sven is doing two Spring archery turkeys for me right now, one flying, one struttin. Sven only does birds and he is an expert. His backyard is filled 100s of live birds, including turkeys, that he uses to model for his taxidermy. He is located in Glendale. It's worth it to go see him just to see the live Turkeys. One is always struttin, and you can walk right up to it. (I think it's a Texas bird, so it's legal) Here is a picture that I took of him. Yes, that is a live turkey! I have Sven's phone number at work, so if you want it, PM me and I'll get it to you on Monday. Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted November 15, 2008 I wanted a strut mount on my first Gobbler (fall bird) and was also told they don't lend themselves well to a strut. He did do a flying mount that turned out well and has lasted well for about 10 years now. Another choice is a fan/beard mount like this one that Clay did for me on Firstgirls bird a few years ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
