120+ New Mexico Set

[TAM]

Probably 10 years ago or so I was hunting a remote area in New Mexico's unit 23. In those days you could buy deer tags over the counter and they were good for both muleys and coues. The area we were hunting happened to have both. I had never been to this spot before but I was able to gain permission to cross some private land to access the forrest land on the other side. The hunting was slow to put it nicely and we weren't seeing much at all. However on the afternoon of the second day as I was walking down a ridge to go back to my quad for lunch when I stopped to glass an area about a hundred yards away and the first thing I saw was a huge piece of white antler laying on the ground. Immediatly I said to my buddy if that's a coues shed it's HUGE! The closer I got to it the more excited I got. Not only was it the prettiest typical 4 point I have ever seen it was also the biggest coues shed I have ever found! I spent the next several hours hiking circles around the area looking for the other side, but no such luck. Finally I went back to hunting and ended up taking a decent mule deer. For months and even years I often thought about that shed and how I would love to have the other side.

 

Fast forward 4.5 years... I had talked Mike Udall into buying tags in New Mexico and we were planning on hunting the same spot I had found the shed years earlier. We decided a scouting trip to prepare for our hunt was in order, and in the back of my mind I was also planning on looking for the other side. I did have my doubts, after all it had been nearly 5 years since finding the first side and even then it was at least a year old maybe even more. But as Mike and I rode our quads down the quad trail nearing where I found the first side there it was. Less than a hundred yards from the trail was a big white antler and I knew immediately what it was. I couldn't believe after all that time it was still there and in plain site. After a few "as they lay" pictures I had my matched set!

 

After further evaluation it is interesting to note that I found the second side only about 300 yards from the first. However the second side is not a true shed... it is actually broke off at the main beam just above the eye guard. Realizing that the buck shed his one side within a few hundred yards of where he had broken off his other side months earlier during the rut had me feeling very lucky

 

Fast forward to January 2010... the matched set had been laying on my shelf all this time, but in my mind I still wanted more. One day after being over at Josh's house and seeing one of the bucks that Dan Lee had done some antler repair and mounted for him I decided then and there that I could have Dan work his magic on my buck as well. Within a few days I brought the matched set to Dan's place and the result is now on my wall.

 

I have been learning a lot about taxidermy work over the last year or so. I'm not trying to learn the art, I'm just learning that there can be BIG differences from one taxidermist to the next. In the past I had always used the same guy because he was my friend and never paid any attention to his work. I just assumed he was a good taxidermist. Well I was wrong and got burned so now through the help of friends like Josh and meeting with various taxidermists across the state I am learning the difference. I spent several hours talking and working with Dan so we could make this deer project perfect. I met with him at every stage in the process to make sure we had everything in the correct position and just the way I wanted it. I learned a lot from Dan and had a fun time in the process.

 

In the end I think this is the best piece of taxi art on my wall and I am very happy with Dan and his ability to repair antlers to perfection and take a couple old sheds and bring them back to life

 

For those that want to know... each side goes about 54 inches with just over 14 inches of inside spread.

 

Here are the pic's from "As they lay" to "On my wall".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Condor]

very cool!!

[QCwtAddict]

Thats incredible how they can take an old set of sheds, even with one broken up and make them look like new. From the pictures of the mount i would have never been able to tell that he did all that to it. Congrats on a beautiful mount!

[Hunterdan]

Very nice piece of Art!! I agree with you completely. I have learn the same lesson over the years. There are a lot of Taxidermist but very few artist.

[CouesWhitetail]

Fabulous!! Looks great and I agree that Dan Lee does some great work. Glad you got such a nice piece of art for your wall.

[30-378shtr]

Great preseverance, awesome buck, and beautiful taxi work!

[SunDevil]

that is pretty amazing! thanks for sharing.

[Coues Sniper]

VERY nice. Looks perfect!

[slopoke36]

Very nice! Thank you for sharing.

[Hunting6]

That is an incredible piece of Artwork Tim !

Dan did a beautiful job on it, plus... kudos to you for taking the time to really learn the process. That will make a huge difference how you choose your next taxidermist.

Congrats !

[WHT_MTNMAN]

Great looking buck and awesome job and very neat start to finish. I think it looks great but definitely a different pose on that buck than I normally like.

[bonecollector]

That looks fabulous, awesome taxi work and nice find.

[C.O.U.E.S.]

congrat's Tim! sweet story and a better finished product...very nice...max

[crazyaboutcoues]

I've hunted and scouted the area where you found those sheds, and only wished I could have seen him alive. Those sheds are my dream buck...

[DUG]

mmmmm Pete's Fish and Chips! Oh and nice mount too!!!! Looks awesome.