Price?

[chris1976]

Larry Jones in vanleer does a really good job.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Larry Jones in vanleer does a really good job.

I've seen pictures of his work and it looks really nice....any idea what he charges for a whitetail shoulder mount?

 

[PossumSlayer]

How many man hours in a quality mount vs pretty good?

 

[chris1976]

I've seen pictures of his work and it looks really nice....any idea what he charges for a whitetail shoulder mount?

Two years ago it was 550. Not sure now with inflation. He's done several for us and have been happy with all of them.

 

[TX300mag]

I don't mount many deer, and it will be even less frequent since prices have increased, but the short answer to your question is whatever ATHiker's rate is when I need him.

I've learned some lessons over the years.

1. You get what you pay for. There is a very large range of quality. My largest buck isn't even on my wall. I'm strongly considering having him remounted, hard lesson learned.

2. I went to taxidermy school, I know what goes into one and that I would rather pay him to do it.

 

[waterman]

i think its 450.00 here. got a buddy that does mine , cuts me a little break. turn around time about 4 months

 

[Antler Daddy]

Great store here:

https://reallancastercounty.com/screaming-lion-antiques/

 

[Shooter77]

I've seen 300-650 for the different taxidermist in my area. My guy started out 275 back 10+ years ago and has been moving up in cost over the years. 2 years ago, I paid him 400 and he was telling me the cost from McKenzie forms cost additional 50.00. My son's that I dropped off in Nov, he has gone to 425 using a local companies molds. It takes 1 year to get your mounts back. I fully expect him to be up to 500 with in a year. Unless it's special deer, I don't see myself doing another mount.

 

[Shooter77]

I have a minimum of $300 in materials which doesn't include my time, profit, equipment, water, utilities, license, taxes etc. Not to mention the hours, travel, shows and training I have invested in.
Shipping is unpredictable at the moment and suppliers have been hitting taxidermist with surprise increases lately. The few guys I have spoken with in my area range from $500 to $700. I will be honest, the $500 one is absolute junk. It is dry preserved with bondo ears, looks like a drunk 12 year old with carpal tunnel mounted the thing in 30 minutes. I was actually shocked when they went up on price.

$1k commercial quality whitetail shoulder mounts will be common sooner than later. Some of the bigger shops in TN are already $900, which from a business stand point is what they should be at to turn a slight profit.

As for show quality, that is subjective but your going to have a lot more hours in it. Not to mention you'll be using competition quality eyes and replacement nose (open mouth will be much, much more), those two will add an extra $100 to the piece. Most will be using expoxy for earbutts and skull cap, some altering of the form will add extra foam cost. Add in habitat, etc and its not uncommon to have 40+ hours and over $1k in materials for a show piece.

I would clean toilets at a truck stop for minimum wage before I'd mount a deer for $275.

Not to get into your finances, but if your willing to share some of the cost of materials and how many hours you have in a standard shoulder mount, would be great info?

 

[Speedwell-Hunter]

As of Sept he has raised his prices to $625 for a whitetail, w/o the ped mount.

Is this in cohutta?

 

[younggun308]

Is this in cohutta?

Yes, and everything looks beautiful. Even saw a wealthy Venezuelan guy takes his African safari trophies there.

You can see a bunch on their FB page, Shipman's Taxidermy. This thread is what pointed them out to me.

 

[AT Hiker]

Not to get into your finances, but if your willing to share some of the cost of materials and how many hours you have in a standard shoulder mount, would be great info?

I don't care about sharing the financial details of taxidermy, apparently I am one of the few who can add and Im honest. Not to mention my family eats whether I mount a deer or not....

Mannikan -$90
Glass eyes $15
Ear liners $10
Glue $ 15
clay $5
screws/hanger/bondo/staples/mache $10 (min)
Turned/fleshed/tanned skin $100
Add in TWRA taxidermy license ($100), electricity, tools ($1k+ over the years), water, shipping cost, not including the years of training/misc....its a minimum of $300 to mount a deer, meaning to mount my own deer it cost me $300+ approx. I charge $700 for a basic mount, so that $400 difference covers my experience and other overhead cost. Me, I sold my shop and work out of my garage as a hobby now. I can take 40 hours to mount a deer or 10, doesnt matter...I do it right and know that I only have a limited number to mount and it doesnt stress me out. I dont have to worry about crap full time shops stress over.

Sure, there are cheaper ways. You can skip tanning the skin for example but it will look like a Crack Barrel mount in a year. Fortunately, most hunters cannot tell a difference between a high end mount and something from the junk yard. Take a look at whats posted here and how many people think a crappy mount looks great. If they are OK with it then cool, I suppose its a lost cause to debate them but I know what a deer looks like, I have spent a stupid amount of hours trying to get remotely close to what one looks like. Im still light years away, so are the best of us, from achieving "perfection" which is not attainable. Thats ok, it is what makes us better.
Hours of practice and competition judged from our peers helps but clients pay the bills.

Now, those that don't give a crap and just throw one together. They probably have 1/2 the amount of time as I do and it is very likely they have 1/2 the inputs as well but you get a fraction of the quality, IMO. For example, the $500 guy down the road from me likely makes more $$ than me but I don't care, I care that 10 years from now my work looks like you got it back last week and actually looks like a deer. My clients dont bother me, we are friends, they pay cash and dont fluffy kitten

I used to suck at taxidermy, still do for the most part, but at least I do it right, now.

 

[spoonie]

Larry Jones in vanleer does a really good job.

I'll 2nd this. Does great work and not just only white tails

 

[Chiflyguy]

I paid a buddy $250 after I got the cape tanned, bought the mount and eyes.
I think he did a good job

 

[tntrkkllr]

275.00 get them back in about 6-8 weeks

U using Jeff king ain't ya lol

 

[shrimphead]

i'am in south MS.

 

[Ridgeline300]

I'm paying $750 for the one I killed this year, guy in cookeville is doing it. I remember when quality mounts cost $300 to $400 but those days are gone. The last one I had done couple years ago I tried to go the cheap route, guy charged $450 or something like that, can't remember exactly. I've threatened to cut the horns off it and throw it in the trash. You get what you pay for and I regret that decision. I've had people say it looks fine to them but I'm real picky about mounts.

 

[Ridgeline300]

2 of these cost quite a bit than the other one, can you tell which one was the $450 one. There may be someone out there doing good work for under $550 but I personally haven't found anyone yet.

 

[Gravey]

2 of these cost quite a bit than the other one, can you tell which one was the $450 one. There may be someone out there doing good work for under $550 but I personally haven't found anyone yet.

The third one is the cheap one. The eyes and mouth look "off". The other 2 look good!

 

[deerhunter10]

I said above my guy was 300. As said above he is a friend of mine and does it mainly as a hobby. He went up to 350 when I dropped our deer off this past week. I had a Buddy say he is paying 650 for his deer.

 

[Jcalder]

2 of these cost quite a bit than the other one, can you tell which one was the $450 one. There may be someone out there doing good work for under $550 but I personally haven't found anyone yet.

W and W do the third one? Guessing sircy done the others.

 

[Union Co. Boy]

Wow, this thread has me reminiscing all the way back 34 years ago. My 1st buck! A 28" east Tn monster 4 pt. Non typical. ( 3 on 1 side, 1 on the other). Anyway, it still looks great after all of those years. I remember thinking how will I ever come up with $180 to pay her? Ha times have changed… she still going strong and in fact I just took my Illinois buck to her.

Joyce's Taxidermy? Just wondering. Looks like some of my early ones, and the price matches.

 

[recurve60#]

I paid $450 five years ago for my last shoulder mount. I'd assume that guy is $600 by now.

 

[Tenntrapper]

Wow, this thread has me reminiscing all the way back 34 years ago. My 1st buck! A 28" east Tn monster 4 pt. Non typical. ( 3 on 1 side, 1 on the other). Anyway, it still looks great after all of those years. I remember thinking how will I ever come up with $180 to pay her? Ha times have changed… she still going strong and in fact I just took my Illinois buck to her.

Any chance "her" name is Joyce?

 

[348Winchester]

Wow, this thread has me reminiscing all the way back 34 years ago. My 1st buck! A 28" east Tn monster 4 pt. Non typical. ( 3 on 1 side, 1 on the other). Anyway, it still looks great after all of those years. I remember thinking how will I ever come up with $180 to pay her? Ha times have changed… she still going strong and in fact I just took my Illinois buck to her.

Is it Connie Calloway?

 

[Sasquatch Boogie Outdoors]

Is it Connie Calloway?

Singleton's taxidermy.

 

[Tn Joe]

I always thought I was using a good taxidermist until I used a "good" taxidermist. Hanging mounts from each beside each other was eye opening.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Mine from last year was 575 and took almost 11 months. I was happy to get it then, as I was expecting a year or slightly longer.

If you don't mind me asking, who did use? I am considering getting a shoulder mount on the deer I killed this year. I had Wilkerson do my daughter and my Wyoming deer and antelope, and happy with their work, but last I checked I think they were at $675.

 

[DWB]

I'm $550 for a standard mount $575 for a pedestal

 

[Tn_Va_Hunter]

My taxi is around $750 or so. Best I've ever seen. Takes a lot of pride in his work. Won many many competitions. Has mounted
Stuff for ripleys aquarium too. It was like a 2
Legged horse lol.
Absolutely does the best bobcat mounts I've ever seen. He's around 18 months to get one back.