almost a year?

[jloomis]

ok it's been almost a year already and i have'nt heard anything back from the taxidermist. i took the head in mid november of last season. should i give them a call or should i just wait patiently. i would stop by if it wasn't an hour away. i tried calling once like 2 months ago and left a message but nobody ever called me back. kinda [PoorWordUsage] off rite now. not just me also my family. the first big buck in the family and they had to pay 1/2 of the charge up front. what should i do?

[leech~~]

I would be over there banging on the door by now. The ones I got done were only 6 months at the latest! Some times if they screw up tanning the cape they have to try and find another one which takes them a while and they never tell you that. But unless this guy is the best in the state and loaded down with work, he should have it done by now?

[tunrevir]

6 months to a year is fairly common around the Twin Cities area. I have had turn around from 3 weeks to 13 months. Try and call again during business hours, try to e-mail if they have a HSOforum and if you have to, then make the hour drive. One good thing is if you make the hour drive you'll get to see some of the new mounts that other folks are bringing in:) Hopefully the mount will be done and all you will have to do is pick it up. Good luck and when you get that badboy back post a pic of it for us all to admire!

Tunrevir~

[96trigger]

Call until you get somebody. A year is not uncommon. Almost all taxidermists try and have the previous years mounts done before the next year begins. Again, you need to call them and find out where its at. You know what they say about the squeaky wheel.

[mrklean]

i would be calling just see how far along it is and talk with him a bit dont come off mad or anything, hopefully its done and he just forgot to call you

[Powerstroke]

I agree with mnklean. Call and be polite and ask how its ocming and ask if you can see it? Don't demand anything unless they get rude.

[Musky Buck]

I'll spin ya a shaky upside, the longer it takes to get back the longer it will go without needing a new cape down the road and you won't have to dust it off as soon. :)See how shaky the upside is ? I know, you'd like to hang him high on the wall before this years opener, he'll get er done.

[Coach1310]

You are paying for the service and have every right to know what kind of progress has been made. Give him a call and keep calling until you get some info. The bottom line is a lot of taxidermists live off of word of mouth reputation. They don't want anyone haveing a bad experience. Bad reviews can spread like wildfire. Hopefully it is just an oversight on his part and you will find out soon.

[HootTooten]

WARRNING...a vain has been opened...venting will ensue...bear with the story and a point will be made.

I had a situation a couple years ago. After a $50.00 deposit a call at month 3, 4(x2) and 5(x2) with no return call. I finally, at month 8, got a call back stating it would be another 2-4 months and that things got backed up around the house and he over booked himself, blah, blah, blah. Mind you this is for a Euro Mount that was to take 4 months not a shoulder mount which many times can take 10-12 months. I asked him, harshly, about the progress and he said it was almost done and He just had some bleaching and mounting on a board to do. After month 10 I called asking(loud and harshly) for an exact ETA for just the skull and horns. He said another 2 months. I was fed up with dealing with this guy and told him I would be swinging by that afternoon to pick up the mount AS IS. When I got there I noticed a box sitting next to the door and a closed sign in the window. It was 2:00pm on a Thursday why are you closed, I'm wondering? There was a note on the door. "sorry about the delay, your deer is in the box, I will be mailing you back your deposit." I opened the box and here was my deer with the skull scraped but nothing else. It still needed beetles, bleach, and board. I took the box home STEAMING mad. Sent it to SoDak to a new Taxi that had done a couple deer for a buddy and his family I sent it with another shoulder mount project and had them both back within 8 months, beautifully done. Never got the deposit from the first guy. But I figure it was a $50.00 lesson and I got $50.00 of frustration out of telling all my hunting buddies NOT to get their stuff done there. I think he has since gone out of business because I do not see him advertised in my local outdoors newspaper anymore.

A long store I know BUT here is the point....THE SQUEEKY WHEEL GETS THE GREESE....THE REALLY SQUEEKY WHEEL GETS REPLACED WITH A NEW WHEEL AND GETS HIS MOUNT BACK HALF DONE AND OUT $50.00.

Call him often (once every couple three weeks). Swing by his shop if your in the area and check out the progress for yourself. Be upbeat when you talk to him. Stay level headed. Be polite and ask for a deadline and hold him to it. I agree with Coach, your are paying for a service and should expect prompt/accurate feedback on your questions/concerns.

I think there was a point in there somewhere......

[LOTWSvirgin]

I wouldnt get pushy or even call him every couple months When its done its done I think a sqeaky wheel get half a$$ed fixed most of the time I want my mounts to be done correctly so they look good for many years instead of it being half a$$ed like a squeaky wheel.

[Coach1310]

I wouldnt get pushy or even call him every couple months When its done its done I think a sqeaky wheel get half a$$ed fixed most of the time I want my mounts to be done correctly so they look good for many years instead of it being half a$$ed like a squeaky wheel.

I understand what you mean about not calling over and over as it may become annoying... HOWEVER any business person worth a hoot would be more than happy and willing to update you on progress or give you a general completion date. Any business owner who doesn't, should find another line of work in my opinion.

[jloomis]

my brother deposit 150 and they claim a 5 to 6 months return time. in my opinion if you can do what u say then dont. i'll have to give them a call next monday cause i'm gettin ready to go back down s.e. to hunt for the weekend. never going back there again. thanks for the reply guys. i'll try to be calm when i get a hold of them.

[HootTooten]

Yes LOTW, I agree. I agree constant phone calls does get bothersome. But if the guy is not calling you back, then I think a visit may be in order. I don’t think that a simple returned phone call is going to break him. A phone call once every couple three weeks is not unreasonable IMO

[HootTooten]

GOODLUCK jloomis.

Lets see some pic's of the mount when you can.

[96trigger]

jloomis, if you are hunting in the southeast, there are plenty of good taxidermists down here I can get you in touch with. Most of them run about 9 months or less. Let me know if you shoot another mounter, and no, I am not a taxidermist.

[jloomis]

thanks 96trigger! only thing is the drive there. i guess it wouldn't be so bad cause i'm doing it almost every weekend to rushford during this time of the year. we'll see if i get a crack at the one i saw last weekend. if i do i'll let you know and you can get me some info on it....

[96trigger]

Don't mention it, there are lot of really quality taxidermists down here, most of them will get you a 6-9 month turnaround time. Every deer I have had done has been back in 6 months or less. This would be closer to you than the Rushford area, these guys are all only about 80 miles from the cities.

[Code-Man]

I was told 10-12 months on mine but like the guy also stated it also depends on how busy of a fall they have. IF they have a lot of guys bringing in mounts from archery then need to get the capes worked on and get things sent off or else it rots...where if your mount is just needing to be worked on it can wait. I know it sucks big time with waiting but sometimes best thing is about 6-8 months hit them up with an ETA saying when do you think it will be done so I can budget and get you your money in CASH. I was told it would be right around Halloween for my buck from last year when I dropped it off. In August I called and he thought about the same. I dropped a line in September asking when do you think and he said he would start it right away and I had it before end of september. I also paid cash which they all love and as a result he dropped the cost of extras down big time. I also have both of my taxidermist on Facebook and will only take my stuff to those two guys. Yes sometimes it takes almost a year but I know them personally and know when they say a year expect a year but your quality will last a lifetime.

[mrklean]

my dad got his back pretty quick and it was a pretty good job i am thinking his about about 6 months