A REALLY bad day !!!

[Trigger50]

I am in still in shock ! One of the happiest days for a hunter has become a nightmare ! I went to pick up my antelope mount today and.... its not my antelope !!! He presented a diff buck ! Long story short I was there for 2 hours & he has no clue what happened. He's a long time taxidermist in a rural area. He didn't even know whom the horns he presented to me belong too. He stands behind his guy that he sends the skulls out to be boiled. What's worse he made no formal apology or offer to compensate me. When I said whats gonna happen if they never turn up ? He reply was "I don't know." So then I said that it would seem fair that there will be some compensation. I spent $300 for a tag etc. Then he went crazy SCREAMING at me w his finger in my face. He screamed, "how do I know that you're not trying to scam me, how dare u ask for compensation!" I showed him the pics of my 74" buck w 14.5" horns compared to the 50" buck w 12 " horns & a abnormality that he presented to me. Then he started yelling about how dare I bring up this in front of other customers. I did apologize for that but said wouldn't u react the same way? I'm still speechless & in shock !

 

[Gunner46]

Sue him

 

[YoungNVHunter]

I think you handled yourself very well given the situation and his reaction. I may not have been able to keep my composure like you did. I think it's absolute garbage that he didn't offer any compensation for his mistake. Hopefully the word gets around about his business ethics!

 

[Zach]

Sue him

Give him a day to calm down, go back and see if he's going to do everything to make it right and if he doesn't take Gunner's advice!

That really blows.

 

[Kaitum]

That's quite a raw deal, sorry to hear about it. If you wish to go that route, I'd think you have a fairly clear cut case for legal action. You paid for a service that was not delivered. Sort of like taking your car into a shop and having them give you someone else's car. Unfortunately it doesn't resolve the issue of you getting your trophy back.

 

[bowhuntmontana]

Makes me want to puke. Sorry you are having to deal with that.

 

[elkantlers]

Wow that sucks. I hope he figures out what happened and gets it straightened out. If that dude would have stuck his finger in my face, I would have broke the dang thing off.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Sorry to hear about that, that's a great buck and obviously you want YOUR antelope. I would think any rational person would understand why a guy would expect 'his' antelope and go way out of their way to fix their mistake. Hopefully the guy was just embarrassed and reacted very poorly. I'm with Zach, talk to him one more time, but he better have a solution to his problem. Even if he pays your tag, fuel, food, etc. you still are the one who loses. I really hope he discovers his mistake and apologizes sincerely - and finds YOUR buck.

 

[ida homer]

I would literally chit my pants. Did he even offer a full refund? I would be sure to tell everyone in town and on the internet who this taxi is.

 

[huntRme]

Bad deal. But, I'm not so sure you would win in court. You might have all the pictures in the world of what you say is the animal you took in to get mounted, but you need some way to prove that what you say is true - some identifying mark that the two of you agreed upon to identify your animal. Right now it's your word against his.

I don't know if you came as unglued in front of customers as he did, but if you kept your cool he has no justification to get upset that you brought the mistake to his attention in front of others. He gave you the head in front of others and he can become accountable for his mistake in front of others - without yelling and finger-pointing.

I hope you didn't take the mistake with you. I hope you didn't pay in full before the work was completed to your satisfaction. I hope the other guy, who got your head, is more honest than your taxidermist.

Did he give you the right cape, or does that belong to someone else too?

 

[RobG]

Wow. I wonder how often this happens.

 

[Big Fin]

Wow, that is a bad deal. I feel so lucky to not have one of those taxidermist horror stories. Half my hunting buddies can recite some disaster that has happened.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Wow! Do something other than bend over and take it.
Please keep us up on what happens these type of things stick with me.

 

[Trigger50]

Ive actually was too embarrassed to say this but I almost broke down after all this happened. I was supposed to go to a party tonight, but I stayed home. thanks to my wonderful wife for letting me off the hook. I actually didnt put any $ down cause I thought I had a good relationship w the taxidermist. he buys my mushrooms & furs. So at least I'm not out any $$$. But this buck was special to me, he's my tallest buck by far & I shot him w my best friend there. there's a slim chance the horns r in the bottom of his monster freezer, but I have my doubts. I'm obviously done w this guy...I just wish I had my horns back !

 

[cowboy]

Couple of suggestions for you and I assume this is taking place in Minnesota.
1) If he is in business I'm assuming he is licensed through whatever you call your game & fish department. If that happens to be the case I would start with a local game warden and let them take it from there. He may have to be licensed through a different agency but here in Montana it is not uncommon to see a game warden at a taxidermist going through their records. You'd like to think that he didn't sell/trade or barter your head or maybe the G&F would want to know if he might be doing other things. Having someone show up unexpected and going through his records/shop/hides and heads may just be enough to jar his memory where your head is located.
2) If you run into a dead end on the above I would approach your better business bureau.
3) try to avoid the lawyer/sue process unless it is your last option - nobody wins on he said I said cases with no evidence available.

If it's an honest mistake - you should be able to come to terms. If he remains a total azz hat I'd expose him for what he's worth and I'd be pretty persistent about it - for however long it takes.

 

[dihardhunter]

MMMmmmmm, I would echo the other guys - given the situation, I'd say you did an A job of handling it. His point of bringing it up in front of other customers was probably valid, but for him to get all up in your face like that!!! That was YOUR job!!!!!! I know how I would feel and can honestly say that a common fear of mine is my taxidermist's place getting robbed when one of my trophies is there - those antlers, skulls, and mounts mean ALOT to me as I'm sure they do you. Thankfully you've got some beautiful field photos of your buck antelope. Best case, your taxi figures out his mistake and you wind up with your antelope; next best case, you can honor that animal with a really cool display of your "hero" shot or with other token from the hunt. Surely there is someone else somewhere going through similar feelings of confusion and as the lines of communication/complaint backtrack, your wires will cross.

 

[Bowhuntrben]

Sorry about the bad luck man! Who did this? I don't want to end up in the same boat! Hopefully they can find your 'lope or try to do something to compensate you (not sure it can be done in a way that is very satisfying after losing your wonderful trophy).

 

[Redwood]

I agree with cowboy, all the taxis should have a log book as to what they took in and the contact info of the client. I assume he has a fairly short list to try tracking it down, problem may lie with the boiler though as many use a "sub contractor" for euros. But if he mounted it, why was it sent out to be boiled when all he would have done was cap it at the shop.

 

[cowboy]

Was this to be a shoulder mount or a euro???

 

[Trigger50]

Its a horn mount on a plaque. I live in an apt so I dont have alot of room for shoulder mounts. I sold him the cape seperately a month before I brought the horns in. I supplied the plaque & leather to him for my horn mount. It got sent out to be boiled. I'm hoping the boiler maybe finds it or another client calls the boiler to say that they have my horns. The other scenerio I see is maybe they damaged them during boiling & he tried to pawn the other horns off in their place. Or they MYSTERIOUSLY vanished....my horns dwarfed all the other ones that I saw in his shop ! I dont know. If he doesnt make good on this in 2 weeks or so...I think he's gonna get a visit from the game warden. I understand how mistakes can happen but accusing me of scamming him !!!