Help with taxidermist challenge

[mevertsen]

Help with taxidermist challenge "
I could use some advice. I am wanting to see if it's crazy for me to be upset or if I should work towards another solution.

I killed a good mountain lion in January 2016. Looked around and talked to a few people and settled on a taxidermist in Utah. Sent the lion and 25% in February 2016.

Met with him in June (and had 50% down at that point) and the agreement then was that he would ​get it done Jan/Feb this year. Kept sending payments and paid in full last December.

I have kept in touch and it's kept getting pushed back and backs and back further.

When we met last year, he told me he doesn't like to do full size mounts in the fall because of deer and elk season, so the Jan/Feb timeframe seemed reasonable. At that time he was waiting on the lion to come back from the tannery.

It's August, and we had a conversation about a month ago that he would have mine done and send me pics of the form prior to completion, all before he left on an extended hunt... Today.

No word yet. No lion. And he has all of my money.

I have proof of everything. Bank documents of the checks being cashed, delays, etc.

What do I do? I have seen him post a lot of stuff of work he has completed. I am pretty sure a lot of it has been killed after my lion. Pretty frustrated at this point.

Thanks.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Don't blame you on being frustrated. I think at this time you need to maintain patience until he gets back from the hunt. Then some concerned but not accusing phone calls would be in order. After that I would start escalating it a bit. After all you still want it done and done right. Its a tough spot no doubt, good luck.

 

[belshawelk]

My full mounts took over a year ( one took 18 months) to get done, but both of them I only paid a deposit until finished. They do take time and I am sure all things will work out, sounds like he is a bad communicator and has time estimate issues.

 

[mevertsen]

Thanks for the replies. The original estimate was 1 year, which I understood, and which was communicated several times. We are at 18 months. Trying to figure out how to form my call when he gets back, so as not to sound like a jerk. This is not my first animal that I have had done, but the first by him. I also don't want him to get mad, rush it and botch it either. We're talking 2/3 of a months wages here.

 

[mevertsen]

And actually my wife is getting more upset than me because it was her idea for me to get it mounted.

When I killed it, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. She told me that when we first got together I said that if I killed one I wanted a life-size done. I said, but the cost. She asked how much and I told her about 4 grand. She said "oh well.". Off it went, and we have a spot waiting over the entertainment center for it.

 

[nhn2a]

I had a similar situation a couple years ago with a taxidermist. Everyone said she did great work so I trusted her. Originally she told me it would be about 6 months which sounded great as I drove by her location about twice a year. I put down a 50% deposit and agreed. Well 6 months came and went then a year. I had it on my calendar to follow up once a month for an update and it kept getting delayed because they like to do animals in phase and she was waiting for another elk to do them both. Finally I had a trip planned to go by at about 14 months and contacted her to see if it would be ready. She said she would try to expedite it for me. That really upset me as she acted like she was doing me a favor by completing it 8 months after her original estimate. I stayed professional and not my tongue as I did want to jeopardize quality by upsetting her. Same philosophy I have with not upsetting the waiter or waitress until I get my food

Well I finally got it back and all my frustrations melted away. She ended up doing such good work that I'll consider using her again. Hopefully this will be the same for you although I completely understand your frustrations.

 

[LopeHunter]

I have used several taxidermists as prefer to use one close to where I hunted if that species is not common where I live. No excuse for slow communication. Plenty of valid reasons timelines are missed on a taxidermy project. Some vendors hate to have uncomfortable, prompt discussions announcing will be delayed or screwed up the hide at the tannery, etc. Trust is the first victim when expectations are not properly set and then not properly communicated promptly when curve balls happen. I doubt the taxidermist is a swindler or lazy. I suspect they hate to reset expectations so you may not hear from him until he emails a picture of the mount asking how looks and what needs tweaked prior to shipping to you. I have been in your shoes three times and only one resulted in a damaged mount when the guy went under which resulted in a lot of anxiety as he had my bighorn ewe horns and hide. I had to drive to his home and knock on the door. The hide was beyond repair when I thawed it at the next taxidermist two days later. Got my horns though. Fingers crossed you get this resolved soon and next time make the taxidermist have skin in the game by not paying the final amount due until you are staring at a completed mount. You will always have the adventure no matter what for your hunt.

 

[rlmmatt]

My taxidermist here does fantastic work and I had to go through a few of them one would qualify for the worst mount award from a different guy. Although he does fantastic work you can count on it taking 2 years plus to get it back. I gave him a bear 2 years ago and just got it back last year I dropped him off a large skin to just send off and have dry tanned. He sends them off to north carolina farriers and told me no longer than 6 months, I called them to see what they wait time was and they also said six months. Well its 9 months later I don't know witch one has the hide at the moment but I know it will turn out good when done but he does try my patient's sometimes. I've also made it a practice to never pay anyone more than 50 percent until the job is completed, it keeps skin in the game. Good luck and be patient there isn't much choice at this time

 

[elkantlers]

Whats his name? PM me if you like.

 

[mevertsen]

Thanks for the discussion. I would rather not give his name at this point. I wanted to be certain about what I was thinking was crazy or not. We will talk at the end of this month and I will see how that conversation goes.

Regarding the deposit. If it was an $800 deer mount, it wouldn't​ be hard to come up with $400 on short notice. With a $4000 mount? And a year plus? That's a long time to hold onto two grand, so I just wanted to get it paid off ASAP. Also had my daughter needing to get braces, so it was better to get it paid off in order to take care of other things. Damned if you do damned if you don't kind of thing I suppose.

 

[sneakypete]

I have used actually three taxidermists in my hunting years. Two of which I continue to use, one in Montana and the other in California. Both do high quality work. The California taxidermist did a moose for me and when I dropped it off he gave me a pickup date of eight months to the day, I got a call in 5 1/2 months. The Montana taxidermist has our mounts done in a year. By the way he does a lot of lions every year. It's a bummer, I'd call him when he gets back a say youd like to have a date for a pickup and pictures of his progress. One thing never pay in full before you pickup any taxidermy work! The two taxidermists I mention have told me that personally. I tipped the guy in Montana this year and he told me in 25 years nobody had tipped him!

 

[406LIFE]

Nearly all of my taxidermy has run long. My goat was quoted at 12 months, took 18. I would tell you to be patient and also not to pay in full until you see the completed work (which you can't help now.) If the work is outstanding the wait is worth it. I think the quoted time is simliar to the epidemic of the doctor world where they say 9 am and they really mean 5pm. I would send emails and just ask for good communication. I would also be honest when others ask about the work and tell them about the wait time. I'll take my big game back to the guy who did my goat, I'll just know that when he says June, he means December...

 

[Addicting]

When I dropped off my whitetail in Dec last year I asked how long and the taxidermist points to 3 racks hanging on a wire. He said those are last years and I am hoping to have them done by the end of the year. The 2016 line was probably 40 deep plus he had a lot of furs to work from trapping season. I really want to call and see where it's at after reading this thread. My guess is I still have 6 months because anyone that is good takes time.

Seeing your over 18 months I would do what others have recommended and ask for a status update with some pictures to see the progress. Approach it from the stand point of your missing your lion, not I'm pissed because it's not done and the conversation should go easier.

 

[mevertsen]

I'll take my big game back to the guy who did my goat, I'll just know that when he says June, he means December...

That's what irritates me. Why not estimate long? If it's done early, then you have a happy customer. This is not my first taxidermy work I've had done either.

The one, I have paid as I went and kept in touch well, and paid as I went up to the point it was done, no problems. I was just not real hot on the eyes of the last lion he did. The bear was good.

I also had a gift certificate for a boil and bleach for a skull from another taxidermist. Killed an antelope buck that I didn't want mounted and used that certificate. I chased that guy down for several months and finally met him in an RV park at his fifth wheel one night to get my skull.

Thanks for all the advice guys. It does help me sort through it all.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

The timeline doesn't really surprise me, but asking to be paid in full before delivery is a huge red flag for me. I have three bear rugs, first took 2 years, second 18 months, and the third which was just a tanned hide took 8. My taxidermist is very particular about the tanner he uses and the place he likes takes forever and often the first year of the wait time is on them. I wouldn't be surprised at all for a 2 year wait for a full lion, longer if you have it in a unique position.

All that said I have never been asked to pay in full, even for euros so that makes me concerned for you! Once they have all your money there is no reason for them to make your mount a priority. I feel like give your payment you should feel totally justified hounding the guy.

 

[Bambistew]

I've learned some tough lessons with taxidermists.

Rule number one. NEVER pay in full, you just got moved to the end of the line. There is no incentive to do the work, you've already paid him for it. If his business practice sucks so bad that he needs you to drop more than $200-400 for tanning/supplies, find another. The rest of the cost is just his time.

They ALL lie about timelines. They are very optimistic, but reality is very, very few of them take their job seriously and hold deadlines. They work for themselves, and most of them take advantage of the ample vacation time they a lot themselves

Always get everything in writing (what he has, and what you've paid, along with the "estimated time")

Whenever they tell you its "drying," what they really mean is they haven't started it, but will spend the next day or working on it. If they tell you that, drop by and say you want to see it. Don't tell him your coming, he'll make an excuse to delay you a day or two.

As far as your situation? I'd ask for the money back, the form (if he has it), and the hide and go find someone else. Don't let him continue to jerk you around, and keep you in control. If you're upset with his lack of service be done with it, take him to small claims court if you have to. At most you should be out tanning and the cost of the form, and maybe a little of his time. I'd put money on it he at most has your hide tanned, but wouldn't be surprised if it was still in the freezer, and has not ordered the form.

Giving him more time is just wasting your time that much more. He'll continue to take advantage of you for as long as you let him. People let taxidermist jerk them around, why I don't know, but show me any other service provider you'd let screw you for months on end.

Good luck

 

[mevertsen]

To clarify, he never asked for payment in full. I needed to get it paid off asap so that I could take care of my daughters braces that I knew were going to be coming. I planned it out with the timeline he gave me to work out, and apparently I was wrong in thinking someone would keep their word. I just work hard, take care of my family, hunt with my hounds and hope for honesty out of people. We will have a conversation in a few weeks when I know he is back and go from there. Showing up and demanding a check minus any work done and the hide has crossed my mind.

 

[maxx]

My taxi story. Shot a mule deer in 2012. It is an ok deer at best but he was my first one and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with him. I found a guy and called him saying I may mount it. He wanted the cape if I didn't mount it, guy in Iowa don't get many muleys and he had a few sets he was looking for capes for. Anyway I decided to pull the trigger and get the deer mounted. I dropped it off in late November. He told me it would be about 6 months. I think he had a really busy year. It ended up taking 9 or 10 months. I was getting antsy and really wanted my deer back.

Once I got it I was blown away by the quality. The guy is really really good. Since then he has done 3 more whitetails and a 3/4 bear that my dad shot. All have been done in 3-6 months. This year I brought him back to back whitetails. My son shot his October 23 something and I shot mine October 28. We were number 53 and 54. We got both deer back by Christmas that year. At this point I trust him so much if it took more than a year to get I wouldn't care one bit.

He has decided to move to Colorado to fulfill his addiction for Elk hunting. He has a local guy that is a buddy that he is going to use to cape and store deer. He still has a lot of family here in Iowa so he is going to do mounts for existing customers. It will probably be a pain but he is going to get my work as long as I can keep in touch with him.

 

[noharleyyet]

Mine is fair on price and accurate on time estimates...and he's good at it. He's fairly reticent but once he got to know me he shared a few stories about sh*tty customers.

 

[B4U]

Being a Taxidermist, at the hands of a good, reputable tannery, you will have delays.. That being said, you should have a few progress pics.. If he hasn't started the mount yet, then say that. My $.02