Off topic deer mounting

Well i decided i would dabble in taxidermy this season among my other hobbies lol. Thought i would see what u guys think. These are from first day mounting.

More to come

Looking good.

Did you shoot'em in the water??? LOL I'd use a different plaque...that ones looks so,,sooo, generic..lol

Seriously, its looking good, the eyes will be the hardest part I'd think...but then,,I ain't no taxidermist..Love to see the finished project. You a man of many talents!

I tried to help a buddy get started one time. Our first project was a duck he had walking around in the yard. Word of advice....don't never try to drown a duck.
DP

Xring u killing me lol. It is one o harvested with my bow . Its looking a lot better. I will put a few more picts up this weekend. I actually mounted it on Saturday.

Thats a good buck,,love the older bucks, gnarly bases, he's got some age on him, did you age him? I spent many happy hours bowhunting, I started many years ago, with a long bow and wooden arrows...lol Dang,,thats been a long time ago..lol Here's one I killed with a bow a few years back.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...g/deerhead.jpg

Nice start. Did you pack clay in around the skull plate and the form? I cant tell exactly from the pictures. But it looks like you have a lot of excess skin around the base of the horns and around the eye in front of the ear.

Also, what did you do to the skin itself to prep it for the form? Did you rough up the form first before using hide past on it? Did you get the membrane off the skin side of the hide? Sorry but I cant tell what you did or didnt do to the hide. If you ever have questions just send me a PM or something, I will help all I can over the web, lol. When I first started out there was a lot of questions I had.

Dont mean to critque your work or anything, just trying to give you pointers on making it better. Its a lot of work to get it done right so it will last a long time. If not done properly bugs will get to it and it wont last long if they do. Good luck to ya, and it is a good start.

Hey no prob on critiques. Yep i packed clay around skull and horns. It looked like crap he first day to me but each day has gotten better. I wet tanned the hide. I am really only disappointed in my eyes. I used 30 mm eyes and realize now that it called for 32mm. Used critter clay around eyes and got the crease above eyelid in there.

Xring your pict never showed up. I know what you mean about loving bowhunting. I started out bowhunting, shot 6 or 7 before going to a gun and muzzle loader. Shot many with firearms and just love bowhunting more. I totally gave up firearms and use the old stick and string. It is something about the close encounters that really gets my heart pumping.

QUOTE}Xring your pict never showed up. I know what you mean about loving bowhunting. I started out bowhunting, shot 6 or 7 before going to a gun and muzzle loader. Shot many with firearms and just love bowhunting more. I totally gave up firearms and use the old stick and string. It is something about the close encounters that really gets my heart pumping.QUOTE}


It didn't show up? You sure? Then it was a awesome sucker, HUGE, HIGH, Wide and if I do say so myself, Handsome...lol

I started bowhunting in the early 60s, and yes, nothing like having a good buck in 10 yards and never get the shot,"I hunt thickets" It happens..