Taxidermy, How long is too long??

Comming up on 3 years ago I took a turkey to a new taxidermist being my go to fish and deerhead taxidermists doesn’t do them. I visited with him as he skinned it out and reviewed my position options, also gave him half down. He is a very experienced turkey hunter and it’s his favorite creature to pusue and I HEARD he does a great job with them. As of yet I haven’t heard a thing nor have I bothered him about it as I told him I was not in a big hurry, thinking I can wait a year. Well it will be 3 years in May. I plan on calling him this week and asking what the status is. Could I ask him for my $$ back and get my tail and beard back? Would it be necessary to pay him for his time skinning it, If yes it took him roughly 1/2 of an hour. Just wondering what your opinions are on this matter. I’ve been playing it pretty cool cause it’s just a turkey and not a trophy buck but then again he also has $200 of mine which it seems he has done nothing with!

Man, you’ve got two more years of patients than I would have had. If he hasn’t even responded to you in three years, I don’t think he can expect to do anything but refund your money. Does this guy do this for a living or is it a “hobby”? It certainly isn’t good advertising, to say the least.

I hope you got a receipt because in my opinion your bird and money are probably gone. I had a grouse and pheasant done, six months max during the busy season. Good luck.

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Taxidermy, How long is too long??

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I dare to say…it’s been to long. I can see waiting a year, year and a half, especially if it’s good work. But, after that I would’ve been on the horn finding out what’s happening. I’d be giving him a call. Misplaced your tag, number, contact info?? Who knows, your turk could be sitting there on display just waiting for you. Or maybe you’ll never see the beard or your money. Never know till you get a hold of him.

BIRDDOG

I once waited just over 2 years to get a piebald rooster pheasant back, but had been nagging the guy for most of a year before he finally got it done. A full year, in my opinion, is max. I’d insist on a refund…the guy doesn’t deserve the opportunity to finish the job at this point.

For that length of time , I would ask for a reason , and a break on the price for sure. He needs to contact you if there is a problem or delay. Thats his job.
Some of these “Taxidermists” think this is a way to easy money , but forget the real taxidermists put in alot of hours. The end result shows. – good luck.

1 year is the “average” for the good, busy taxidermist.

However, it is more than fair and basic conversation with the taxidermist on a projected completion date.

99% of the time, a good taxidermist will tell you projected completion date before you even ask!

Good luck!

Randy…if I understand correctly, you havent spoken to him in 2 years??If thats the case and he never tried contacting you he may have lost your contact info…You would think a year would be good…I hope you get er back but if you had no contact in 2 years my guess is its gone….good luck…Jay

I use the one season rule. If you take it in and it takes more than one year, next years birds are coming in and yours is not out… this guy will never catch up. Its gone. I use this philosiphy for any cape/skin mount.

big g

I had a taxidermist loose one of my bear rugs once. I kept asking him and he said that he was waiting on it from a lady that put the felt on. Finaly I asked for my money back because we both knew it was gone and I got it back on the spot. I would ask for a refund or your mount right now. There’s not much of a tanning process to a bird so don’t let him use that excuse. I’ve never mounted a turkey but I have mounted 2 ducks and a pheasant and it took 5 days for all 3 (and I was a student doing this for the first time!) I can’t imagine a turkey though bigger takes 3yrs.

Jeez, if you haven’t called him in three years it would be really inappropriate to ask for your money back immediately when you call.

It would be different if you had been calling him every couple of months over the last three years. For all you know he lost your phone number and/or thinks you’re avoiding paying the other half for your mount. Give the guy the benefit of the doubt! A little patience, understanding, and general friendliness goes a long way in this world.

3 years is way too long. The customer name and license number is always attatched to the animal/bird while in the freezer.. but that tag usually doesnt have contact info on it. Its not impossible contact info was lost.. Its also not impossible something happened. When I worked with another taxidermist, one of our freezers failed and we didnt know for a couple weeks until it got opened It was a stinky, expensive day.

Call the taxidermist and find out what is going on. If he hasnt started to work on it and it still exist, I would get a refund and your bird back.

It could be as simple as the name tag fell off in the freezer, it does happen from time to time, especially when the dnr comes in and goes through everything to make sure its legal(not saying thats a bad thing, but tags are more likely to come off the more they are handled)

Not to be repetitive here but yes, too long. I would go with either he has it done and on his wall or has lost your contact information,, or both. Call him now, if it’s not done, get your $$ back and take it elsewhere. I would not pay for the 30 minutes of his time since you have waited for 1,576,800 minutes! Don’t bother doing the math, it’s right.

As a former taxidermist. (13 years) I always tried to have each project out before the next season for that species began. As far as lost tags and numbers, the project should be properly bagged and logged in to prevent such “amateur mistakes”. Unless it was properly prepared, a turkey skin will probably not be mountable after 3 years in the freezer. To agree with a previous replay, try kindness first. You haven’t called in 2 years, so SOME of the blame falls on you. Good, busy taxidermists know they will be getting calls constantly about mount progress. We almost expect it as being part of the business. But asking for your deposit and bird back is not out of the question. You should still be able to mount the fan and beard in a worst case scenario. Good Luck !!