Choosing YOUR Taxidermist
My hunt had been a long and exciting one! For days I had hunted a crafty and wily old ten-point whitetail buck. Now he lay at my feet. Hornady’s 150-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter .280 Remingon had put him down quickly and humanely. Time for giving thanks, numerous photos, field-dressing, caping and skinning, then making certain the meat was cooled and properly cared for…followed by a trip to Double Nickle Taxidermy where Jon Wilson’s artists would do a high quality mount for my office wall where it would provide memories for years, as well as honor the ancient buck.
Choosing the Right Taxidermist
As a professional wildlife biologist, previous part-time taxidermist, one-time taxidermy studio co-owner, and long-time hunter, who has personally always taken care of the animals I have shot, from gutting, skinning, caping to meat care and meat preparation. I have long been a stickler in taking care of the meat and getting my cape and antlers or horns to the taxidermist with the utmost care. As a wildlife biologist, I have spent many years doing complete necropsies (animal version of an autopsy). By doing so, I have been able to take apart many animals while paying attention to muscles and bone structure. I have also spent a lot of time observing animals in the wild, paying attention to their “personalities” and expressions. What this amounts to, I am hard to please when it comes to taxidermy. I want a mount that looks like the animal I have taken and will last long into the future!Â
Taxidermy these days is not inexpensive. I see mounts as an investment I want to enjoy for many years, knowing each time I look at them, I can and will recall every minute detail that went into their taking!
Choosing your taxidermist should take place long before the hunt starts. The DSC Annual Convention in January is an ideal time to see their artistry and visit with many. After doing so, a few years ago, I chose Double Nickle Taxidermy to exclusively do my mounts. I had previously used a couple of other very high-quality taxidermy studios, including The Wildlife Gallery and Conroe Taxidermy. Both are excellent and highly reputable.
Double Nickle Taxidermy
Are you looking for a taxidermist? Might I suggest Double Nickle Taxidermy. Their studio is about halfway between San Antonio and Austin, Texas. But they also receive “work” from throughout the world. Double Nickle did the mount for me when I shot a massive leopard in Namibia. It is the finest leopard mount I have seen, and I have looked at many.
Double Nickle employs several taxidermists. Each has a slightly different specialty, from sculpting to cape preparation, to mounting with expressions and attitudes, to finishing specific groups of species. As opposed to years past when I hunted abroad a lot, I now spend more time hunting North America. I mainly hunt whitetails (as I always have) and mule deer (which I dearly love hunting). As a wildlife biologist, hunter, and observer of the deer species, I know what they look like and their “personalities.” The artists/taxidermists that work for Double Nickle also know!  They have the ability to parlay what they know into their deer mounts. And yes, others specialize in such species as elk, moose, bears, European and African species as well as others. The latter said Jon has made certain several of his taxidermists have been to Africa and elsewhere and throughout North America to observe the many big game species, hunt, take, and then skin them to learn a specific species’ bone and muscle structures.
Recently I approached Jon Wilson about how one should go about choosing a taxidermist. He responded, “Go to the taxidermist’s shop or studio. Look closely at his operation and his mounts. Are they having skins and capes tanned professionally? Do they pay attention to detail, such as around the eyes, ears, where skin meets antler or horn, or skin to hoof? If you’re hunting deer, look at the deer mounts, including the positioning of ears. Do they look natural, do the ear butts have wrinkles as real deer do. On mounts with antlers or horns, is there a gap between skin and antlers or horns? If so, they are not doing things properly! Ask about how long it will take to get a completed mount. If it is only a few months or weeks, be leery because they probably are not having the skins professionally tanned unless they have their own tannery.”
He continued, “Ask them the best way to get your animal’s skin, cape, and antlers/horns to them, should you choose to have them mount your animal(s).  If you cannot pick up your mounts personally once they are completed and need to be shipped to your home, ask how they handle shipments from packing and crating to the actual shipper. At Double Nickle, many of our clients come by to pick up their mounts, but we also ship them worldwide.”
“Beyond, I invite customers to see our entire shop, should they wish to do so. I encourage them to. We pride ourselves in our work and maintaining a clean work environment. They also get to see our talented taxidermists at work!”
“The one thing I would remind anyone that is considering having an animal mounted. Good taxidermists are artists! They are not magicians! I suggest our clients and potential clients learn about caping, skinning, and proper care of the skins after they come off the animals. This will ensure a quality mount they can be proud of having in their home!”
That just about sums it up of what to look for in your taxidermist!
Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to grab my Taurus Raging Hunter .454 Casull, topped with a Trijicon SRO sight, and load five Hornady 300-grain XTP Custom rounds. I have a date with a big whitetail which will also have a date with the artists at Double Nickle Taxidermy.
Jeremy Mallette is co-founder of International Sportsman. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he has spent more than a decade in the outdoor industry, from hiking and camping to silencers and hunting. His father taught him to shoot at age six, and he received his first firearm at age eight — a 1942 Colt Commando .38 special revolver. He enjoys yearly trips to Kansas for pheasant hunting, spending time with his children at the deer lease, and collecting unique firearms.