Great taxidermist

el Toro · Dec-06-2007, 06:31 PM

I recently found a great taxidermist who does very good work for a reasonable price. Back in Sept. I got a call from a taxi in El Centro to measure an antelope and stopped by there on the way to dove hunt. I was instantly impressed with all the critters in his shop. He does some awesome bird work too. Anyhow, I was so impressed that I had him re-do a botched job on an antelope of mine.

This was my first antelope and one of my first really good trophies and the original taxidermist just hosed the mount. He use a form (that was made out of paper mache for shit sake) that was too big and anatomically incorrect, then the hide slipped up on the form and bunched up under the neck. He used the wrong eyes and the goat had a squinting look. It looked like he just smelled a bad fart. The taxidermist was a friend of a friend of a friend in a small town. When I politely brought the lousy job to his attention he got offended and pulled the "I've been doing this forever and couldn't have made a mistake, you're just a punk from CA and don't know anything" routine. That pissed me off even more but I didn't want to rock the boat and ruin friendships over it so I let it go. I hated to look at the thing on the wall and every time I did it made me salty.

I'm glad to say that he finally got a new facelift and now looks awesome the second time around.

If you guys need any good taxi work at a fair price, check out Breck Dickenson Taxidermy in El Centro. Taxidermist for taxidermy and mounting, El Centro, California. Tell him Nate Treadwell sent you.

Customboatguy · Dec-06-2007, 07:22 PM

That thing looks killer!

gatorfan · Dec-06-2007, 08:02 PM

That's a sweet lope. I've only been fortunate enough to hunt them once and it was a blast. Those horns must be really heavy, looks like they're pulling the wallpaper down.

speedgoat · Dec-06-2007, 08:54 PM

Thanks for the info Nate. It's good to know there's a good taxidermist relatively close by.

Cool pics of the speedgoat. From the pictures your antelope looks to be about the same size as the first goat I shot. Just curious, what did that score?

EDIT:

Actually, my notion of my trophy is grander than the reality of it. After comparing the pictures of the two, yours is definitely the nicer trophy. I'm still curious about what mine would score though. You interested in measuring it? Here's a couple of pics of mine to compare.

**Smudge** · Dec-06-2007, 09:00 PM

Bitchin' Nate. Wish he had some waterfowl on his site. I have a nice Canvasback I want to get done. How long did it take to get your goat back??

el Toro · Dec-06-2007, 10:23 PM

It only took him a few months but he didn't have to send the cape out for tanning. That is what takes a long time. He's got a bunch of ducks in his shop.

Scott, I'd be happy to run a tape over your antelope. Mine just tops 82. At least he did when he was green. He's a touch over 16 long, good mass, and has really nice prongs.