Elk hunter Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Well it's been a while since I put a thread up, but I've been very busy shooting deer and enjoying my new hobby I've taken up. This summer a friend of my persuaded my to go on a taxidermist course. I was not that bothered as I skin enough animals in a year but agreed never the less. I know the taxidermist and so did James so the course was very relaxed and informal. Over the two days we mounted a rook. We did everything to a very tradition formular even making a body from scratch. I found most of it easy due to my back ground untill setting the bird in a pose. Holy cow how hard can it be to make a rook look like a rook, 4 hr in fact. After the course I was hooked and didn't realise how hard it is to shoot a corvid without blowing it to bits. So my my shooting skills have adapted along with my patience. My first solo attemt Went very well till I mounted it and all the feathers fell out because it was in the middle of changing to a winter coat. I finished it all the same and kept it, as it makes me smile because my draughts calls it Manky! As the months have past I've mastered the rook and crows plus have regular conversations with the taxidermist who told me it was time to move on to a magpie. Which again was very hard to pose getting the white in the right place. Dam frustrating but well worth it at the end. The irony is that James hasn't done one since yet I haven't stopped, loving it. The hole thing from start to finish im finding it fascinating Especilly the pose. I've spent many years tracking, stalking and shooting I've never studied my quarry in...."The way they live, how they stand or even how inquisitive they are"...I am now. Solo! Setting and drying. Although my hobby is still in its infancy and my limit is corvids I'm going back to do a roe buck I shot this year to move my hobby on as I've access to plent of stags and capes to practice on. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Looks good to me, well done you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuddster Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 good work-you should be very proud. keep posting your progress f. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunderbuss Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Wow. Taxidermy done badly is awful, but you have some real skill there. They look like professional pieces from someone who's been doing it for years! Stick with it and please share your work with us as you progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Excellent work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Excellent work buddy :good: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsonicnat Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Now that gloss on the wings is amazing, Well Done.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Great stuff, they are nice to see and clearly a job well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoot and be safe Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Well done Andrew, they look great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintail Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 nice work, and it does get very adictive, ive now been doing taxidermy for a year, and its great when you shoot a crow or other bird and then able to mount it yourself, i now scour the roads when im driving for road kill as you can get some good stuff, picked up a barn owl and herring gull recently and are now in my collection, keep up the good work Elk Hunter as the more you do the better it gets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchsan51 Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Tip top effort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeonblasterian Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Very impressive they look very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy bingo Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 make fantastic decoys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul taylor Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Cracking them mate, love the magpie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Great stuff, they are nice to see and clearly a job well done Great stuff in the literal sense.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooterluke Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Good job mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty* Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Not bad at all mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiler23 Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 They look great, I'd always imagine birds to be harder to do than mammals, there excellent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisheruk Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Very good. How much of your time does it take to do a crow now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian28 Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 well done got a feeling thats so much harder to do,than it looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mighty Prawn Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Nice one Andrew - can you do me thirty wood pigeons and I'll chuck out the decoys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Look really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 The finished articles look very realistic - the usual inquisitive corvid look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elk hunter Posted December 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 I've been doing a crow today, I skinned and prepped it yesterday. So this afternoon I wired the bird and made the body before mounting it. It had quite a large hole in its back and my beadle work is not to be snift at. I started at 2pm and by 4.30 we had a mounted crow although there will be some tweaking over the next few days. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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