The vast majority of seasoned hunters have a piece or two of taxidermy gracing the interior of their home, serving as reminders of those lifelong memories made afield. Depending on what kind of outdoor adventure the outdoorsman fancies, this could come in the form of a shoulder-mounted deer, a fish, or in extraordinary cases, a massive big-game animal like a moose or an elk. Each display tells a different story, but different mounts mean more to different sportsmen.
Because your typical taxidermy process starts with a hunter dropping their prized trophy off at a taxidermist shop, and ends with the collection of said trophy upon completion, most of those who make up the hunting community have no idea what the process actually looks like. And, if you were ever curious, there aren't many ways in which you can see it for yourself, unless you decide to actually do it yourself, which is no small task. However, the following clip gives up a peak at just how much goes into our favorite decorations, as we see a time-lapse video of a taxidermist working through a Canadian whitetail deer from start to finish.
We always knew there was a certain amount of craftsmanship and artistry involved with taxidermy. However, we never really thought about all the intricacies involved with bringing a dead deer back to life in this way. Just the cape preparation alone seemed to take a long time, especially with it being split in the back.
Then there were all the fine details he added with putty or epoxy to replicate the things like muscle and blood vessels under the animal's skin. He spent a ton of time concentrating on getting the eyes right. We've always heard that's one of the more challenging parts of any mount. If the taxidermist doesn't get the eyes right, the whole mount will look off. We're sure everyone has seen mounts in the past that are like that.
This was truly an awesome buck and this taxidermist did an excellent job making this deer look alive again. The hunter who puts this buck on his or her wall will surely get many years of enjoyment staring at that beast on the wall!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
