Full cape mount for bull head questions

[ohiosteve]

I took my Longhorn/Watusi bull into the butcher this morning. A friend of mine bought the head and hide and is going to have him mounted from the shoulders forward. He was a little surprised when his taxidermist told him $1500-$2000 to do the mount due to the size. Does this sound reasonable? I am going to pick up the head this evening and am going to keep it in a walk in freezer for a week or 2. Is there anything we should do before we take it to the taxidermist? I've never had anything mounted like this before so would appreciate any advice.

 

[dun]

Only thing to make sure of is that the butcher caped it correctly for the mount

 

[M.Magis]

Actually, that's pretty cheap. Most experienced taxidermists that have done a couple would be considerably higher. It's an enormous amount of work, and supplies are very expensive as well. There won't be a form commercially available that's even close to the right size, so there will be many hours making one fit. Tanning alone will be hundreds of dollars. Tell your friend to be absolutely certain that the taxidermist he had quote it has done some cows/bulls, and knows how to properly clean the horn cores.
As long as enough hide is left for the shoulder mount there shouldn't be anything you need to do, other than have it frozen.

 

[ohiosteve]

I picked the head up last night and the head was fully intact and the entire hide was left on it. Very awkward to handle! The sickening part is, the head was dropped at the butcher and one of the horn tips got splintered about 2 inches down. This guy made it almost 3 years and his horns were in perfect condition even through several rides in the trailer and then this. I'm sure it is repairable though. We made several calls and learned everything you just stated M.Magis. We were able to find a local guy who does only deer heads but has been wanting to try a big head, so he agreed to do it for cost, which he estimated at $500. Worst case is, we will do a European mount but I really hope to make this work. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Alan]

Looking forward to a pic when it's done.

 

[krankieone]

Looking forward to a pic when it's done.

me too

 

[ohiosteve]

Should be any day now. Taxidermist said May. I'm hoping it turns out well because I've got a twisty horned longhorn cow that I believe is open and she would be an excellent candidate.

 

[ohiosteve]

Finally got him back. Taxidermist did a good job but said the next one he does will be more than the $750 he quoted my buddy. He said he learned a lot doing this one. The head does look a little different than he actually was (Horn position is slightly different and neck is smaller and more feminine looking), but overall he turned out well.

Horns are removable.

RedBull will now spend a lot of time watching my buddies ceiling fan and big screen TV with his new pals a mule deer and pronghorn.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

very interesting indeed.

 

[3waycross]

I like him! :tiphat:

 

[skyhightree1]

Looks good to me.. dont think i could sneak that one in the living room without the other half flipping out though lol