Look out now you guys are going to piss Dennis off again and getting ready to mount my stuff so Please keep him happy and in a good mood
and yes Dennis isn't the cheapest I will not disagree but his work is excellent
Don't sweat it Dan, your's and Pete's trophies will be stunners !! As Always.....
Just saw this old dinosaur of a post revived after doing a 36 straight work day...Sunday Morning 7am started a dead bushbuck mount and tweaked out a cool leopard snarling on a limb. Worked the Dead Bushbuck mount custom made lying on a limb, had to mount it in three pieces because of the realistic leg bends around leopard legs and branches , I do things to difficult sometimes would be easy to just put a walking mount in a tree sideways and call it a day, but then my work would look like everyone else's just a mount...mounted it up sewn and tweeked and added it to the branch below the leopard I mounted on my normal 14 hour day sat.
After getting the Leopard and Bushbuck wrapped up and finished it was 2 am. Took a quick shower and then loaded the Trailer with salted bears, deer, and elk and off the the tannery 120 miles...Met Ty at 6am unloaded trailer at tannery and loaded 16 big boxes of tanned skins dozens of life-size skins for mounts and 70-80 shoulder capes and 6 huge incoming safari crates that had arrived at the tannery full of skulls and horns.
Then I climbed in my , Since Texan LTH asked what kind of truck I drive , My Flint Michigan Built 70% American made by american workers making good money in the USA , 2015 Silverado LTZ 3500 Duramax crew cab 8' bed, single axle that waited 8 weeks to have built truck. And headed north 80 miles to my base builder and picked up some cool pedestal bases with my africa cut out and engraved paw prints and a couple with bear carving in the corners .
Loaded those and head 160 miles back to studio. Talked with Jamie on finishing work and paul doing his thing took care of some business and and hit the coach at 6pm just woke up and went into studio to get three skins out to mount tues and weds nyala life-size and a kudu and hartebeest.
14 hours sat 36 hours sunday/monday I got my 40 in and it's not even tuesday yet. Thats the start of my week...LOL
TexasLTH, Your right not everyone can afford me. I'm not to expensive when you think about what I give you and what you get....You go hunting you spend thousands to 10's of thousands for a few days or few weeks and you get the experience the sights sounds excitement exhilaration and whole experience and then it's gone, it fades with time ...A picture.... a memory that you flip thru and see but can't touch or make any other sense come alive with the experience ...I give you something you can feel and touch with your hands and your eyes , Everyone here when they look at a mount and look into it's eyes, feels MORE and remember more about the hunt and that day that any picture can give you or any sub standard mount that is just so so...and that mount will last to your dying day...What else can you buy that you will keep for the rest of your life? 50k truck nope it;s gone in 1o years, 5k of Furniture nope you'll redecorate, anything mechanical nope it all breaks, 90% of what we buy we get rid of or breaks or has to fixed at an expense. My taxidermy will last forever...no more expense...you will keep your trophies no matter what....
As for being patriotic...Support American workers yes, I am more political than others as you can easily tell . I don't like supporting business's that are owned by Democrats, Unless I HAVE TO nor hire contractors that are not Republicans or Conservatives, and yes I ask them.
Not happy about trackers and skinners in Africa that make about 200 or so a month working 6/7 days a week. From before dawn to after dark sometimes 16 hour days. There pay also includes plus food and clothes I forgot that but I do hunt there and tip twice what the PH recommends to them and never give it to the PH I hand it to the worker.
I know taxidermist in Africa and know their Labor costs that's why they can charge the price they charge. One has 6 guys working 6 days a week 12 hours a day for a month and his labor cost is the same as my 2 guys for 4 days. My clients support American workers that hunt and are a part of the same community as you are in. Support their families and enjoy a life. A life more than mine. I never make them work a weekend...so they can enjoy a life. I work Every weekend by myself to make sure they have their family time.
Most that know me call me the machine...80-100 hours a week because I LOVE MY WORK ! I create mounts that are above and beyond what you would ever say I'm okay with. They are the blood and sweat of an artist that doesn't settle for the words , " that's okay or good enough" and they are made by my hands, every mount...
Thanks to all my supports and client there , Royal, Dan, Ted, Tom and all the rest THANKS !
