Got a nephew going to graduate high school this year. He is looking into taxidermy as an option. Been looking at a school in Pa name doesn't come to mind right now. It's a 12 week program that seems to be pretty broad. I'm encouraging him to take a look out in the Midwest or west. Any recommendations from the taxidermists on here?

Hutton School of Taxidermy here in Iowa. Roger Hutton is a great guy and really knows his craft.

The ones I have used must already be wealthy because they don’t seem to work very much. Visited a big shop in Denver that was an exception. It was not a one man operation however.

Wish your nephew much success. There is probably many towns that could use an honest hardworking taxidermist. No offense to those on Trapperman. I am sure you’ve met some like I described.

About 30 years ago one in SC was raided and shut down. Brother in law got his work back when the court sent him a letter to pick his animal up on a certain date.

There used to be one in .... I think it was Colorado or Wyoming, that did museum quality work... and did a lot of full body big game animals as well as birds fish and about everything else.

I learned it through a home study course... I believe it was called North Western School of Taxidermy. But that was back in the 1960's.

Here are a couple of ducks I did in the mid 70s




Garry-

Actor, you had to paint the color back onto fish, and use the real skin and fins in the 60’s. I remember seeing deer capes being pickled in wooden kegs.

What else has changed?

unless the kid is a TRUE Artist, I'm not sure I'd encourage him into taxidermy, as a profession.

in PA, there seems to be a
lot of them around...more of a sideline/hobby business here.

may be different where you are.

In North Carolina there's a school in Montgomery County i think it at a community College like the one that was at piedmont community College. I attended the school at piedmont under Ralph Graland in 95-96 it was a year long course.

Depending on your interests I would like to recommend John Beards BIRDS ONLY TAXIDERMY in Dickson Tennessee. He has a school where he teaches turkey taxidermy. He does excellent work. I would also recommend Roger Hutton's school. Great guys, both.

Theres no 12 week Taxidermy class that would be worth its salt
Unless its 12 weeks ...for fish. 12 weeks for small animals ....12 weeks for big game etc. Etc.etc...

And natural artistry talent is a must

I retired from a decades long taxidermy career. Honestly, I would not encourage any young people to choose it as a full-time job unless they are going to work for one of the big shops that have decent wage/benefit packages! If he just wants to "do taxidermy" as a way to broaden his outdoorsman's lifestyle, then go for it. As a career he will work long hours for low wages, and be the absolute busiest during the time of year he, as a woodsman, wants to be the least busy! I decided at a young age that was what I wanted to do, and worked years getting to the point where I could actually support my family on taxidermy alone and no other outside job. I was in my early 30's when I quit every other job and went full-time. I had been working 2 jobs (taxidermy and what ever else I could find) for several years before that. Worked 7 days a week for the next 10'ish years, and 6 a week thereafter. With hind-sight being what it is, I now know I could have stayed working construction 6 months out of the year and gotten laid off during the lousy weather and trapped all winter......and my Social Security check would have been 3 times what it is today. Tell the kid to do anything else, then tinker with taxidermy as a hobby. If he has the ability to learn it (many don't), he can learn all he needs to off YouTube and still save a bundle by mounting his own stuff. Sorry if this post is a downer for him, but it is very realistic.

I own and operated a good size taxidermy studio. It’s a full time everyday gig. Very little free time anymore. This year so far I have close to 700 pieces, which means I have about 700 bosses. If you are not extremely driven with steadfast work ethics, patience and a sense of humor, you probably need to do something else. That being said, if you have a passion for things like this then go work/apprentice under a reputable taxidermist. 98% of the schools are great at taking people’s money and showing them the door. I’ve taught a few people over the years. They can mount something with me standing there and supervising but you turn them loose and things get ugly fast. It takes time and repetition to really figure it out. I’ve been doing it for years and I’m still learning and trying new things. If he ever gets down this way, have him plan a few days here. I can show him a little bit of what we do here. Just about everyone does things differently but tries to end up with the same end result. It’s always good to see what others are doing.

I'm with J Morris. Have him join his state taxidermist association. He will meet other taxidermists, and learn just as much. There are an endless amount of videos to learn from, and he can practice at home. Start on small things, enter his pieces to be judged by award winning taxidermists so he can see where he stands in his progress. They make taxidermy easy these days, calling it " snap adermy" where everything is pretty much done already for you, but you still have to have some type of artistic talent. Tell him good luck!

^^^^^
Really good advice.

Does the kid have a knack for things like skinning? Some people are all thumbs. If he does decide to go to a taxidermy school head should at least have some fundamental experience before he goes or he will be wasting a lot of time and money.

A friend of mine went to a Taxidermy school in Havre Montana about 12 years ago that he had good things to say about. Nice area too.

I think the biggest change is that now they're a molded foam body for every size fish, for deer, full bodies for most all mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Everything took such longer time to do. Forming the bodies out what they called wood wool (shredded wood), wrap it with heavy twine and fill in with modeling clay. Then there was the painting... that could be a pain, but being an artist helped me.

The painting of fish... when living in Ohio I mounted a 10 # Largemouth Bass for a man. Now, I had dozens of photos that I had taken of Ohio Largemouth that I used as my reference guide when painting. The mounting was very good and I thought the painting was very good... until I delivered the fish. This man was a man of means and had several dozen fish hanging on the wall.... with a number of them being LM bass. My bass didn't look like those... all of the bass had been caught in Florida and had been mounted by Archie Phillips studio in Alabama (I think). All of the bass in Florida seem to go to that studio to be mounted, and they all look the same... bright beautiful colors. But, after I moved to Florida I found out they all don't look that when they are caught . So there you go.

This was my first mounted bluegill... about 1966. Started to crack in several places, about time to ship it to the dumpster.



Garry-

Many have tried few succeed. He must have at least some artistic ability. He should be prepared to work during deer season as that's when most of the work arrives. Most state associations have a convention where they have people putting on demos where you can get a lot of knowledge. If he is good he can make a decent living.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Always good to get the different perspectives, there's a lot of good advise on here. He is a pretty hard headed kid sometimes, likes to do things the hard way a lot. I'm just trying to get him as much info as possible so he can make a good informed decision on his future. Ill give him credit, he is a hard worker and when he puts his mind to something he does it. Heck, the kid drives a 40 year old tuck, hunts only with traditional archery and muzzeloader equipment, and works two jobs. All are things he has chosen, not what someone else has told him to do. So despite what I say or encourage, if he wants to be a taxidermist then i would say that's what he will be. I just want to make sure he has the information needed to be the best at what ever it is.

Some people have it and some don't if he wants to be a taxidermist he should go to a local community College and take some small business classes. The biggest thing you will need to learn is how to produce a mount that is quality and can be done in a short amount of time. The course i took at piedmont was one year and when I left I still had a lot to learn now 25 years later

This is absolutely true. There are some great taxidermist that are horrible business men. Most open and make a year or two before going under. They see all the deposit money coming in and run out to buy a new truck or go on a hunting trip and blow it all. Then they can afford to complete the work. See it all the time around here with new shops. The first 5 to 7 years can be pretty lean, after that it starts getting more lucrative. Do good work, hold on to good clients, and never think you know it all and you can do well.