This article is about some of the mistakes that competitors make with their whitetail deer mounts that can hurt their overall scores when competing in state, national, and World Shows. We will be exploring these boo-boos, starting at the deer nose pad and working our way to the back of the head.

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Coatimundis (Nasua Nasua), are members of the raccoon family, and are interesting little critters to mount. Coatimundis range from Arizona and parts of southern New Mexico in the United States through Mexico (except the Baja peninsula and central Sierra Madres), and Central America to Panama and marginally into South America in areas west of the Andes, especially in Colombia. Coatis walk with their ringed tails held high, and when climbing, their tails are used for balance. Their ankles are double jointed and extremely flexible, enabling them to descend trees headfirst. With their elongated noses and miniature bear-like faces, coatimundis present a few taxidermical challenges that are not difficult to overcome. A little attention to details and preparation will ensure a unique and stunning mount for your client.

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One of the most challenging game animals taxidermists will encounter is a bull cape buffalo. Be it a lifesize or shoulder mount, a cape buffalo offers a multitude of challenges in hide preservation, horns, anatomy, skin and muscular features, mounting procedure and finishing work. Selecting reference showing areas of primary importance that will help us capture the essence and correctness of this African legend.

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What is the difference between a bufflehead and a goldeneye? Bufflehead are smaller than goldeneyes. Both birds at a distance have bright white sides, but common and barrow’s goldeneyes have a white patch just behind the bill. Buffleheads drakes have a large white patch on the back of their heads. Female buffleheads are more uniform brown, with a white patch on the head that female goldeneyes lack.

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When it comes to style and presentation, these new products from Wayland Dobbs Jr. have reached a new benchmark for strength and durability. Kathy and I met Wayland when we visited his booth at the 2023 Texas Taxidermy Association convention and competition this June in Killeen, Texas. I thought, wow these are different, intriguing, and heavy duty. To our delight Wayland is a new advertiser in this issue of  Breakthrough, and you can see his ad on page 47 of this issue. Wayland designs and builds custom metal work for homes, businesses, and does custom metal art. Visit https://waylandthesmith.com as well as his Facebook page.

To subscribe or renew, visit www.breakthroughmagazine.com or call 800-783-7266.