When envisioning a position for your next competition or private collection piece, do you imagine in species or grouping? Perhaps you have a certain skin you wish to use or a scene that comes to mind.

Capturing the essence of the species is paramount, but its essence is so much more than its silhouette. If we captured the basic silhouette, we are halfway there. What about the other half? That other half has much to do with the tendons, ligaments, and muscles being in concert with the skeleton.

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We recently received a black bear mount requiring restoration. This more than 20-year-old mount was the first bear ever taken by this Missouri hunter and holds a special place in his heart. He killed it while bow hunting for elk with his dad. As the living room’s main attraction, this mount has been present for years of family get-togethers and holidays. The bear had accumulated additional injuries over the years, mostly at the hands of four young, rowdy boys. Odds are the youngsters rode on its back from time to time. BBs were also found in the base of the mount. This evidence proved at least some of the damage was a result of multiple living room BB gun ambushes, likely from behind the couch.

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There are recognizable differences in these three species of wigeons found mainly different regions of the world. The one physical trait that remains similar is the bill color of the three, and both the males and females of the three species have this common trait.

Another interesting fact is that the rusty-headed Eurasian wigeon turns up as a rarity in flocks of American wigeons on occasion, but American wigeons also turn up in Europe in flocks of Eurasian wigeons.

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One day I was presented with a challenge to mount a lifesize elephant which could be taken apart, so it would not be required to be permanently displayed. The elephant was to be transported down a hallway 70 inches wide and 80 inches tall. The request by the director of the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum at Brigham Young University set in motion this article. While visiting the Woodbury Taxidermy exhibition booth at an annual Safari Club International convention, I met chief taxidermist Jimmy Dieringer. As I perused his photo albums, I saw a picture of an elephant form in eight pieces, namely, the head, trunk, two body halves, and four legs. Using this form could work for my new challenging museum project!

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The hunter did a double-take—was it really what he thought it was? In plain sight were two long-dead skulls of two whitetail bucks, locked forever, from a battle old as time. The hunter, Wes Archer, one of my long-time clients, told me of his find. I told him that many years ago I had mounted a pair like that with a lot of difficulty. Ten years passed. Wes took the skulls out of his closet, walked in my shop with them, and said, “Let’s do the damn thing.” Taxidermists learn every day, and trial-and-error must be prominent in our DNA. All locked bucks are not locked alike!

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