Colorado's John Lager has won the NTA's Best-All Around Taxidermist Award more than anyone else: a record nine times, including several times with a ptarmigan mount. In the live demonstration, John starts with a skinned and wire-wheeled specimen, clearly explaining all of the steps it took to get the skin ready for mounting. John uses a commercial mannikin with the natural skull including all of the neck bones, wiring the neck vertebrae and building the neck up with clay. He wraps the legs and wings with jute, sets the eyes, anchors the legs and wings, sews the incision, attaches the mount to the base, poses the bird in a flying position and roughly adjusts the feathers. Recorded live at the 2007 World Taxidermy Championships. Approximate running time: 2:05.