Taxidermy Options for the Whitetail Deer

Whether it be Manitoba or Kansas; Indiana or Texas; or right here in our home state of Pennsylvania, the North American Whitetail Deer will drive the most hardened veteran hunter wild with dreams of heavy mass and long tines.

There are many different ways you can mount a Whitetail Deer and in this next article we will go over the basic positions as well as some other ones that you may not have thought about.

The Basic Shoulder Mount

This is the most easily recognized mount for an Whitetail Deer. There are about 4-5 basic poses that everyone is familiar with when choosing a “basic shoulder mount” (will have a few variations in the pictures). There are a full upright pose, the semi upright, the semi sneak and the full sneak. There are a few other variations of these poses including head up and head down, but you get the gist. The way I describe these poses to clients is imagine the deer gets more proud the more upright of a pose you choose and it looks more big and mean the more the pose lowers. The exception is the full sneak in where the neck is elongated like the animal is sneaking through the woods. The back of these mounts fits snug and securely against the walls and there isn’t any frills or added bells and whistles that most hunters arent familiar with anyway. They are the most traditional of all poses and does well in all applications.

All of these poses can be either a slight left, slight right or straight posed. As well as choice of ear positioning; stright forward alert, straight back relaxed or rotated like its searching for a noise.

I always tell a client if they are not sure of what pose they are going with; a simple shoulder mount semi sneak or semi upright is always the best option.

The Wall Pedestal

This pose is extremely similar to the basic shoulder mount as in it still hangs on your wall using a screw into a secured mounting surface. The major difference is a half moon shaped cutout on the back on the shoulder of the form that makes the mount more offset on your wall, allowing for a more elegant and artistic viewing angle of the animal. The elongated shoulder allows for more hide to be positioned on the mount to show off the color of the hide or added size for a more impressive look.

It is by far my favorite way to dislpay a whitetail deer IF it needs to be on the wall.

Pack Mount

Also known as a Back Pack mount, is a creative and unique way to display your Whitetail Deer mount. We are proud at Artistic Visions to be the first (or one of the very first) ever taxidermy studios to create a pack mount. Our style is often mimicked or copied but there is nothing quite like the original.

By adding a bed role, vintage magazine, knife, and antique hunting license we are recreating an old school themed mount. The generations before us were tough hunters that didnt have the help of four wheelers, side by sides or electric bikes, these hardcore individuals would have to pack in and pack out everything. This amazing mount recreates that hardcore hunter image and is truly a one of a kind mount in any trophyroom.

Full Pedestal Mount

If you have the floor space and want to appreciate your mount from all angles, this is the mount to go with. By adding a hardwood base you are esentially creating a piece of furniture that is also art in your trophy room. One of the most important and attractive aspect of choosing a full pedestal is the ability to walk around the entire mount to appreciate the animal to its fullest. You get to view all angles of each amazing characteristic of the antlers. It also adds depth to the piece by utilizing our custom habitat work. We can add corn stalks, barbed wire, evergreen branches – the potential is limitless.

Lifesize Mount

We are now on to the “large and in charge” catagory of mounts, the lifesize work. If you have the space and the money this is by far the absolute purest way to mount any animal on earth. Because your showing off the true size and beauty of the animal. Some of our favorite ways to mount a lifesize Whitetail Deer is laying down or a slight walking pose. It gives a elegant presentation and really brings the animal to life.

We have covered pretty much all the bases when it comes to mounting the North American Whitetail Deer. There are other variations you can do with the above mounts (wall habitat, open mouth etc.) but that is pretty much all of the major options you have of choosing your pose.

I hope you enjoyed this blog guys and girls, feel free to leave comments or suggestions and we will work hard to continue these session with our clients and fellow hunters.

Shoot straight, be safe, and have fun!

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