Anyone ever have to file a law suit against a Taxidermist? I get one excuse after another from a 2017 hunt. Drop off said 6 to 10 months. Then, hides aren't back, we do Axis deer last, wrong bases came in and so on. Hunt cost us $8,000 for the two nicest trophies we've ever taken. Even if we recoup what we spent plus attorney fees, it will be difficult to replicate the animals we took. Both Axis. Mine weighed upwards of 240 lbs. My wife's around 210. Beautiful racks on both.

GOOD LUCK
Lost a red fox several years ago that way. You didn't mention if you had used the shop before. Now I use Damuth in Brady.

I’d have your attorney draft and send him a letter first. That may be all you need to really grab his attention. If that doesn’t work I’d proceed with filing. Sorry you are dealing with this.

I had the same problem with a fish mount. I had the sheriff make a courtesy call and had my fish within 48 hrs.

Sounds like about 50% of them. The other 50% are true artists and also know how to run a business.

Don’t blow this off!! A draft from an attorney is not expensive. Then I would go to your district attorney’s office. That is what we pay taxes for, this is criminal. These kind of businessmen give us good taxidermists a bad name! I hear customers all the time complaining about some con job. Nearly all leave it go! I ship mounts all over the country, if I have a complaint or a problem I fix it....even if it were in Virginia!!! Good luck!!!!!

Yes. Have used them for years. Always quality work. Have had six mounts and a hide worked there. We've always had our mounts at the seven month point. Ownership changed and it's just dragging on. Dropped off for processing in 2017. Now 2019 with no ETA. Here's a pic for what I'm waiting for. For scale, I'm right next to it, I'm 6 ft, weigh 260 lbs with 3 layers of hunting clothes on. He's a big boy. I have a team of Estate Attorneys on contract for life. They can direct me in the proper direction. Probably a Business Attorney. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

No way I'll blow this off. Money for attorneys is not an issue.

That is a biggo axis.
I do not know if you have given this taxidermist any money yet, but is it possible to get the antlers and hides back?
Maybe another taxidermist could finish it up for you?
If this business is run badly as it sounds, that may be all you get anyways, when they go out of business.

This is a large processing/taxi outfit. They are not going to go out of business based on their increasing demand. Seems I keep getting pushed down the line for some reason. I hope it doesn't come to litigation. It is a last resort. There was an agreement made, It's on their papers with their name and my signature. Just looking for others who have experienced this.

I did once. It worked.

But me being an attorney helped. It’s almost certainly not going to be worth the effort from an economic standpoint but it may be the only way to get your animals back.

Good luck!

I would contact this guy ^^^^^^^.

here is another dynamic to this problem. a few years ago i killed a whitetail buck here on kentuckys opening morning of muzzleloader season. he was a very good buck that scored 161, but the score wasnt what made him a trophy, on his left side he had 3 main beams, a trophy of a lifetime for me. i took him to a taxi i had used in the past and had absolutely zero worries at the time. i knew i would probably wait about a year to get my mount back and this was fine with me.
a year came and went , a year and a half came and went and no word from the taxi. i decided to call and the phone was disconnected..i was somewhat worried so i decided to make the hour drive and check on things.
when i arrived the property was empty and grown up and now im very worried.
i started to investigate and found out the taxi had been arrested and was currently serving time for drug trafficking.
of course with him in jail and his family gone to who knew where the utilities had been cut off and you can imagine what kind of shape those deep freezers were in after weeks of not working.
thankfully another customer that had knowledge of the situation was able to secure all the antlers of the deer that were left there. i was able to contact the man and upon showing him photos of me and my deer he was glad to meet me and give me my horns.
ive had several deer mounted since then and i use a very reputable and very public taxi that has become a good friend over time.
long story short (i know too lat lol) some of these guys are suspect in more ways than we know.
sorry you are dealing with this, its horrible

Wow. Talk about a Good Samaritan.

Wait....you paid $8,000 to shoot 2 axis?

I said the hunt cost about $8,000. Travel, hunt, quartering, skinning and lodging. How many outfitters/ranches offer Axis that hit 240 lbs and actually take care of their clients?
Three days, two nights all meals provided. The ranches we hunt offer Trophy Stag, Trophy Whitetail, Trophy Fallow, Trophy Blackbuck and so on. Cost isn't an issue for us. Which is why attorney fees aren't an issue as well. If your asking me to smear it in, then fine, I can wipe my [censored] on $100 bills and not even miss it. Go scrounge around if its all you can afford.

Wow.

Proof that money cannot buy class (if true).

Hell, he probably screwed you over because you're a Richard.

That went south quickly!

Would be cheaper to go hunt a trophy axis than to pay attorneys fees, but that’s just me...

I’ll bet he shoots spikes inside HF with a .223 too.

Ask a legit question and as soon as the poor, trash hunters on a "budget", that can barely afford a rifle, find out someone can afford luxury hunts whenever they wish, they have to go and get tacky. I hunt high fence, so what. 1400 acres of thick woods with 300 open plain is still a challenge for someone that uses a cane to get around. What is really funny is the intellectual level of some on forums. I see it all the time on hunting and fishing forums. They all judge someones experience and knowledge with the number of posts they have. Oh, this guy has 12,000 posts, he knows it all. This guy has 12 posts, he's an idiot, so lets have at him. Then you have the outfitters, some legit, some not. "Oh look at the Stag I can offer". "Drive to West TX, one day only". $4,500 no guarantee. "Pay Pal the cash up front". "No guarantee, your on your own with field care". No thanks from me. I'll take a quality hunt over its an all I can afford hunt any day. Save your pennies and be patient. Maybe when your in your 60's, after you've worked and sacrificed all your life maybe you'll have enough money to do these hunts. You'll understand if you ever get there. If your young and expect in now, maybe you should be voting Democrat.

Hey man...YOU are the one who “went there”





There was no need for you do say that, so go look in the mirror if you want to blame someone for how we perceive you