Me and another THF'er were having this discussion the other day, about what would become of your taxidermy collection if you passed away.


This is something I have given thought to and will be included in my updated Will & Testament that is being done now. As of now I have only 1 specimen of truly outstanding quality, that I will want donated to SCI or the Exotic Museum in Kerrville. I have some other heads that I would want to go to the Buckhorn downtown if they would accept them or to be sold to Bass Pro or Cabela's. I'm young at the moment and I would be naïve to think my wife would not remarry and I doubt she would want to tote along her dead husbands moderately impressive taxidermy collection with her should I leave the earth unexpectedly



Anyone else given this any thought?

I don't have a plan in place but whoever draws the short straw on my mounts will need a 18 wheeler to haul them away.

Step kids are 21 and 17, my daughter is 10. They're all sharp, and reasonable. They and my wife can make that call.

Most of mine are already on the wall in the ranch house. I guess that’s where they will all end up eventually

I had to help liquidate my father's collection after he passed. Since we hunted together most the time, he and I had pretty much the same things. The only thing he had that I personally wanted was a chocolate phase black bear he took in BC with me at his side. Most of his ended up going to his grandkids but I admit I was surprised how difficult it was to find a new home for them.

Since I teach HS I'm thinking that I will probably make arrangements for mine to go to some schools as teaching aids. I figure the biology classes as well as the outdoor ed classes would be a good home. I don't have any kids of my own since my wife cannot have kids and other than a few things I doubt my nieces and nephews will want what I have. So a donation is probably the future of mine.

Mine are going to our local golf course to be put up in the club house

Most have an overinflated sense of the demand and value for their taxidermy. The vast majority of animals will not be of interest to museums, Bass Pro, and the like. The exceptions would only be upper record class and/or more rare animals.
Honestly, I think the best bet for the ones family doesn’t want is for them to sell them on eBay. They will bring some $$ as lodge, hotel, and restaurant decor. I’ve seen some sell for decent prices in the THF classifieds too.

Personal value does not equal monetary value. Takes an exceptional mount to really bring financial value. I have sold off a few and the rest can go in the dumpster for all I care. I won't be here.

I’ve got a handful, none that anybody would want I doubt

Now, if I’m ever lucky enough to get a trophy bull elk, I may think it over

My daughter shot her first doe last year and even though it wasn’t mounted it’s by far worth the most to me

As far as mine, as of to date...it really don’t mater to me. I will be gone

I have 40 mounts and I hope that those who want one, will take one. More then likely, they will remain with the house and whoever ends up buying the house and land after we are both gone will want them. Hopefully I'll have twice as many by that time for them to deal with!!!

A good friend that I grew up with passed away when he was 35 from a kayak drowning. He had half a dozen mounts, and his wife invited everyone over to take what they wanted. His brothers split up his guns, I took a hog head that we had both shot at the same time, and some other friends took mounts that they wanted.

Same with mine.

I have one shoulder mount at the moment. No plans to really add to it. In fact I hope to plan most of my hunting around not getting mounts. I would rather a cow elk tag than a bull etc. because I don't want a shoulder mounted elk etc. Im good with pictures and the memory and nailing the horns in the garage or whatever. Most of ours are going back to the ranch these days.

I only do skull mounts, hoping my boys (15 and 12 now) will keep them in their garages and remember the old man. If I go soon, wife will likely remarry and I don't want some non-hunting douchebag to get rid of them so he can hang golf bags, in which case I will ask my hunting buddies to hold on to them for the boys!

The taxidermy that the She-Wolf and I have is for our own enjoyment and our own memories. Ninety-plus percent of the heads were taken while hunting together, so they represent a great whacking chunk of our hunting lives together.

Our estate planning includes a lot of things, but it doesn't even mention taxidermy...nor will it. Those animals will live forever in OUR memory but to others they will likely be nothing more than big, hairy dust collectors. When we're gone, the managers of our trust can do with the heads what they will...up to and including dragging them all out into the pasture and setting fire to them.

Getting old enough has helped me put a bunch of things into much clearer perspective...

Mark

Make it a stipulation that whoever benefits monetarily from your estate has to individually wrap and transport each one of your mounts

So what are you gonna do with your one and only shoulder mount when you leave this world ?

maybe a 36 wheeler!

I am like Red Chevy. I have one shoulder mounted Mule Deer. What am I going to do with it when I kick the bucket? Nothing I will not be here any more to do anything.

Only have two mounts. My first deer (broken 10pt...not a huge deer) and my melanistic buck. Figure my family will keep the 2nd one, or have it displayed at a store or something.

Hadn’t thought about it and I’m 76 yoa. I have too many from different states and Africa and won’t do another one unless it is truly exceptional. Grandson might want some but this is something I haven’t thought about.

Once I'm gone I could care less what happens to them. Keep them if you want or chunk them.

Mounts are cheap to buy nobody wants that crap. They sell on eBay for near nothing all the time unless it’s really something special. I’ve got some skulls that are rare and sell for over $1000 now but I don’t care what they do with em when I’m gone. I’m done with mounts anyway. The older I’ve gotten the more I realize how much money I wasted on shoulder mounts when I could’ve done a skull and went on another trip with the money for the mount.

My trophy is in the freezer, gets eaten. Antlers/heads are hung in a tree.
As a taxidermist I mounted critters for others but never myself.
After the Harvey flood event, life is less cluttered. Stuff means a little less these days.

You’d be surprised how much you can get from good taxidermy.

I know several people who have sold deer, elk and African mounts for good $$$.

Your right, most individuals would not want them but bars, resturaunts, museums, etc. will purchase them

I'd buy this guy...

Deer will just go for $75-250 or so usually. Price depends on the size and “look” of the mount. Kinda goes up incrementally from there with larger and/or more rare animals.

A lot of African stuff is not very sought after because it’s so common.

Moose heads are the most sought after and go for lots of $$$. Every place that has a “lodge” look wants a moose head.

(This all comes from a buyer/decorator I visited with not long ago. I think their view of African stuff may be slanted because they didn’t seek it in their buying.)

my buddy sold his collection locally and he got $350-$400 for his whitetail mounts on craigslist. his was average hill country bucks, 120" type stuff. Friend of mine sold his elk head for $5k, but it was a B&C head.


If you have a smaller collection of 3-5 mounts, not its not gonna bring a ton of money, but if you get up in the 30-40 mount range, then your heirs can sell them for some pretty good beer cash.



but in the end, their resale or lack of resale is not why I mount animals. I look at them like works of art, made only for me. No two pieces are exactly alike. But like any art collection, what happens to it after your gone is sure to cross your mind

so what your telling us is you don't have any mounts to pass down, on a thread about what to do with your mounts when you die.


Thanks for the contribution to the post

inquiring minds want to know just how much money was wasted on shoulder mounts? what trips could you have gone on for the price of the shoulder mount of the previous trip?


interested in learning more

There's been one other person appreciate my trophy collection almost as much as me -

The wife had her church committee over to our house and one of the ladies had a young Japanese woman staying with her. I think she was a member of a very small mission/missionary church we support in Japan. My wife said she went completely gaga over all the shoulder mounts. She was taking pictures and petting the mane on the Zebra rug.

I never saw her. 'Wife said she was gorgeous too.

It’s been my experience that non hunters go gaga over taxidermy

Your welcome. The kids will get the land on which the tree full of deer heads/antlers stands. They will surely enjoy the property more than a room full of mounted critters.

Oryx, gemsbok, zebra, and elk mounts alone will buy you a couple tickets to Africa. Don’t get me started on that damn giraffe, holy crap that’ll set you back but the giraffe skull alone will pay for your shipping and clearance of a whole safari if you wanted to sell it.

Nope.

"And they all got along forever and ever, and they shared everything, and they never thought about the money selling the place would bring."

One kid, no problem. More than one, problems.

All those mounts mentioned won’t get me to Africa. Or they might get me there but won’t pay for much hunting, let alone a coupe trips.

Africa is all about the trophies, otherwise why hunt there at all? You can’t bring the meat home might as well go on a photo safari

I said they would get you there and they will. Africa may be all about trophies to you but I can go back anytime and leave em all there wouldnt bother me a bit. Africa is about being in Africa, being with the people, looking at places most will never see, eating food you can’t eat anywhere else. It never was about trophies and never will be. I can take the money from those mounts I mentioned and buy me and my wife tickets to go back. I can fish a few days and hunt a few animals for the cost of a couple more. I’m just over it. I’d rather keep traveling than sit home staring up at dead animals. I’m not rich enough to do both because I don’t care to work enough to make that much.

I prefer stuff I can eat.

That's awesome, I hope you continue to feel comfortable and confident in your choice.


however this thread was about what to do with the mounts you DO have in regards to estate planning, not the validity of having mounts, peoples' opinion of them, or if they are a wise investment monetarily.

Check out Lolli Bros. in Macon,MO. Exotic sales.

I was asked this question recently. I currently have a modest collection of 15 or so shoulder mounts. Mostly from Africa,a few texas exotics and a whitetail, bear and javalina. I don’t have children, but have a ton of nieces and nephews that would be happy to have some of the mounts. In fact two of my mounts are at a nephews house because I don’t have room for them. He is very happy to have it in his house.

The stuff that they don’t want can all be sold, but I bet there would not be much left except for a bunch of whitetail skulls.

My son will end up with my mounts and be more than happy to display them.

Like snake oil, my son and grandson will take mine and will be proud of them.

Had a real real good friend that died at the age of 82 years. His wife let him roll around in the floor of his house dien for 3 days without dialing 911. He died and was cremated the next day. His stuff was being thrown out to the curb by his wife and gay dike girlfriend with exact circumstances the day after he died. I was able to intercept a few mounts for shear memory and respect for the pioneer of the great outdoors and my friend. Careful folks! Sadly people dont care about your dusty old mounts or maybe even you. My busload of mounts and horns?? My son may have the heart and respect to save them.

I have a modest collection of low fence whitetail mounts in my bubba room. 23 of them from the 160's and up that I have taken over the years. I'm the only person they have meaning to. When I'm gone I kinda hope they are given away or sold and my son collects trophies of his own.

Let me get the mule deer from Canada

My son will get anything and everything hunting or outdoors related

I’m with Sapper, I’d take one of your mounts!
You have some amazing mounts!

Which one I have two of them...

the pedestal right by the recliner

I hope my boys would keep them, but i won't be here so it really doesn't matter.

Kacee will have all of them and after that I will be long gone!

interested in learning more
[/quote]
Oryx, gemsbok, zebra, and elk mounts alone will buy you a couple tickets to Africa. Don’t get me started on that damn giraffe, holy crap that’ll set you back but the giraffe skull alone will pay for your shipping and clearance of a whole safari if you wanted to sell it. [/quote]



I have around 70 now and the giraffe is really high! But it holds its value some of others not so much.

I don't really know. I would hope I guess my son or daughter would want it. Chances are I will die a good bit before my wife and she will do whatever she wants to with it. In honesty it isn't a big deal to me, I had never even considered it.

I was never all that big on spending the extra money to get something mounted when I could put it towards something else like another hunt, gun, etc. I only have a few mounts that were extra special to me that I only did a skull cap mount that wasn't outrageously expensive. My son't first buck, my first elk, my daughter's first buck and one buck from a hunt up in the panhandle on the JA. I have a few other skull cap set of antlers that a friend said he would do a mount for me one of these days. I suspect my son and daughter will want theirs but the others, not sure where they will end up. With the money I've saved on mounts, I have quite a collection of guns that will flow down to my kids & grandkids when I am all said and done.

I was thinking about it the other day......I don't have a big gun collection. I was never big on amassing a huge armory as I can only shoot one gun at a time. I took all the money that I saved on not buying guns I came across or lusted after for a short time and spent it on taxidermy...….

I don't have any so my kids nor i have to deal with it.

I want the same but with a kangaroo instead.

My son and son in law both hunt so I think they would probably take all mine - except for my book whitetail - he is going in the casket with me