Whitetail Taxidermy Poses for Your Next Deer Mount
Posted 2018-10-17T01:00:00Z
So Many Choices. But All of Them Right Ones.
Killing a big mature buck is hard. There isn't anything easy about it. So when it all finally comes together, you want to cherish and remember that memory. You want to encapsulate it. And I like to do that by having my deer mounted. I visited Sam Coffey of Custom Wildlife Mounts and got the 411 on the different mount options available to deer hunters.
Have you always wanted to get your buck mounted, but haven't? Still got that cape in the freezer waiting for the right time to take it to the taxidermist? Got a set of horns laying around from a buck you killed when you were a kid, but didn't have it mounted then because you couldn't afford it? Wait no longer. Pick a pose from this photo gallery and get that deer to the taxidermist.
But before you do, let's clarify the difference between a pose and a variation. A pose is the position of the neck. Variations are small, detail-oriented options you can have with each pose.
The full-sneak is a very popular pose. A lot of people like it. It's great for those low-hanging ceilings that are 8 feet or less. Pair it with the open-mouth or fleming-nose variation and it looks even better.
The infamous semi-sneak. It's likely the most popular mount pose there is. As a matter of fact, four of my five biggest bucks are mounted in this pose. I love it. It's great getting a semi-sneak with a tilted head. Get it as a right- or left-turn mount depending on which side of the television you want it to go on.
I'm not as fond of this pose as some of the others. But a lot of people like. It makes it look like the deer is alert and paying attention to something. It's a cool pose, for sure.
This is similar to the full-upright, but the head is not quite as high. I really like this position for a wall pedestal with a hard left or right turn. Just looks really good.
Got a corner of the room with nothing in it? Get a full-pedestal mount. They're a little more expensive, but they look good and change things up from some of the more traditional mount poses.
I think of the wall-pedestal as that pose you get once you have several shoulder mounts on the wall. I don't personally have one of these. But if I ever kill a 170-inch deer or better, this'll be the pose.
One variation is the head. You can have it tilted down, raised up, or turned left or right. The head position needs to be decided based on where the mount will hang in your home. Going on the right side of the television? Get a right-hand turn. Going on the left side? Get a left-hand turn. And remember, a head tilted downward makes the antlers look larger. Tilting it up does the opposite.
The ears help tell the story. For a sneak pose, I think one ear forward and one back looks great. For an upright pose, I like both ears forward. Just my preference, though. Get whatever makes you happy.
You have to admit an open-mouth mount is pretty cool. This is another one of those things that will cost a little extra money. That's something to consider when deciding what your mount should look like.
Ol' boy knows she's in estrus. Pretty cool sight in the wild. Pretty cool pose variation for the mount in the living room. Again, it's a little pricier. But it's worth the money if it's what you truly want.
Editor's Note: This was originally published on April 11, 2016.
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