Murray holding styrofoam mannequin
Mounted Deer & Antelope
Nice Fish Catch
Pheasants 
Snowy Owl (Female) This is our 4th visit to North Dakota, and each time we catch up with friends Avalyn & Wes. We have spent 2 of the last 3 weeks mainly with them. Wes has been involved with the art of taxidermy since he was about 16 years old – and although he ran a dairy for many years, for the past 20 years he only has his taxidermy business. I know I posted photos from his taxidermy shop on the blog a few years back, but last night I took some more photos. It is amazing to see deer, antelope, owls, fish, coyotes, pheasants and numerous other animals that either he or Avalyn have hunted, and are now preserved on his walls. Thousands of other mounts adorn the walls of homes and businesses of his customers around the country.
Murray spent a few hours watching Wes prepare a fish for mounting. I preferred to just ask a few questions about the process with a big animal like a deer. I won’t go into the details here in case some of you are a bit squeamish, but it was very interesting for me to learn something new. The top photo shows a deer manniquin, which is what the original skin from the animal is draped over. Wes is becoming more selective now, and he doesn’t take orders to mount elk or bear any more, preferring to stick to the smaller mounts such as deer, antelope, fish & pheasants. One of the photos I will include is of a Snowy Owl – you can’t shoot or keep them anymore as they are protected, but this one was mounted back in the 60’s. Apparently the owls usually live in Alaska, and feed on small rodents, but sometimes they come further south in winter when Alaska rodents are snowed in…they are hard to see against the background of snow in North Dakota winters, but this one being female was unlucky. The males are pure white and very hard to spot.
Hunting is a big business here in North Dakota and many other American states. It is a culture started when parents (usually fathers) take their children out hunting from an early age, and then as the child grows up, he/she perpetuates the culture. Hunting stores are very popular – they are to most men what a Christmas Tree shop is to me!
Murray spent a few hours watching Wes prepare a fish for mounting. I preferred to just ask a few questions about the process with a big animal like a deer. I won’t go into the details here in case some of you are a bit squeamish, but it was very interesting for me to learn something new. The top photo shows a deer manniquin, which is what the original skin from the animal is draped over. Wes is becoming more selective now, and he doesn’t take orders to mount elk or bear any more, preferring to stick to the smaller mounts such as deer, antelope, fish & pheasants. One of the photos I will include is of a Snowy Owl – you can’t shoot or keep them anymore as they are protected, but this one was mounted back in the 60’s. Apparently the owls usually live in Alaska, and feed on small rodents, but sometimes they come further south in winter when Alaska rodents are snowed in…they are hard to see against the background of snow in North Dakota winters, but this one being female was unlucky. The males are pure white and very hard to spot.
Hunting is a big business here in North Dakota and many other American states. It is a culture started when parents (usually fathers) take their children out hunting from an early age, and then as the child grows up, he/she perpetuates the culture. Hunting stores are very popular – they are to most men what a Christmas Tree shop is to me!
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