Some bucks only come around once. Get him right.
Owner-operated whitetail studio in Fresno, Ohio, in the heart of Ohio’s number one deer county. He should look exactly like he did the second before you saw him. That takes good forms, good eyes, good ear systems, and the time to use them properly.Shoulder, pedestal and backpack mounts, with the time to get the details right.
Send a photo, where you’re hunting, and when you can drop off. I text back the same day. Drop-offs are by appointment.
Natural, clean, and true to the animal.
Three finished mounts. Judge the eyes, the ears and the nose before you judge the antlers.
Five places to look before you look at the antlers.
This is how I judge my own work. It’s also how you should judge anyone’s. Tap a marker.
- Eyes that look back
Correct depth, a horizontal pupil, an eyelid that follows the eye and a tear duct with real shape. Bubble eyes or a stare that follows you around the room mean the eye is set too shallow.
- Ears with muscle behind them
Ears sit where the buck carried them and the ear butt is rebuilt so there is mass at the base. Wrinkled, papery or drumming ears mean rushed liner work.
- A nose that looks wet
Deep nostrils, a soft gray-pink interior and a dark brown pad with a sheen. Flat charcoal black is paint doing the job of detail work.
- A neck that matches the pose
A sneak has a relaxed neck. An alert buck has tension in the brisket. The form is altered to your deer’s measurements rather than picked off a shelf.
- No seam you can find
Hair patterns lined up along the back of the neck so the incision disappears, and no thin spots where hide was stretched over a form that was too big.
If something isn’t right when you pick him up, I’m not done.
Posted up front. No surprises at pickup.
Three mounts, three numbers, tax already in. Half at drop-off, the rest when you pick him up.
The classic. Upright, semi-sneak or sneak.
Stands on its own. Shows the neck and brisket.
The pedestal look, on the wall.
The mount starts in the field.
The best cape care in the world can’t fix hair that slipped in a warm truck bed. Three things to do tonight, and the full guide is one tap away.
- Don’t cut the throat.
A downed deer doesn’t need to bleed out, and a throat cut ruins the cape.
- Leave more cape than you think.
Cut around the body at the middle of the ribcage. Extra hide is easy to trim. Missing hide can’t be replaced.
- Get it cold, fast.
Over 40 degrees, you have a couple of hours. Heat makes hair slip, and slipped hair never comes back.
Every buck that comes through my shop is somebody’s story.
I started hunting at eleven, learning from my grandfather and my uncle in the hills of Coshocton County. I understand that what you bring me is a lot more than a set of antlers. It’s a hunt, a memory, time spent with family, and usually a story that’s going to be told for a long time. My job is to make the mount worthy of the story.
Ready when your buck is.
Text a photo, tell me where you are, and I’ll take it from there. Drop-offs are by appointment so your buck gets my full attention when he comes through the door.
- Text
- (740) 202-2290Fastest. Photos welcome.
- nobeltaxidermy@gmail.com
- Studio
- Fresno, Ohio 43824Coshocton County. Address shared when we set your appointment.
- Hours
- By appointmentEvenings and weekends in season.