Show us your bird mounts....
 

Wild Kansas rooster, Potter county P.A. woodcock, and Big mature P.A. grouse. I have a nice 4 quail mount I need to get photos of, will add them. SXS ohio

some great pictures i really like that snipe....charlie

Me too Charlie... ;)




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Fred Bishop, who is something of a legend in certain circles in Essex County, Massachusetts, for a number of hunting accomplishments, some of public knowledge, some private - and who is a good friend of mine - shot his 100th ruffed grouse back in the late '60's and decided to have it mounted. He had never mounted any of his numerous waterfowl, trophy fish of all species, whitetail bucks, woodcock, bobcats, or anything he ever trapped.... but he had such a respect for ruffed grouse and he never shot one out of a tree or on the ground, only ever "shooting-flying", that he had his 100th mounted. When he got it back from the taxidermist he was so mad he just stuck it in a dark place in a back corner basement because the taxidermist mounted it on the ground and Fred was so insulted he never wanted to display it, so it just sat there for these many decades gathering dust.

I may take it to Scotty to see if he can clean it up...


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that bird has had a rough life maybe they can clean him up some....charlie

Cockbird from a few years ago.
Click twice to enlarge.

Is that a snipe or woodcock?

I would say woodcock

;)




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Here’s a few of mine

Here are a few from years ago when I was a youngster

Birddogdoc...your grouse looks ticked off, like you were spying on him drumming or something. (-:

Here are a few, my DD Milo (God rest his sole) ate some of my better ones when he was a puppy.

Latest, ringneck duck

The Sharptail is the first I ever shot in ND over my Lab Tessie. I can still visualize the flush, shot and retriever. The Woodie came from our marsh, a year in which we had hundreds stay right up to a hard freeze. Retrieved by Lab Lucy her first year hunting.

My first double on Mearns quail. 2014. His and Hers on a crosser left to right. him first. Taken with "Connie" my 1902 DH 20 bore 28" DT splinter 0 frame (current cover photo with bobwhites). Remember it like it was yesterday!:)

The luckiest shot I ever made on a grouse was this one. I asked Scott Kittredge to mount it for me and he did a really nice job.

Before and after pics. Taken with Rr. Admiral Thomas Perry's 20 gauge 28" Damascus DH.

I was hunting with Cam and my brother-in-law, Jamie. Jamie was out of sight in the alders over a rise from me when I heard two shots and a loud 'expletive' and this grouse came up out of the alders with its afterburners on at about 35 - 40 yards and high. I naturally swung on the bird and touched the rear trigger and the bird folded and plummeted.

Scott told me there were no pellet holes in the bird but there was a sharp bruise at the base of its skull. A lucky shot to be sure!

Just like a little chip off a clay target.... I'll take it!


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New Hampshire woods bird, 23 Lbs, before and after:)

Snipe

My second favorite bird to hunt. My Dad used to say you have to shoot snipe “between the squawk and the poop”! Those that have not been out shooting this unusual little bird should know that Snipe are truly invisible on the ground...when they flush, they make a little croaky squawky sound and climb straight up, at Apollo V vertical speed, to a height usually about 25’, then shed weight by pooping at the apex, before taking off at millemium falcon hyper-drive speed, changing course about every 3 feet, up, down, left and right...

What a great bird, I think I will get one mounted next season!

Ware do you hunt snipe? Any in Ohio,...salt water birds?, shore birds? Sounds like big fun to gun them.

Wet lowland fields and marshes along the shores of lakes like Eire and big rivers.





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Posted for our own Scott Kittredge. These are his birds that he mounted himself.

Kansas quail mount
 

This mount is of birds from 2011. This was the first hunting season for my Gordon setter puppy at 9 months...RUBY she is now 8 years old and now a pro at Kansas quail. In my mount two birds were from the covey rise, a true double, one we followed up and the 4th bird was from the covey flush described in my first post that Steve had flushed. These are all hen birds by chance. Gunned with a Parker Reproduction with Merkel 28" 16ga barrels...(-: The deer sculls are from the same trip found in our Kansas hunting areas. The mount cost me 300.00 Real bargain... SXS ohio

Kenny, nice mount!
Did you change the chokes in those 16 gauge barrels? I remember you said they were “death on Kansas pheasants” a few years ago.





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NO...they are Mod/ X-full I shoot 4-s and 5-s and I miss few quail for the most part...(-: I have only lost one bird that got shot up and it flew right at me....)-: SXS Ohio

I have only ever mounted one bird - the one I showed earlier in this thread.

These are my very first longbeard and an early grouse, but I don't remember if it was a significant one.

They were both taken in full view of the ridge "Toot Hill" in the sunrise picture between them in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom.

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The problem with taxidermy is it does not stand up well to age. Maybe really well ones do. I have the snipe shown above and a deer. I also have a Diamondback rattlesnake skin that I am getting framed in order to preserve it. I will post pictures when done. It was 6 feet long and had four fangs. The head with the fangs are still in the science lab at my old school as of a few years ago.

Rattlesnakes typically have at least several sets of "ready to go" fangs in reserve, behind the ones currently in use. They can replace broken or worn fangs in pretty short order, and it is not real uncommon to see a snake with three exposed fangs, but I have never seen four fully exposed fangs. This has gotten many dog handlers in trouble over the years, as they unknowingly would "de fang" a rattler to use for snake training, not knowing that within a few hours, that snake may have replaced the broken off fang, and is again fully functional.

We use either surgical staples, or a couple of cable ties, to secure the business end of the snake for aversion training.

here are a few "in waiting" from a few years ago.

That is what we learned.

definitely need more bird mounts in my office...

Not a Parker bird yet a 12 gauge Thompson Center New Englander muzzleloader kill. Mounted by noted Atlantic salmon carver Gene Bahr of Sebago. Very memorable hunt, was the last of eight gobblers called in that fine May morning in the early 1990s and all eight were passed on by my hunting buddy Ed because he wanted to see me smoke one!

Here are a few birds that are not exactly what might be considered mounts but a wonderful 2 framed displays I found in an antique store.
I was told these are over 100 years old and they still look nice.
Using water colors and actual feathers they make a wonderful display.
I hope to find an artist to help me do some Mearns quail this coming year.

A brace
 

A pair of mergansers I shot and mounted.

Nice props Scott!





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good mount scott.....charlie

Lesser Prairie Chickens
 

These Lesser Prairie Chickens are the cousins of the more common Greater Prairie Chickens. They are smaller, faster, and more grey than the browns of the Greater Prairie Chickens.Sadly, they no longer have a season.

Western NC Grouse
 

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Look at the red tails. Never seen that on a dark gray brown bodied bird.

Beautiful red-brown tails - magnificent!

That phase is incredibly rare where I hunt. I’ve only taken one with a red rail, a cock with big irridescant chestnut ruffs that I wanted to have mounted but something made off with it in the night. Very sad about that.





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