Hey guys,
Got my antelope back from the taxidermist and I'm almost sure the cape is different on the mounted one. Any of you 'experts' out there think I'm crazy? Anyone think these are from the same animal? Let me know your opinions.....

Dont look like the same to me, the tan strip trough the white on the real one, is not there on the mount. Nice mount though. Great pics.

Toby Joe

Yep, different cape.

Different capes. In addition to the neck stripe, the one in the photo has more black running between the eyes and the base of the horns.

But the horns look like they are the same.

looks the same to me....yeah the tan strip is missing but I still
think it's the same goat.His neck is much more stretched out
on the mount than the pic.

I agree with Jeff. look at the pyramid of white in the lower area. It's the same on both. I think the top white stripe is just stretched on the mount. A nice mount either way. Hey you should have seen the shock on my face when my first caribou mount arrived. I shot it in the velvet. When I opened the crate and saw those tiny antlers I freaked out thinking they were not mine.

Stetson,
Did you ask your taxidermist to keep the velvet on?? I would be upset if that was the case. I just see a bunch of differences on the capes, so its nice to get some response about it....

It is without question a different cape. The tan strip would be visible on the mount no matter how it was mounted and the original cape had a MUCH darker face. Despite the cape change (any number of things could have been wrong with the original) it is a very nice mount.

No I wanted the velvet off. I was just unprepared for how different it looked with it gone. I had taken velvet off other caribou antlers that were not mine but seeing the mass with the animal alive Vs the mass with the velvet gone was a shocker. Your goat looks great. A hunt I hope to do in the near future.

Ranger,
Yea I like the mount and the work is done good other than there is a 4" stitch mark showin on the brisket with staples that show. The taxidermist claims this is due to 'bad-caping' and thats when I started lookin closer. It would not be a problem to have a different cape except for the ugly seam that I now get to look at. Not sure of any problems with my cape and I would certainly want my taxidermist to let me know if there were before switching it out (with a faulty cape). Looks like I might have a bit of a battle over this one, so I'm just takin some polls to make sure I'm not crazy for pushin this issue.

That don't sound right! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

If there were cape issues he is blaming on you do you believe he would absorb the cost of a new cape?
art

Stetson,
Antelope hunts are great fun and definatly worth doin one day if you've never experienced them. Nothing better than spotting animals all day, choosing the 'perfect' animal and just playin around in the sage and cactus....

I think that is a different cape. Unless there was a hole in the white patch that he had to cut out, they look different. The horizontal tan stripe is not as thick between the white parts, and the vertical tan strip separating the white section is gone.

I'm thinking that's just the angle of the photo. Did you inspect him that close in the field? I mean was the stripe really solid or was the fur just pushed a bit. Goat hair is so stiff they shouldn't be able to move it much. To me the rest of it looks identical and like Art suggested unless the guy is a screwball why would he swing for a new hide and then blame poor caping on you? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> The staples are a bummer but maybe he thought they would show less than stitching.

Sitka,
If there were cape issues on MY cape I would want him to let me know so I could decide whether or not to put a new cape on the mount. I would gladly pay for a new cape if I had promlems with my original. He did not tell me of any cape issues and the cape doesnt even look to be mine. Makes me wonder if there was anything wrong with my cape to begin with, and if so, why did he use a cape that was damaged? I just smell something funny and I think he took a shortcut and used a different cape (it just happened to be a bad one). Nothing worse than being blamed for a mistake when it doesnt even seem to be YOUR mistake.....

I am a taxidermist, and he should of inspected the cape when prepping and notified you of any problems. And, I can tell you...I wouldn't eat the cost of a replacement cape. Sometimes capes come back from the tannery damaged beyond use, but even then he should of told you, and charged you for a new one.

Stetson,
I do have several other pics but not on the computer right now. I'll have to wait till I get home and get some more but they all seem to look the same. So far my 'points' would be:
1: The top throat patch doesnt have the brown in it.
2: The neck patch on the mounted animal comes a lot closer than the neck patch on the field photo. (The white is closer)
3: The face and the dark hair seems to be a bit different in shape around the eyes and cheek.
4: The ears look to be a bit different in the black on them.
5: I dont think I made that big of a mistake caping, as I've caped several animals in the past
6: Overal, there is more 'white' on the cape and he told me he did not die anything on purpose.

Meh....makes for interesting conversation.....

Any hide can get damaged in the tanning process. One would hope that it would be repaired to a degree that it would not be visible. I see what you mean with the dark around the eyes. What a pizzer.

I think you missed my point. If the cape WERE your mistake I believe the taxidermist would have charged you for the replacement. I believe the cape was switched, mostly because of the amount of black above and behind the eyes.

White patches get stretched all over the place and are not reliable.
art

Yea I would hope that I would be contacted and told to buy a new cape if it was damaged. I would gladly buy a new one than deal with a stitch mark.....

Thanks for all the great responses guys.....I really appreciate some conversation about this. It looks like the taxidermist is saying its not different and it might turn into a sloppy battle......this will be my second bad deal with a taxidermist....

Most likely the hides got switched around during tanning or the guy was doing more than one goat at a time and he's not very organized. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Here is a link to another picture of my buck. Its not the greatest but it helps a bit. Its not sized right either and I'm on dialup so I just left the link for ya to look.
2005 Antelope Side Pic

I think I've got another 20 at home and they all seem to point in the same direction. Thanks again guys!

From the side view the black looks more like the mount. Put me in the undecided box.

There is no way to close that tan gap on a mount without some VERY high quality patching. Unless you can feel stitches in the neck in that location I will bet the farm that the cape is a replacement. I've mounted quite a few antelope and will tell you that it is not possible that the tan gap was closed in any other way.

Ranger,
He told me there were no patch jobs or dyeing to the cape, so thats what tipped me off. Where in NE Montana are you? I live in SE Alberta and am down there quite a bit. Some really good antelope hunting down there for sure....

Well its a heck of a nice speed goat either way. Where did you get him?

Stetson,
Got him in Alberta. It takes us residents anywhere from 3-6 years to draw a tag here but there are some nice ones. I passed up some bigger ones looking for a nicely shaped one. This was my first and I'm pretty happy. I think I'll head to Wyoming one day for a hunt as I've heard some really good things about it.

No kiddin ! I honestly didn't know they had them there. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

We actually have some nice antelope hunting up here. Our bucks are usually nice and heavy and score pretty well. In the area I live there were a few 80"+ bucks taken and always seem to have some good trophies around. A few outfitters hunt up here as well and do really good. Our populations arent the best as we're on the northern range of antelope.
Now our deer on the other hand......monsters.....heh

You do indeed have a different cape. Yours is not the first report of such a happening, and it's simply an indication of sloppy tagging, poor record keeping, and careless work. The issue could probably be rectified if the taxidermist truly wishes to straighten things out. Obviously a $ loss for the taxidermist to swap things out if he can indeed run down the where abouts of the original. If he is truly concerned with quality and his image, he would most likely insist that things come back. Given that he attempted otherwise, I doubt he will pursue that route voluntarily. Swapping things out will most likely involve more damage depending on how well the units were glued together. If things can not be straightened out, then I would strongly argue for at least a 50% price break. Sad, because it puts a blight on an otherwise pleasant experience.

1Minute,
Thats the whole problem. It felt so good to be going to get my antelope and now its just a damper on such a great experience.....

Rackmastr: The best thought train might be to just live and let live. Even if things were rectified, your unpleasant dealings will always be in the memory banks and surface with each look at the mount. Switching out the pieces might generate even more problems. The real prize was the experience, and no one can ever take that. The mount is just one of the mementoes. I know lots of fishermen that are happy with a fiberglass replica of the proper dimensions hanging on the wall. You do at least have the original horns. I could probably sleep and forgive if the taxidermist would at least acknowledge the mistake and offer an apology. As plentiful as pronghorn are, few in north America on a percentage basis, ever get to tag one. You have indeed been lucky from that standpoint. That seems like a silly concept to one that might live in Wyoming. If that's you in the photo, you don't appear to be over the hill yet, so another opportunity might still come your way. With one under the belt, the pressure will be off, and you can try to go larger next time. I took one in 1995 after almost 20 years of applying. With our Oregon preference point system in place now, I should be in line for another in 2006 or 7. The wife has two, both of which are substantially larger than mine. I like to think that no one takes their hunting and fishing more seriously than I, and I can imagine that my temper and emotions would be all over the place too. I am getting old though, and do find I am a bit more forgiving. Time, family, and experiences are becoming the real values in life. Things that I view as treasures will quite likely be thrown out after I buy the farm. Take care, and I hope things iron out one way or another. 1Minute

Thats common around here....I've had a few recaped after inhereting a old mount...then again he could have ruined yours and replaced it with as close pattern as he could..either way you got a nice mount...

Who did the work? You got screwed on several fronts.

Chuck

Chuck,
Hey I'm keepin it quiet and not sharing his name until I deal with him in person. I'll be seein him tomorrow and we'll see how things go. If he's good about it, I'll keep quiet, but if things go downhill, I'll be glad to share his name.....
Is that you in the elk pic?????

It is.

If it doesn't, I know a world class taxidermist in the SW corner of the Province that will get er done right. He won't be quick and he won't be cheap, but it will be a work of art when he's done. I wish I had mine to photograph for you, but he's hanging at the folks while I'm in transition.

Chuck

Chuck,
Sounds good I'll let ya know what happens with it.
Trev

Chuck - What is it that you feel is poorly done on the mount by looking at those pics? Aside from the different cape, which isn't as nice as the original and was poorly cared for, I can't see problem #1 for a commercial game head mount (referring only to technique and not the fact that the guy screwed up with the cape situation).

Any mount that has exposed stitching.............................

Agreed - I thought you were saying that it didn't look good in the pics and I'd have to say it doesn't look bad at all from what I can see.

Hey guys,

My wife would like me to throw our two cents in. She is no hunter, or judge of Mounts or fallen game, but on this she thinks she is. She says without a doubt that is a different cape. She mentions the white pattern on the neck how it don't match up from game to mount. I will add that the darkness of the nose and eye/forehead area don't matchup either.
I agree this is not the same cape as the goat you killed. Too many differences.

If I may guess, you probably took it to a guy who said it would be back to you in 6 months or less. Am I correct?
Most taxidermists that say that usually have different capes coming in at different times of the year, or are very slow business wise.
My taxidermist is kinda busy and says to expect it in 12 months or so. From him I know all my capes are the same and that I get my original. If he would tell me 6 months, with as busy as he can get I would get suspicious.

Different for sure.
Enrique