Terrible Turkey Taxidermy and Other Bad Wildlife Mounts

Taxidermy is a wild world full of interesting heritage and traditions. This practice has long been a method for sportsmen to encapsulate memories of hunts long past. It’s more than a dead critter full of foam and fur. For most, it’s a memory.

It’s important to understand there are two ends of the spectrum, though, and each is celebrated by different crowds. Unbeknownst to me, prior to researching this topic, a large crowd of people not only enjoy but also prefer what others might refer to as bad taxidermy. So, there are no negative connotations here; we’re just checking out what the other end of the stuffed critter spectrum has to offer.

Another Michael Pitts special: He captured this beauty descending from its forever roost in a restaurant in Indianapolis. He said this was one of the more interesting finds at the Archery Trade Association (ATA) Show that year.

Bobcats are among the most difficult animals to taxidermize. That may or may not be apparent in this mount. Nonetheless, Michel Pitts had to snap a pic of it at a hunting camp he shared while chasing hogs.

While it isn’t completely clear what this is, it appears to be a bear, wolf or perhaps even a domesticated dog. Bob Pockey, who took a photo of this thing, thinks it’s the latter. According to him, his son thinks it could even be a gargoyle, but who can be sure. Either way, this mount is a cool but creepy representation of the interesting taxidermy world.

While this is actually a fox taken with archery equipment, Gil Lackey’s friends said it looked like the taxidermist crafted a look on its face expressed just before getting hit by a truck. Lackey eventually had a taxidermist fix the eyes and likes it much better now.

Another Gil Lackey contribution: He said this bobcat is famous online, especially in hunting forums. He still receives requests to repost “Scooby” — which is the name the public dubbed him with — quite often. He’s gotten a lot of great laughs throughout the years, and is prominently displayed as the centerpiece at Lackey’s hunting lease cabin. Taken with a rifle in 2007, he says it wasn’t taxidermized the way he wanted it. After waiting for two years to get it back, once he did, it didn’t even have the same spot patterns as the one he’d tagged. He still isn’t completely certain of what happened to it.

Pam Swanner needed a quail mount for the Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic event she attended. She said that when she went to pick it up, it looked quite like a drowned rat. It was missing feathers, in terrible shape, and the photo doesn’t even do it justice. It was beautiful … in its own peculiar way, and the dog agreed. This dog’s owner stood at the booth talking for more than 10 minutes, and the canine never took its eyes off the bird. Quite comical it was.

Erin Cole was walking through a flea market, and couldn’t help but snag a pic of this old deer mount. It’s likely been around for generations, and has certainly aged since its creation. She said they used the feet for coat hangers, or something.

Joe Anderson’s friend used this buck mount as a Halloween prop. He popped out the eyes, used a pink marker on the mouth, and poked coyote teeth in for fangs. Anderson said he was going to cut the horns off and throw it in the trash, but instead, they saved it and added the big googly eyes. Anderson loves the humor that it added.

Lisa Marie spotted this gem at an antique mall, and it is a great specimen. She named it Felix, but its creepy doll friend remains nameless. Marie said they just look perfect together.

This is one of my deer mounts. It’s the ugliest one ever to grace my walls, and in that way, is pretty special. With the antlers coming loose at the base, and glue protruding from the eyes, mouth and nostrils, it’s something to behold. Still, it’s almost lifelike, really, as its hair just seems to keep getting longer, and its cold stare reminds me that I ground him into venison burgers.

Sam Coffey is a taxidermist by trade, but he didn’t do this work. His products land on the other end of the spectrum where the quality stuff is found. Still, he keeps it around to show the differences in the taxidermy spectrum, and this feline is certainly on it somewhere.

This fellow is pretty ancient, and just a tad bit crusty. It might be time for a makeover, and that’s exactly why a customer brought this beauty to Sam Coffey’s shop. He’s going to restore it and bring it back to life.