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What recourse do you have??

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Not much you can do except try to get the guy to fix it or refund part of the cost and take it somewhere else.
 

Just 1 More

Junior Member
796
0
I can tell you I will NEVER use or recommend Hershberger Wildlife 37657 Butcher Rd, Leetonia, OH 44431.. SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!
 

Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
I wouldn't take anything to a guy with the last name Hershberger. Let me guess, he charged you an arm and a leg also.
 

Just 1 More

Junior Member
796
0
Doesn't look all that bad until you really start looking,,,, The ears are all white inside with no color contrast, the nose has no pink inside and only one color,, the neck is square going in to the jawbone area,,,
.

 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,855
260
SW Ohio
WOW!!!!! Sorry to see and hear this!!! I'd definitely let him know how disappointed you are and see if he can make it right one way or another.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
wow. great buck/antlers thats a bad mount. Looks like the buck was on roids! Overall you need to talk to him!
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Wonder if he's part of the group that sold DVDs at the Expo one year. It was as bad as UglyFudgePackers rabbit hunting videos. Sucks to see man. Not a fair deal for a great buck.
 

Carpn

*Supporting Member*
2,234
87
Wooster
I had a bad experience with a buck mount from the 2013 season with Evans taxidermy . It was a shame cause he'd done a previous mount for me as well as a couple for my brother .
My father in law picked it up , I was amazed when I got home and saw it . I'll never take him another , and wouldn't recommend him. I've since taken stuff elsewhere .
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Sorry you're not happy with it, but I've seen worse. Some taxi's are better than others and that's all there is to it. IMO there's two ways to approach this... 1. You didn't do a good enough job looking over his former work and you shouldn't ask for money back, or 2. You did check his other stuff and it looked good but he still managed to fuck yours up, in which case yea you should ask for some money back.

There are also taxi's out there nowadays that openly produce two "grades" of work... One is their economy grade and is usually cheap, bare-bones, quick and dirty mount... And the other is competition grade, which of course costs you more money because they spend more time on the fine details of the mount.

I know none of this helps your current situation but at this point it is what it is. It flat out sucks. I've been there. You look forward to getting it back and then you're disappointed. Live and learn I guess. On the bright side, you can take comfort in knowing that there are FAR worse shoulder mounts out there. I'm willing to bet most people would look at yours and say it looks fantastic. Remember, us guys that eat breath and sleep this stuff are the only ones that usually notice the flaws in the detail of a mount. Most average Joes wouldn't have a clue.
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Jim's middle paragraph is spot on about two grades of work. That's why one local taxi lost our work. In 2004, my dad killed a 167" 10 that won a free mount in his competition for being the biggest typical brought to his shop. He wanted to use it in competitions and it's a great mount. The next year, dad shot a 130" 9 and naturally, we took it to the same guy. That mount is almost comically bad. I've talked to other guys who have experienced the same thing with this guy. Take him an exceptional buck, get exceptional work. Take him an average buck and get average (or subpar) work. Also, I've heard of guys doing their best work for return clients and sandbagging on people they don't know.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Also let them know upfront that you know what you're looking at. I take pictures and take them with me, find close-up shots on the Internet of eyes, ears, nose, mouth, neck detail etc. Then I show them all to the taxi and tell them what I want. This lets them know I know what I'm looking at and I have certain expectations.

From here you can gauge their reaction. If a taxi acts so busy that he can't spend 10 minutes talking to me about a mount, he's not going to spend the extra 10 minutes making sure something is perfect.

He may just see how picky you are and decided it's not worth it. That's fine. A good taxi wouldn't blink an eye at your request.

There are also two very different types of mounts. There are competition or show quality mounts. And there are more natural mounts. Look at it like a woman with and without makeup. I have one from a taxidermist just north of me who is now out of business due to a divorce. That buck would be at home on any competition show floor. He looks regal sitting up there on the wall. But you would be hard-pressed to find a deer that naturally pretty in the wild. He spent a lot of time with an airbrush around the eyes, nose, lips, ears, smoothing out the coat, clipping stray hairs poking up etc.

Then I have one from the taxidermist Rick and Ron uses. This deer is more natural. Denny did a fantastic job on every aspect. The deer looks just as he did when I picked up his head in the field for the first time.

I like both mounts. Both are done perfect for what they are. A dolled up runway model and your all natural woman.
 

Ohiosam

*Supporting Member*
11,708
191
Mahoning Co.
I know Glenn Hershberger, I've seen his work. While most I've seen were ok, there's better in the area. This is the worst I've seen from him. Not making excuses for him but with Stuff-n-snuff getting put out of business by the ODNR I wonder if Glenn took on too much work and let his quality slip?

Have you expressed your concerns to Glenn? What was his response?

If you want a great taxidermist in the area go to Dale Wilhelm in East Palestine. Or Jin Lynch in New Springfield.
 
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