New Mount Smells. Fixes?
Pronghorn
All:
Just got my archery goat back from the taxi, and it smells like the day I shot him. Trust me, I appreciate the nostalgia, but it's a little pungent for the living room.
I've got a few febreeze scent plug-ins but I wanted to see if anyone has treated the mount itself?
Would prefer not to apply some chemical that dyes the cape :-).
Thanks for your help.
If it smells that bad i would probably take it back to your taxidermist!
Mt Goats should have gone thru a bleach tan ...
There shouldn't be any smells ...
I like the smell of antelope. Brings back good memories. I have a bunch of euro skulls and there is still antelope smell from the horns.
Shot mine in the rut and it smelled for a bit but it went away. Just took this photo. Thx for the reminder of the hunt!!
Ermine X2.
Dang, wishing it was September!!
I had a deer come back from the taxidermist that kind of smelled like puke. It didn't go away in like a week, so I took it back to him and he fixed it. But I don't know what he did.
Dan
I am willing to bet the horn still stink. It takes a while but it will die down or maybe you get used to it. If it does smell I would go back to taxi man and see what he can do first.
It can also be from the sage if you shot him in an area that had a lot of it. Its a very strong smell no doubt. Ive shot a few of them that had the same issue, but it fades pretty fast--not much a taxi should be expected to do with that.
Congrats on the kill!
Scott
I got a dall sheep mount back from a taxidermist and totally freaked out when it smelled super bad..especially during times it was wet and humid outside. I called the taxidermist and he said to mist down the smellier places on the cape lightly with 99% scent killer spray. Let it set for a little while and wipe off the access with a paper towel. It took a couple tries but it finally worked! I was pretty amazed because it was a super strong raunchy smell.
I'm confused, are u talking about a mountain goat or a pronghorn antelope?
The smell of sage, you can't beat it. I always put some in a ziplock bag and bring it home to put in a bowl.
There should not be any odor coming from the mount. The smell is highly likely coming from one if not both problematic spots on antelope. If your taxidermist is competent there is no smell. First spot is the horn cores not properly removed and cleaned. The second spot is usually the "cheek" gland not removed when the cape was skinned and prepped. The gland is hidden under the skin buried in the hide that the tan doesn't penetrate and it later starts to rot and cause odor.
Powder nailed it. Exactly what I was thinking. How many antelope has your taxidermist done? I'd take it back and see if he can get another cape.
Powder is spot on. I always remove the cheek glands and clean the horn sheaths and the horn core properly. Will not smell if these two things are done properly and if it is tanned correctly. Did your taxi wet tan, synthetic tan, alum tan, or use a dry preservative? I would find out about the cleaning of the horns and what tanning method was used.
I agree with the last 3 also. None of mine have ever had an odor.
If your mount stinks so does your taxidermist
Get close to the black cheek patches - you may already know, but this is where the scent glands mentioned are - and take a whiff. If it smells extremely strong at the source, my bet is the scent gland wasn't removed.
But also, if the horn sheaths weren't removed from the cores, that could be the problem.
At the least, I would contact your taxidermist and explain the situation, or maybe first maybe ask how many antelope he has mounted. Then expand and ask if he removed the cheek glands thoroughly, and removed the horns from the cores. If he is honest, you will find out what the problem may be.
When I mount antelope, first I like to keep it for an extra two to four weeks to let any smell dissipate, because even when done properly, it will have a slight smell. But like I said, the smell does go away if done properly.
If you do find out that it was done properly, hit it with some febreeze. If it was done wrong, then your only recourse is to find a good taxidermist and have it remounted, which will require a new cape.
I don't know what your method of choosing a taxidermist was, but around home, most, even those who can afford quality, choose the cheapest route, with no concern for quality, at least that is, until they get something home and it looks, or in your case, smells like, well, in a nice way of saying it, what they paid for. Good luck.
Other than the ridiculous comments about "if your mount stinks, so does your taxidermist" thanks for your input.
To clarify, the mount is a pronghorn. The scent is not coming directly from the glands. The horns are definitely the source. The rest of the cape has an antelope smell to it, but I'll use the 99% scent killer.
Jonas brothers in Denver did an amazing job with the mount.
Chasewild I will agree with you on this one. It is not because the Taxidermist sucks. Jonas Brothers has been around since the early 1900's and do great work. That said it is most likely the tannery they used. I know a few years ago they used a tannery in south eastern Colorado and recommended this tannery to me. I only used them one season because of the weird odor in the capes. They actually did a great job on the tanning but the smell was too much for me. You are not smelling the musk of the Antelope , its one of the chemicals used in the tanning process. Deer capes smell the same from this tannery, if it's the same tannery Jonas used.
If Mark Daniels is still the studio manager I would call him. He could most likely point you in the right direction to knock down the smell. Hope this helps.
There you go CObowhunter -- that's what I was looking for. Thanks sir.
Chase I am sorry you found my comments ridiculous but I still strongly believe that there is no acceptable reason whatsoever that quality taxidermist would allow a mount to leave his premisis as a finished product to be delivered to a client in a condition where it smelled.
there is no reason not to address that prior to calling the job complete.
A customer should not have to go online to figure out how to solve a problem that shoddy service resulted in. You won't not take your car to a body shop, get home and still see a scratch or dent, and then go online to ask how to fix it. you would address it with the body shop.
my comments my be ridiculous to you, but to me it is ridiculous to accept second class work. if all mounts smelled, or all antelope mounts smelled, that would be a different issue..........they don't..........in fact i type this from my home office desk with two pronghorn mounts less than four feet from my right and left shoulders off to the side of my desk and i can assure you they are aroma-free.
Get the guy to fix it whether to source is horns, glands, eyelashes, or the tanning chemicals. that is the job of the guy you entrusted the work to..........unless of course you agreed up front that a little stink would be fine.
You could find a restoration service that has a commercial Ozone generator. Place the mount it a large tote and run the generator in it. Ozone is a strong deodorizer. I have seen them used to eliminate smoke smell from houses that have had fires and personally used one to deodorize a camper that had a strong odor. I know a service that uses them to deodorize hockey equipment that were very rank! It might help.
I cant add anything to the conversation regarding the odor but nice looking animal and mount Chasewild.
Jonas is about the best you can use, they are pricey but they will also custom modify your pose for their stated prices.
Antelope horns often stink for several weeks, most likely you got called and picked it up immediately.
Wait a few weeks and they will not smell much at all unless you put your nose near the horns.
My last buck I had done with beetles and the boiled, cleaned horn sheaths smelled for a period of time.
Nice pronghorn! I had one mounted a few years ago that still had a bit of odor to it that dissipated in a few weeks. I would probably give it a little time before you go rushing back to your taxidermist. Mine wasn't rank or anything, but if I was within about three feet of it, I could smell that it was indeed a pronghorn. My wife wasn't super thrilled about it being in our living room, but the smell went away after a few weeks. Just consider it the smell of success for now. =)
THe smell has already dissipated significantly. It's definitely the horns and although it was strong at first, its currently perfect :-)
My mount smelled for a short period of time but dissipated pretty quickly. Can't smell it at all now.
Glad to hear it is better already. Great looking mount, congrats.
tobinsghost, that thing is a hog, wow.
Had I known it was a Jonas Brothers mount, I would have just said hit it with some febreeze, or some other deodorizer. They definitely do good work, and the only thing that makes sense is that it needed a few more days or even weeks of dry time.
Antelope are probably the loudest in terms of smell, followed by elk. I can't really think of any other animal with such a distinguishable odor as these two.
When you mentioned odor, and didn't mention who did it, my first thought was, whoever did it, had never mounted one before. But adding the taxidermist certainly cleared up that question.
Very nice mount by the way.
Mine stank for six months or so, but I just let time take care of the problem.
(Yes, I'm single! :) )
Mine had a light odor when I got it back but it went away in a few weeks.
I had an antelope mounted in 2001. It stunk and after waiting a couple weeks I called the taxi who was well known and has done hundreds of antelope. Their response was it just smells like an antelope and they wouldn't do anything. Tried lots of sprays and such but nothing worked. It has hung in my garage ever since and still stinks on warm humid days.
