Contributors to this thread:
Just got my cat mount back last week. It sure looks fine to me.
Looks like he just saw a ghost, eyes aren't right. The ears should be laid back, not forward. Also, his claws shouldn't be out when sitting relaxed, they only use their claws to climb or catch prey.
I agree, doesn't look right to me... But then again I ain't no expert! If you like it that's all that matters
I didn't want to be the one to say it when I saw it earlier. Like Juan, if you like it, that is all that matters!
I like it but the eyes do throw it off a bit,you might want to talk with the taxi.and see if he can fix them.
glad you are pleased with it.
nice animal
Congrats on a nice, big cat! I'm guessing Phil Soucy didn't do this one.
I like the idea behind that pose, even with the habitat it doesn't take up to much space. Nice.
I was thinking the same thing blg, makes it antler size for the wall instead of having to choose between the mount and the love seat.
Intense Face--nice!!
Congrats
Good luck, Robb
Cougar's make a great addition to a trophy room. Perhaps I'll get one someday too. Congrats!
Looks good to me.
Here's my taxi with another good one.
Busta the cat is nice but the mulie in the background is badly botched.
Yea, he sucks on deer.
I struggled for a long time with the decision to let my local guy do my cat or let Phil Soucey do it.
I'm thankful it turned out ok.
Busta, I'm biting my tongue, which is what that cat looks like he just did.
Britfan,
Congrats on your cat. If you think it looks fine to you, thats all that matters.
Busta...that cat looks like you just goosed it...maybe thats why yer smilin'
Looks like you have an excellent mount my friend!
Ole thumper
Here is another pic of my cat right after the kill.
Congrats...
Busta....Jims work is really coming along huh?....LOL
Puuuuttt phone dowwwwwn.... Must hold back comment.
with a mount you know when you glance at it if it is right or not. you have a nice cat there and the pose is especially unique. the at a glance" test though comes up lacking.
aside from the eyes (which are just not properly done) and the claws (which are unnaturally displayed intentionally to accentuate them) as noted above why did he paint the nose black???. compare the nose pigmentation to your trophy photo or any other photo of a lion or a properly done mount. seriously...you have every right to have a heart to heart with the taxidermist and have some "edits" made to that mount. he may not be able to correct the eyes (or he would have done them correctly in the first place) or the claws, but the nose can readily be corrected.
think of it this way...........if you got a deer mount back, or a bear mount back, and it had a pink nose what would you do?
Figured I'd put my crapy cat mount in too. Spoke w/my taxi, and he used hide glue so he couldn't fix anything. I should have listened to the guide, "cat's are different, take it to a guy who knows how to do cat's.". Just too cheap to spend $3500 on mount. Cat's have heavy brows over the eyes, not bulging like mine.
one nice lookin cougar mount! (but which one? not sayin' ;-)
BustaR, you're kidding right? Award goes to Forest Bows so far.
Bou'bound u r right on about the nose but the rest I think is great. The ears seem to be in the right position as per the kill photo and the claws extended are for effect I believe. The pose on my cat is definitely not relaxed as some would suggest.
it looks great, just one thing i did not like is the eyes, they look off little bit, especially his left eye... Here is mine.
All that matters is if the owner of the mount is happy. If the taxi used hide paste then he could put a wet towl on the eyes and then adjust as needed. Cats are one of the toughest animals to make realistic IMHO.
Other than the eyes I think it looks cool. I like the pose, one I have not seen before. The eyes just slightly throw it off.
I don't know why everybody says that a Cougar is the hardest thing to mount.
These things all look good to me.
Here is another angle of my trophy.
Wait til you guys see my bighorn mount.
britfan, as long as you are happy with it, then that is all that matters.
Here are a couple pics from the last one Mr. Soucy did for me.
Rob, that pig looks fantastic!
Britfan, first of all congrats on your cat. You have a magnificant trophy there and I hope you have a lot of great memories from your hunt.
Nobody is trying to take away from your accomplishment but some of the comments about certain parts of the anatomy of your mount are correct. It may be that your taxidermist is able to rehydrate and correct some of the face.
Here's a couple more cats to give you some reference.
I think changing the color of the eyes, a little darker will solve the wide open look, at least tone it down. I like the mount but the wide eye look is throwing it off.
I like the mount but the eyes are off to me... Just a little too big. When ever I have a cat/predator I want mounted I find someone who specializes in them. the faces are just hard to get right...
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/elks/lio3.jpg[/IMG]
Here's mine scare the crap out of my weinner dog when she noticed it
Beachtree, can you post some more pic's of your mount. And who mounted it??
That's one hell of a mount!! I see it won some ribons??
THis is the link to Phil Soucy who is generally regarded as the best "cat" man in the world.
Cougar mounts START at $4,100
Busta, your killin me here!!! haha.
Beach tree, Great mount! I really like that one and looks like quality work.
X2 beachtree, how bout some more pics?!? That looks like an awesome mount! Congrats
Here's mine...I did this myself...looking at Phil's work makes me wish he did it....
there are alot of screwed up cats in those photos, WOW!!!! Phils cats are definately world class. And alot of little cats, people should be looking for bigger cats when booking cougar hunts. You should at least ask to kill a tom that is over 2 yrs. would you go on a guided hunt and kill a doe if the guide told you it was agood one?
Skinner, tell me what u think of mine.
I will post a few more photos when i get time, steve kinker done the mount it looks as real as the day i killed it, also i have the whole thing on dvd someday i will put it on u tube.
Alot of nice mounts on here guys and thanks for the input and I have phoNed my cat man and asked to have the nose repainted, the rEst I can surely live with as I think the suCker looks "WILD".
I like how you can see the musculature around the neck and shoulders. I can say that re-flocking the snow every so many years can be a pain due to dust but it really makes the mount look different. They make a spray that disintegrates dust off of artificial flowers I might try next time it starts looking a little brown again.
You cannot see it in the photo, but with LED lights, the snow flocking actually sparkles like after a fresh snowstorm.
I have no regrets on my mount, "Watts" from bowsite did it for me for the cost of materials.
As you can see, cats are the most challenging mount to get done "right." And NOTHING compares to using pics of live animals for the best reference material. Go to "google," then click on "images" at top of page. Type in "mountain lion" and voila! I'm sure you'll find something that you'll be drawn to (of course, why stop with using this method for lions alone). Copy/save your favorite pic(s) to your computer, then print out and take to your taxidermist (communication with him is critical) ...
Congrats to you all on the cats! I hate it when a trophy isn't replicated properly and given the true beauty and credit it deserves. Here is how I had mine done.
OFFHNTN
OFFHNTN
That is really neat. Very different, efficient, and well done. Certainly has a place in many spots where a full mount won't work. It looks like the workmanship is as great as the pose.
I literally said I was going to do a shoulder pedestal like what you had done when we recovered my lion and the guide and outfitter said they would kick my ass If I only took the cape instead of life sizing my cat. I'm happy it is life sized but your mount is exactly what I had envisioned doing.
Thanks Bou. Yes, with wall space at a premium at my house, I like the flexibility this gives me. Plus the price tag was a lot less than a full body.
Mathews Man - Well maybe you should go shoot another one so you can do a shoulder pedestal. :) I have the back half of the hide with the tail thrown over a couch, and the front paws as table center peices so nothing went to waste.
OFFHNTN
Cool shoulder mount...and a great idea.
I literally said I was going to do a shoulder pedestal like what you had done when we recovered my lion and the guide and outfitter said they would kick my ass If I only took the cape instead of life sizing my cat. I'm happy it is life sized but your mount is exactly what I had envisioned doing.
Busta
If I went to my pick up my cat and it looked like that I would tell my taxi he could keep it and hang it in his trophy room . 3 things stick out to me . The eyes are bulged out , looks like he seen a ghost , the fur on the face does not have good lines and one ear is pointed and one is square . I sure hope he does a better job on your sheep. One other thing , check out the whiskers on most of the other cats on here , nice and straight , yours seem to be all over the place. Just my honest opinion.
For the record, that was not my Cougar and the mount was not done by my taxidermist, Jim Kelly
Jim and I were just having a good time posting that photo of a very old lion mount that found its was into his shop. The guy who brought it in wanted Jim to make it look "natural".
Last I heard. Jim was trying to convince the guy to just run the mount through a wood chipper.
He is working I'm my Cougar now and I'll post some photos when it is completed.
cats are the hardest mounts to get right. (18 years of doing them ) even the pros have some bad results. it is an art!!!!!!
How do you think this looks? I think he nailed everything but the whiskers!
Another great mount Jim B. how about a couple more photos.
There are some very good mounts in this post. There are some very bad ones too. Several needed the face built up to get rid of the triple chins or checks evident by all the loose skin left. Some of them have the eyes way off. One looked like it was on crack. One looked like it had flying saucers for ears. And several didn't even look like a cougar.
Several of the cats did look good. I don't think I need so say which ones fits where as it is just my opinion. But, I know me and the taxidermist would have had some discussion on quite a few of them. God Bless.
I see 3-4 here that look real.
Cats are so hard ... As most of you can see its all about the eyes
Now this is how a Cat should look. I am very happy with the way my cat turned out, as most of you are also. Some nice cats on here. Thanks for sharing.
Ok Nick...lol..at least show them a little peek of the finished head..got two legs and the tail to sew up tomorrow...last big cat I will be doing for a while. I'm shutting down my shop as soon as my freezers are empty...so I'm not advertising..lol...ya call I will say no..:)...can't wait to finish this cat up for nick..its a dandy..course nothing is painted yet..will be finished this week
Hawkeye, you have more pix of your mount? That pose is awesome.
Hoping to take a Colorado lion within the next couple years, but some of these various mounts are scary! Beechtree, Boostedrob, Matthewsman and Hawkeye I will remember you for my short list to refer me to a cat taxidermist. Travis@work that one's looking good too!
Love that one, Eyad. Apparently, Soucy is THE guy.
Looking at the photo at the kill sight and good grief, I didn't know skin could get that pink. I know you prolly saved some money on the flight bit next time you ought to get one with a cock pit. That open air model really raises the chill bump factor.
Looking at the photo at the kill sight and good grief, I didn't know skin could get that pink. I know you prolly saved some money on the flight bit next time you ought to get one with a cock pit. That open air model really raises the chill bump factor.
Will post a few more today. Phil Soucy did a great job:)
Heres some pictures o mine done by a Wisconsin taxidemist
G5--that is pretty amazing work..one talented person did that cat...
Got busy AR02 so sorry for delay but here are a few more. Wanted the "slack" jaw look-not sure if hes curious or wanting to rip your head off.
Not knowing an emotion is scarier IMO :)
Thanks Hawkeye!
g5, Awesome looking cat too.
Hawkeye - That thing is awesome!!!
Thanks guys and nice cats :)
Nick....fluff that fur brutha...legs look a little rough from the truck ride..lol...
Here's mine. Shot in Arizona, taxidermy done by Kurt Fox in New York.
I remember taking my Mountain Lion mount to a game dinner one evening....I had the back seat of my SUV laid down, and the cat stood upright in the back of the vehicle....I couldn't help but laugh at the reactions of the people that I passed on the NYS thruway....priceless.....
Xbow has the one I like the most. Very natural pose and the expression is perfect.
well.....here's what a live one looks like in the wild............© image
Tough crowd! Hawkeye your cat and mount are badass.
Beautiful Cat Toby! Congrats!
Thanks guys. The pictures don't really do it justice. They were taken years ago on a cell phone. Although my Tom isn't as big as those Canadian lions, I wanted to do a dry ground hunt since I did a Bobcat and Lynx hunt in the snow.
Thanks Eyad. Now getting ready for my April muskox hunt. Just fallow your steps!!!!
geez guys, britfan was sharing his mount that I'm sure he dumped a boat load on and I didn't see anywhere he asked that you critique the taxy work. "Hey I got a new truck and is it ever nice" "yes it is, but why didn't you get bigger tires, and the colors all wrong etc.etc." just my opinion
Just got a pic from my taxidermist that my lion is done!!!! I also shot the elk!
Just got a pic from my taxidermist that my lion is done!!!! I also shot the elk!
That it is, check out that lope in the background! Wow
I asked him about the goat he said it scores around 78
any other photos of cougars you have mounted would be good
Realized I never got around to posting pics of my mount, once it was finished.
This really is my cougar and it was mounted by Jimmy "The Meat" Kelly of Ringoes NJ:
excellent cat there perfect
Heres a picture of my cat, mounted by Phil Soucy.
this was my son's from Soucey
Did 17 lions this past year. Here are a few. 6 month turnaround.
My, my who would have thought we had so many Cougar experts! Lots of talent.
Making fun of a fellow hunters mount is a great way to promote a business!
Here's mine from a few years ago.
First Mt. lion that my taxi had ever done. To say I was nervous is an understatement. A couple minor little flaws, but overall he did an excellent job.
Posted before but thought this was cute with my daughter going for a "ride"!!!
