Mogollon Taxidermy

Arizona Desert Ram

2012-01-18T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of Charlie B. with his desert ram he harvested back in December. I believe this ram checked out with the game and fish at around 179. I will officially score him next month after the 60 day drying period is up and let you know. 2011 appears to be another good sheep year in Arizona with several rams in the 170's taken.

Youth Hunt

2011-12-12T05:44:00.000-08:00

Here are my niece and nephew, Megan and Gage, with the coues deer they harvested on a
Junior hunt back in October. This is Megan's second coues deer in two years of hunting and Gage's first buck. Gage was a gentlman last year and let his sister have the first shot, but this year was his turn. I wish I had been this lucky my first couple of years of hunting. Their father took them on the hunt.

Dad's AZ Strip Buck

2011-11-21T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of my Dad's buck he took on the strip last week. I went up and hunted with him for the first six days of the hunt. It is a tough hunt with low deer densities but the thought of coming across a strip giant keeps a person going. My dad had Hunter Haynes helping him when I left and they were fortunate enough to relocate this buck we had seen a couple of days prior and harvest him. This is the best buck we could find and he is right at 180". Hunter was able to get some footage of the buck as well as a photo of him bedded before they harvested him.

Alaska Goat

2011-11-07T12:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of Dr. Doug Hartzler with his mountain goat he took this past week in Alaska. Doug's goat has 9 3/4 inch horns and should make the awards minimum for Boone and Crockett. It is the second largest goat that has been taken with his outfitter in the past 10 years. Doug says it died on the edge of a 250 cliff.

Joe C.'s Elk

2011-10-17T06:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Joe Carter's bull from a limited opportunity hunt in central AZ a couple of weeks ago. Joe hunted with Dustin Parra, Art Parra and Mike Shaw of Wind Dancer Outfitters. They scored the bull at a little over 391 green. This is another one of those animals that the photos do not depict the actual size very well.

Inland Grizzly

2011-09-18T14:26:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos of Jimmy's grizzly bear he recently harvested in B.C. It is a six foot bear with beautiful coloring and will make a great mount. Jimmy also shot a nice moose on the same hunt and is thinking about mounting his bear on a moose kill.

Mountain Goat

2011-09-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

Client and neighbor Jimmy Johnson just returned from a trip up north where he took this nice goat. The weather was bad most of the hunt and finally cleared some on his last day when he was able to get his goat. He left that hunt and went for an inland grizzly which he was able to get. I will post a photo of his bear later.

Prickley Pear Bear

2011-08-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of Phil T. of Yuma with his bear he harvested in central AZ last week. Phil had the auction bear tag and hunted hard for a full week in the hot AZ desert. He was finally able to connect on this mature boar with a great coat. Congratulations to Phill.

Bomber Coues Mounted

2011-08-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here is Jim's huge Coues deer he found this past winter. We just finished mounting him and the official score on this buck is 143 4/8 gross and 138 7/8 net nontypical. I had the opportunity to see the sheds from this deer from the previous year and they are equally impressive. When the antlers are up on a body, it puts it more in perspective how big this buck really is.

Big Utah Typical Muley

2011-07-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a field photo posted last fall as well as a photo of the finished mount of Rayne Rohrbach's mule deer he took last fall in Southern Utah. I did the official score on Rayne's buck and he grosses 203 3/8 and nets 192 0/8 typical Boone and Crockett. He is now on his way home to Utah where Rayne works for the National Park service at Bryce Canyon.

Coues wall pedestal

2011-07-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here is the buck that Steel Armstrong harvested back in October. We recently finished his mount and did it with some rock and habitat around it. This is a great buck and gross scores over 118" and will net over the minimum all time for Boone and Crockett. Steel and his friends watched this buck for a couple of years before he was finally lucky enough to put his tag on him.

Strip Mule Deer

2011-06-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a great big buck taken on the Strip by Scott Dierenger of Dierenger Outfitters . Scott's father is Sam Dierenger and they have taken several big mule deer in the past few years in Arizona. Sam guides for most species and is one of the top dry ground lion hunters around.

Dall Sheep

2011-06-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

Here is Doug Hartzler's dall sheep he took last fall. Doug eventually wants to put all of his sheep on one pedestal so he decided to make the Dall hang on the wall until he gets his Rocky and Stone down the road. Doug's Dall had nice, slick hair because he took it in August.

Chapman Elk

2011-05-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

Terry Chapman of Aztec, New Mexico recently picked up his elk mount from Mogollon Taxidermy. Terry's great AZ archery bull officially grosses 374 6/8 and nets 362 4/8. Terry hunted with Colburn and Scott outfitters. Congratulations to Terry on a super bull.

Utah Mtn. Goat

2011-05-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Dan Kasprzyk with his mountain goat he took in Utah. Dan was very fortunate to draw the tag and even more fortunate to take a great goat with his bow. He was joined on the hunt by his dad, Dick, and his son Kyle. I have also included a photo of the wall pedestal we did with Dan's goat.

Dan with his goat

L-R Dick, Kyle and Dan

Snow in April

2011-04-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of photos of the shop on Saturday morning. We had about five inches of snow on Saturday, April 9. This is the latest I can remember it ever snowing. Hopefully there will be a little more moisture before we get the summer heat. I have included a photo of the Mazatzal Mountains from Sunday morning so you can see where the snow level was at around 4500 ft.

Mazatzals on Sunday morning

The shop on Saturday

Another view of the shop

Archery Coues

2011-03-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a Coues buck that Kyle Kasprzyk took with his bow in January. It was a spot and stalk hunt and after spotting the buck at several hundred yards, Kyle was able to get within bow range and make a lethal shot. It is good to see the younger generation with the passion to hunt. I know Kyle's father, grandfather, and uncle, and they are all good people who are instilling the importance of the outdoors in their children. Congratulations to Kyle on taking one of the more difficult big game animals with a bow, spot and stalk.

Absolute Bomber Coues

2011-02-25T17:13:00.000-08:00

Check out this Coues deer that was just found in central Arizona. The lucky guy that found it checked it with Game and Fish and they determined that it was killed by a mountain lion. It is unbelievable how many giant bucks are taken by lions. They are by far superior hunters compared to us humans with our high powered rifles and optics. I put a quick tape on the buck and he grosses 144 inches and nets 139 nontypical. He has a 129 3/8 gross, 124 3/8 net mainframe with 14 5/8 of extras. His beams are an incredible 21 3/8 and 22 6/8 in length. The photos don't do this buck justice with his height, width and massive bases All I can say is I hope that he passed his genes along before the lion got him.

400 Bull

2011-02-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of Logan Anderson with his bull that he brought in to have scored a few weeks ago. Logan took this bull on an Arizona archery hunt last fall. The bull officially grosses a little over 414 and nets just over 400". As you can see from the photos it is a very impressive bull. I believe that this was a limited opportunity hunt.

More MX

2011-02-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

Here are more photos of the bucks taken in Mexico a couple of weeks ago. Friends Houston Davis, Darin North and Jeremy Gugelmeyer all took nice bucks. Houston took his 105" buck at over 700 yards, quite impressive shooting. Darin took his 97" buck and I believe it was over 500 yards. Jeremy took his buck with a closer shot and it is 108" with a broken G-4 or else it would have been 111-112. We had a great trip and are looking forward to hopefully returning next year.

Houston (above)

Darin (above)

Jeremy

Hannah's first big game animal

2011-01-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted more photos of the coues deer taken on our Mexico hunt; I will get those up in the next couple of days. I have to share some photos of my daughter and her Javelina she harvested this morning. She was very excited to say the least. We have been hunting the past couple of days with no Javelina sightings until this morning and we were able to get within range so she could get one. We did find a dead Javelina Yesterday morning that had died sometime during the night because it was still limber when we found it. I couldn't find any visible signs of trauma, so it must have been sick. If I start foaming at the mouth in the next few days I had better go get some rabies shots after handling it. Anyway I posted a photo of that pig as we found it and also a couple of a happy Hannah with here nice Javelina from this morning.

A happy Hannah and her Javelina

Hannah, her Javelina and a proud dad

Hannah and the dead javelina we found yesterday

Sonoran Giant

2011-01-25T16:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of the giant coues buck my father-in-law, Earl Laforge, took while we were in Mexico last week. Earl and good friend Jeremey Gugelmeyer were on the buck for a couple of day and finally got it killed on the third day of the hunt. I actually saw Earl shoot the deer from my vantage point across the canyon. I got to see the deer alive, and believe me he is impressive to look at. He is has a typical 5X5 frame with split eyeguards and an extra on each side making him a 7X8. I put a pretty accurate tape on him in camp and came up with a little over 131" gross. He should make the all time Boone and Crockett nontypical coues category. We will be doing a lifesize mount of this buck later this year and I will post photos of it when it is completed. Enjoy the pictures.

Sonora Coues

2011-01-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

I just returned from Mexico a couple of days ago where I was hunting with five others and we had a great hunt. The trip went smooth and I saw nothing different from the past 11 years we have been going down. I am sure that there is some risk involved, but we didn't mess around in town and stayed on the ranch the whole time we were down there. Everyone harvested nice deer and I will post photos of them over the coming days. This is the buck I took on the last day. I have been wanting a true 4 X 4 for years and I was finally able to get one. He gross scores 100 7/8 and I couldn't be happier! Check back for more photos to come including a monster buck my father-in-law harvested.

Family Affair Coues

2011-01-13T14:57:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of bucks taken in the late season by Jeremy and Kristy Ulmer, owners of Chasin A Dream Outfitters archery shop here in Payson. Jeremy's buck is a gnarly old dude that grosses in the upper teens and Kristy's buck is pushing the 110 mark. Kristy harvested her buck on the second to last day of the season with a strong and cold winter storm moving in that morning. It turned out that it would have ended her hunt if she hadn't found her buck that morning. The upper photo is Jeremy with his buck and the lower photo is Jeremy, Kristy, and their son Zach with Kristy's buck. Congratulations to both of them and if you are coming through Payson, stop and visit them at their archery shop across the beeline highway from Dairy Queen.

Archery Buck

2011-01-10T06:06:00.000-08:00

Check out this coues deer that my good friend Gavin Weller took last week. Gavin has taken many nice bucks with his bow over the years, but I think this will be his biggest to date. Congratulations on a great buck Gavin!

Another Arizona Coues

2010-12-29T14:04:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of photos of Dan Kasprzyk with a nice coues deer he harvested early in the late season in central Arizona. Dan took this deer with one shot at 670 yards with his 7mm rem mag with a long range scope mounted on it. According to his dad, Dick, the deer was in country that looked more like sheep country with all the bluffs and steep slopes. Dan's buck grosses over 100". Great buck and great photos. This is a good example of how well your field photos can turn out if a person puts a little thought and effort into it. Congratulations Dan!

Another Massive Coues

2010-12-19T16:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a buck that Ty Goodman of Goodman Outfitters guided a hunter to in central Arizona a couple of days ago. He is super massive and grosses over 130". Ty guides his hunters to some great bucks each year. I believe the story is or will be posted on the Rutnhard website, as Ty sent me this photo and it is already marked with Goodman Outfitters and Rutnhard. Congratulations to Ty and his hunter on a great coues deer.

Old Nelsoni Ram

2010-12-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

Here is Steve Hovik with his Nelsoni desert ram he harvested a couple of weeks ago. This ram is quite old and has the most chipped up horns I have ever seen on a desert sheep. He definitely did his share of head butting over his lifetime.

Niece's first deer

2010-12-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

My niece Megan harvested her first deer a couple of weeks ago. She hunted with her three cousins and it was the first time hunting for all of them. Even though Megan was the only one to get a buck, they all had a lot of fun and learned alot. She is pictured with her dad, Tim, and her brother Gage.

Old Warrior Ram

2010-12-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

Here is Brian Johnson with his desert ram he took on opening day of his hunt. This ram is 10+ years old and has the horns and scars to show it. Brian and friend Mattew Phillips watched this ram for over a week before the hunt and he stayed within a quarter mile area the whole time. This ram has 15" bases and carries the mass well, with a gross score of a little over 171 B and C; He should make the minimum for B and C after the 60 day drying period.

New Mexico Ibex

2010-11-30T07:24:00.000-08:00

Friends Dick, Tanner and Shelley Henry just returned from New Mexico where Dick had an Ibex tag. Here is what tanner writes about the hunt:
Dad, Shelley and I just returned from my dad's Persian Ibex hunt in the Florida Mountains of southern New Mexico. For those of you unfamiliar with the state, the Florida Mountains, (pronounced Flooreeda) are extremely steep, jagged, inhospitable desert mountains, just south of the town of Deming near the Mexico border. Dad was one of 15 successful applicants to draw the coveted "once in a lifetime" tag to hunt Ibex. Dad spent a significant amount of time researching the hunt early this fall and requested the help of Shawn Choat from Animas in southern New Mexico. Shawn made many trips to the Florida Mountains while Dad and I were on other local hunts and a Whitetail deer hunt in Missouri. Shelley, Dad and I arrived the day after Thanksgiving (last Friday for our Canadian friends :) ) and set up camp. We spent the evening checking on some Ibex that Dad's research had led Shawn to locate. We luckily found the Ibex we were after. Let me tell you, I have never seen a more courageous, perhaps mentally disturbed animal in my life. During the rut, these things seem to defy gravity and have a perpetual chip on their shoulder. We watched the males (I don't know if they're Rams, Bulls, or Billies) fight, push around females, and generally take their agression out on anything vertical, whether it be mammal or plant. Their ability to maneuver the sheer vertical cliff faces and boulder piles just left us awestruck. If you ever have an opportunity to hunt Ibex, DO IT! Anyway to continue, Shawn showed up that evening and we planned the morning hunt. The plan was to have me deliver Shawn and Dad to the base of the mountain so they could climb in the dark for an hour to a planned ambush site. The following morning, Shawn and Dad arrived at a small oak tree at the base of a 200 foot cliff where the Ibex were sleeping high above predators reach. As daylight broke, the Ibex bounded down from their perch and paraded toward a small mountainside spring and in front of Dad and Shawn. With one well placed shot from my borrowed .270 Dad downed his 41-inch Ibex. Shelley and I were out on the desert floor in my truck watching as the Ibex fled the scene over the cliff faces to safety. Shelley and I climbed up to help pack the Ibex off the hill only to find that these things are only about 27 inches tall and weigh about 60 pounds.

California Blacktail

2010-11-18T05:43:00.000-08:00

Here is Randy Stalcup, art director/graphic designer for Western Hunter Magazine, with his California blacktail. Randy writes, "I got to take a wonderful trip with my Dad and took a great buck. He's a typical 4x4 with eyeguards and scores 132 3/8"! I never dreamed of shooting a buck this big". Way to go Randy!

129" Coues

2010-11-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Check out this giant coues deer killed by Thomas B. He is a 6X7 with good mass, length and width and grosses 129 and should net all time B and C as a nontypical coues after the 60 day drying period. Thomas was hunting with his brother Seth when they found and harvested this great buck. I will post photos of the finished mount in the future that will show the antlers a little better.

First Mule Deer

2010-11-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

Here is Shad M. with his first mule deer. He rode horseback for two hours with his father and uncle to reach the area where he found this nice buck. As you can see in the background he was in some boulder-strewn desert terrain. Shad took his first whitetail last year now has this nice mule deer to go with is.

Utah Muley

2010-10-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a great buck taken by Rayne R. on a general hunt in Utah. Rayne was hunting with his Dad, Roger, and got on the bucks track and followed it for four miles (1.9 as the crow flies) before catching him in his bead where he was able to shoot him as about 130 yard. He has deep forks, good mass and is very symmetrical He will gross about 203 and should net around 191 B and C after the 60 day drying period making him an all time B and C buck. This is one of the hardest trophies to find these days; Congratulations to Rayne on a super buck.

Big 3 Point Coues

2010-10-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Steel Armstrong brough his buck in today that he harvested this morning. Steel located the buck a year ago and was finally able to get him this year. His friend Luke has video footage of the buck from last year and also this year in velvet. He is a big three point with good mass and great length. With just a 12 inch inside spread, he still grosses 118" which is very impressive for a three point. Congratulations to Steel ona a buck of a lifetime.

Load of Whitetails

2010-10-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

I thought some of our viewers might find it interesting to see what a busy day looks like at the shop during hunting seasons. This load of deer was dropped off last week and it took five hours of caping to get them to the point they could go into the freezers. There were some great bucks in the group. I will try soon to post some photos of some of the nice Coues being taken in the current season.

Droptine Buck

2010-10-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

I just finished Tom L.'s great droptine buck he harvested in January. This was Tom's first coues deer and I think we will need to drag him on a few more coues hunts before he can fully understand what he has. Anyways, I will be sad to see it leave the shop.

B & C 27th Big Game Awards

2010-10-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

I just saw the listings on the trophies entered in the 27th Big Game Awards that took place this summer in Reno Nevada. The top trophies entered in the last awards period are invited and undergo a panel scoring. The trophies are meticulously scored and either the entry score is upheld or changed depending on how the panel scores the trophy. I had scored three of the trophies entered and the scores were upheld on all three and to top that off, they all took first place in their categories. I always feel good when I score a trophy and a panel score agrees with how I scored it; It shows me that I am scoring accurately and within the strict guidelines of the scoring system. Duane Chapman's San Carlos bull scored 404 1/8, Larry Landes's New Mexico antelope scored 91 4/8 and Brian Balmer's typical Arizona coues scored 127 0/8. The photos of Brian's antlers don't really do it justice, but I don't have a field photo at present. There were many great trophies entered in the 27th Big Game Awards. For more info on this and the Boone and Crockett club, please visit http://www.boone-crockett.org/ .

Unit 10 Bull

2010-10-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a bull taken by friend and client Jimmy Johnson in Unit 10. He saw it on opening day but couldn't get a shot at it. The second day he was able to get close enough for a good shot and harvested him. We will be doing a lifesize mount of this bull and will post photos when it is completed.

Clifford's buck

2010-09-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

We recently finished mounting Cliiford's big Arizona buck. This deer had a very large body compared to what most bucks this age have in that area. We will miss looking at this giant hanging in the shop.

Yukon Stone Outfitters

2010-08-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of photos of a Stone sheep that friend Tanner Henry emailed me. The sheep was taken with Tanner's good friend and outfitter, Mac Watson, of Yukon Stone outfitters.
Mac writes:
George Lawrence just took this great Ram on our second hunt. All of our clients tagged out early thanks to great weather and a hard working crew. I'll try to get some more pictures out soon. This ram is 13 years old and the unofficial new world record Stone taken with a muzzle loader!

Happy Hunting
Mac Watson
Yukon Stone Outfitters
780-865-6368

Thanks Tanner and Mac for sharing the photos

Huge Velvet Coues

2010-08-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of photos of a great buck just harvested by Ty Goodman. I Haven't put a tape on him yet, but he is sure to go over 120". Ty has been hunting this buck for the past couple of years and was finally lucky enough to put an arrow in him. Congratulations Ty!

Bonneville Speedweek

2010-08-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

I know this has nothing to do with taxidermy or hunting, but I just returned from a few days at Bonneville Speedweek on the salt flats in Utah. I had the opportunity to drive my dad's vintage, blown fuel roadster he built. The record was open in this class and a friend of my dad's drove the car first, setting a record of 207 mph. I then got the chance to up the record and drove it 221 mph. Words cant describe what it is like to drive this fast but it is definitely an adrenaline rush. I added a few photos from the trip.

NWT sheep

2010-08-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Friend and customer Doug H. just returned from the Northwest Territories where he was Dall sheep hunting. This was Doug's third trip and he was finally able to harvest a great, old ram. It was an all backpack hunt. These are just some of the great photos Doug shared with us from his hunt.

Freeze Drying Antlers

2010-08-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Mogollon Taxidermy just acquired a freeze dry machine so that we can do our own velvet antler freeze drying in-house. We are one of the few, if not the only taxidermy studio in Arizona with the ability to offer this service without shipping your antlers out of state. We feel that freeze drying velvet antlers allows them to retain the most size and fullness with less shrinkage than other methods of preservation. This machine has a cylinder shaped chamber that is 24 inches in diameter and 52 inches deep. If an antler will fit in within these measurements, we can freeze dry it. It will fit average size elk as long as the skull cap is split. Coues deer and most mule deer will easily fit intact with only the biggest mule deer having to have the skull cap split. The best looking freeze dried velvet comes from antlers that are well cared for prior to reaching us. Please call if you have any questions on the process or what to do with your antlers before bring them in.

Rocky Mtn. sheep poaching

2010-07-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is asking for the public’s help in finding the individual or individuals responsible for the illegal killing of a Rocky Mountain bighorn ram in the Black River area, west of Alpine, during the July 4 weekend.

The wild sheep was illegally shot and killed in Game Management Unit 1 in eastern Arizona, adjacent to Forest Road 249.

“This mature ram was commonly seen, photographed and enjoyed by many visitors to the area,” says Tyler Richins, wildlife manager in Unit 1. “It was needlessly killed and left to waste with nothing removed from the carcass.”

“This isn’t the action of a hunter,” says Richins. “This is a criminal act of stealing wildlife assets and resources from the people of Arizona.”

This crime is further compounded by the fact that this ram was part of the Black River bighorn herd, which, although having a stable population, has not been increasing in number for the last several years.

“Removing this older age-class ram from the population may influence the department’s recommendations for future bighorn sheep hunting permits in this area. Bighorn sheep permits are highly sought after by sportsmen, who are a primary funding source for wildlife conservation,” notes Richins.

The department received more than 300 applications for the single permit that was authorized in this area last spring.

The department’s Operation Game Thief Program is offering a reward of up to $4,000 for information leading to the arrest of the subject or subjects who committed this crime. The Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society and Arizona Bowhunters Association are each offering an additional reward of up to $1,000 for a criminal conviction in this case. To report information on this incident, or any wildlife law violation, call the department’s Operation Game Thief hotline toll-free at (800) 352-0700, or report online at www.azgfd.gov/thief. Caller identities may remain confidential upon request.

We as hunters and conservationists need to keep a sharp eye out for the dirtbags that are doing this kind of thing and help bring them to justice. This gives hunters a bad rap in the eye of the general public because they think that hunters are the people doing this when in fact they are not hunters, but pieces of trash.

Montana Trip

2010-07-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

I just returned a few days ago from trip to Montana. My friend Gary has a place on Noxon Reservoir in western Montana and I went to see it. There is water everywhere and everything is super green. We saw sheep, deer, and bear from the road.

Gary built a very nice home on 15 acres with part of it bordering a finger of the lake. It was only a short walk to go fishing.

We also visited the Boone and Crockett Club's headquarters in Missoula, Montana. They had a display that included many of the current world records of each species.

We also visited a place that has these giant cedar trees. The two in the photo aren't even the largest that we saw. It was a great trip, but now back to the daily grind which I was reminded of when I got off the plane in Mesa and it was 108 degrees. Let's hope the Arizona monsoons get in full gear soon.

Velvet Coues

2010-06-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished mount of a coues deer harvested by Dan R. last fall on his archery Arizona deer hunt. The skull is of the coues deer that he then harvested with his bow in January. Dan had a pretty good season last year. His velvet buck grossed 121" and he had trail camera photos of the buck from the past couple of years. This mount is an example of something different that can be done with a shoulder mount of almost any animal.

Strip Buck

2010-05-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a buck killed on the strip by the son of my friend Mike Dewees. His name is Ty Dewees and he was also hunting with their friend Danny Prock. They happened on this deer a few days into the hunt and Ty was able to harvest him. They brought it into the shop a couple of days later and that afternoon Ryan Hatch called me quizzing me about the antler configuration of the buck. It turned out to be a buck that Ryan was hunting with his client. His words were something like, "I guess I wasted the past three days hunting a dead buck". Ty's buck was featured in a recent Muley Crazy Magazine. This deer was a 35 inch wide 9 X 10 that grosses 259 5/8 and nets 252 6/8. It was the largest buck taken in Arizona in 2008 by a hunter on a regular draw tag.

Early Bull

2010-05-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here is customer Brandon Peddie with a bull he killed on an early rifle hunt in Arizona a few years ago that grossed over 405 inches and made the all time Boone and Crockett record book. It is bulls like this that have people from all corners of the U.S. applying for Arizona's coveted elk tags. I think with all of the moisture we had this winter and spring, the bull will be extra big this year. I am hearing reports of bulls with five and six points already with almost three months of growing time left.

Sheep Capture

2010-05-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos I took while working as an intern during the summer of 1995 with the AZ Game and Fish. I spent the summer living at Callville Bay on the Nevada side of Lake Mead baiting the sheep for a capture. I would go across the lake at first light every morning with buckets of apple mash for the sheep. After a couple of weeks the sheep would come to the bait site when they heard me pull up and would come quite close to me while I was putting the mash out. After about two months of this, the nets were dropped on them and a number were translocated to another area. I remember one drop that had three class IV rams under the net. It took three grown men to subdue one ram so that it could be untangled from the net. It is amazing how strong these animals are. Anyway, it was a great experience that I will never forget.

4X4 Coues

2010-04-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a trail cam photo and mount photo of a great buck a friend, Willie, killed a couple of years ago with his bow. He hunted him in velvet but never had an opportunity for a shot. Persistence paid off in the late season and he was finally able to harvest this buck. He grossed around 116" and had huge bases. Willie had photos of this buck from the prior year as well. He talked for two years about how he wanted to lifesize the buck if he was ever lucky enough to harvest him.

Kofa Water Hole

2010-04-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

This is looking from the dam into the pothole which is 12-13 feet deep

This is looking at the dam and the silt pile that was moved with buckets and more than 50 volunteers

Above is another view looking at the dam side of the catchment. Below is the crew that went with us. We had my two kids Hannah and Cole, My nieces Madeline and Megan, and my nephews Gage and John. My dad Bill and Brother Garrett were also along.

We just returned Sunday from a waterhole project in unit 45B in the Kofa Mountains. This project consisted of cleaning out all of the silt and sealing the catchment. This project was first completed in 1982 and has since developed some leaks so that it wouldn't hold its full capacity. Prior to the dam being built in 1982, the hole held about 6000 gallons of water and after the dam about 40,000 gallons. The catchment got very low on water last summer and had to have water flown into it by helicopter. This becomes very expensive so the project became a priority. This project was funded by the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society and the labor was provide with mostly volunteers. These projects are a great way to give back to our game populations and volunteers are always needed.

Years Gone By

2010-04-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of my grandpa with me on the right and my brother Garrett on the left. I believe this photo was taken in about 1976, so I was five years old. This was on a ranch we called "the Float" which was the ORO ranch northwest of Prescott. It is a huge chunk of private land that my dad, grandpa, and cousin hunted every year. It was open to the public until somewhere around 1980 when it was closed off. It had some great mule deer as this photo shows. When our family hunted there, it had no elk. Now there is a healthy herd of elk and some huge bulls are killed there each year with an outfitter who has the lease rights to hunt the ranch. I think the private land encompasses about 150 square miles, and controls access to more checkerboarded land. Some of my fondest memories as a young boy took place there while I tried to keep up with my grandpa or dad each day. I actually killed my first deer there. If anyone has any old time photos and stories they would like to share, they can email them to me and maybe I can post them. Enjoy!

Gonzalez Buck

2010-03-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

We did the official score on the Dale Gonzalez buck this past weekend. He grosses 128 2/8 and his net score is 123 6/8 non-typical, which should put him in the top five in the world with a bow. His score will probably have to be verified at the Pope and Young panel for this scoring period. Congratulations to Dale on the buck of a lifetime!

Strip Buck

2010-03-19T13:07:00.001-07:00

Here is photo of a buck that a friend of mine, Clifford Pirch, killed this past November on the Strip. Clifford hunted hard and found this buck a couple of days into the hunt but couldn't get on him. He continued hunting but couldn't find the buck again. A few days later his friend, Chris Harold, who was accompanying Clifford, had to return home. The day after Chris left, Clifford relocated the big buck and harvested him. Clifford was by himself and didn't have anyone to share in the excitement until he got home and word spread. The buck is an 8X9 with a gross mainframe score of 185 with over 35 inches of extras for a gross of about 220". Clifford is a professional bass fisherman on the National Guard team and fishes the FLW tour. We will post a photo later this summer when the mount is finished.

San Carlos Bull

2010-02-27T12:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a bull taken by Duane Chapman on the San Carlos Apache Reservation a couple of years ago. My son Cole is standing with it. This bull was taken on a late tribal member hunt and ended up grossing 411 5/8 and netting 404 1/8. What a huge bull for a late hunt. He didn't have any broken points and was very symmetrical. San Carlos tribal members have taken some great bulls over the years on their reservation. We did a pedestal mount with Duane's bull that displayed his trophy very well.

Shoot for the Heart

2010-02-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Mountain Bible Church here in Payson that started a monthly get-together this year for outdoorsmen and women. Last month featured pro bass fisherman Clifford Pirch talking about bass fishing and how to become a better fisherman. February's event, last Thursday, had well known mule deer hunter Dean Pederson speaking about mule deer and mule deer hunting. It was attended by more than 150 adults and 20+ kids. Everyone is invited, whether from Payson, or out of town. The mule deer event had a great display of some giant mule deer bucks. There will be seminar on Coues deer in the future and this one should have numerous huge bucks on display. I will post the dates for these gatherings as they come available for anyone who would like to attend. The next one will feature renowned lion hunter Steve Smith talking about lion biology and habits. Hopefully Steve will share some exciting stories of his experiences chasing lions around the Southwest.

Waterhole project

2010-02-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of a water catchment project I took the kids on a couple of weeks ago. It was on Black mesa in the Sierra Ancha mountains. This area has a resident herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep that moved into the area more than 20 years ago. It is believed that the sheep came from the Ft. Apache Reservation to the east. This is some beautiful and rugged country, just what the sheep like. If you have never volunteered on a conservation project, these water catchment projects are quite the deal. A good group of dedicated sportsmen and women dedicate a weekend and get their hands dirty for the good of our wildlife populations. It is amazing how much work gets completed in just a couple of days. This project was funded by the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society and the Arizona Deer association. They are both great organizations. For more info on how you can volunteer, check out their websites, www.adbss.org for the Sheep Society and www.azdeer.org for the deer association.

Archery Coues

2010-02-14T14:55:00.001-08:00

Here is a buck taken by Dale Gonzales of Payson during the January archery hunt. The buck's green gross score is just over 130". Depending on how Pope and Young rules on the way it should be scored, it may end up very high in the nontypical category. Dale says he was hunting for meat and this buck showed up. That is a lot of meat on top of that buck's head.

The Last Day Bucks

2010-02-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

With a lot of hard work and scouting, we were very fortunate to have taken these two deer this year. John (lower two photos) killed his deer on the last day of the third whitetail hunt in Arizona. Steve (top two photos) killed his deer on the last day of the late whitetail hunt in Arizona. We would like to thank our hunting partner, Will, for the help on these two hunts. He also was successful in killing a 100” buck. Note: I put a tape to these two bucks the other day and John's buck grosses just over 120" and Steve's grosses 116; Congratulations to John and Steve on great father-son double.

Shed and Skull

2010-02-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a cool shed that Houston Davis found while we were hunting in Mexico. It has about four finger points at the end of the main beams. Houston found the shed and then started hunting the area for the buck, but unfortunately he found it dead. It looked like it had died while in the late stages of velvet growth; the ends of the main beams were chewed up and it had some old dried velvet on it. Too bad, but it is neat to find a shed like that and then later find the deer that produced it even though it was the skull. We took some photos of it and left it down there at the ranch house for others to look at and admire.

Four point plus eyeguards

2010-02-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

Here is Mark W. with his coues buck he took last week in Mexico. It has five points per side including eyeguards. Mark has trail camera photos of this buck earlier in January on his first trip. He said they were really rutting when they went down the second time. With the point length and width, this buck should score in the 120" range and should definitely make the all time minimum for Boone and Crockett.

Cracky Coues

2010-01-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

This is "Cracky" Wantland with his Mexico buck. Cracky was with our group also. This buck has a couple of extras and eyeguards that curl outward and goes in the upper 90s. This ranch seems to produce bucks with some extras every year. Cracky wore his ratty hunting jacket with all the blood for the rest of the trip. I think if he goes next year his jacket may have to find its way into the campfire.

First Coues Deer

2010-01-25T17:42:00.000-08:00

Here is Danielle Davis with her first coues deer. Her husband, Houston, says she hunted hard and put a lot of effort into getting this deer. He says she is really starting to like hunting. I think that Houston had better look out, he has some competition for those big bucks.

More Mexico

2010-01-25T17:33:00.001-08:00

Here is a photo of Dr. Houston Davis with his Mexico buck that taped out at 97". Houston was part of our group that hunted Sonora last week. He saw and passed some good bucks looking for a big one. He was savvy enough to realize that the impending weather would hamper the hunting and decided to take this buck the fourth morning of the hunt. It had already rained some that morning and came in heavy that night, putting an end to the hunt. I should have followed suit, as I came home empty handed not being able to hunt the last two days due to weather.

More Mexico

2010-01-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

Here is Hunter Haynes with his buck he harvested with our group last week. It is a compact frame with great mass and eight inches of extras. This buck is very deceiving at first glance. I guessed him at 11o while we were in Mexico. I actually put a tape on him today and came up with 114" gross. This is one of the neatest bucks I have seen taken with us in Mexico. I will try to post up some photos of the antlers later that show it a little better.

Sonora 2010

2010-01-24T15:21:00.001-08:00

We just got back from Mexico last week and had a good hunt. Here is a buck that our friend Tom harvested on the second day of hunting. He grosses about 112" with a six inch drop tine. In the past eleven years of hunting Sonora, I have not seen a drop tine buck on the hoof. This is Tom's first coues deer and he is now hooked. I will post photos of some of the other bucks that our group took soon.

2009 Arizona Antelope

2010-01-13T06:55:00.000-08:00

Here is my Father with his 5A antelope he harvested on Sunday of the opening weekend in September. He has three of his grandchildren with him (left to right John, Megan, and Gage). I think most of his grandkids are going to be hunters. This buck is around 80" and he was very pleased. The day before he harvested we had a gullywasher of a storm and basically got rained out. The next morning after nearly getting stuck numerous times we found this buck and after two failed stocks, the third was a charm. The buck was busy keeping track of his does as the rut was on. Dad had 19 bonus points to draw this tag.

Archery Coues

2010-01-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of a buck that Pat Haynes, owner of Sundance Plumbing, killed on Sunday. He said that only does have come to his stand until Sunday when this buck came cruising in. Pat has photos of this buck just out of velvet in September. It went 150 yards before expiring and during the 2 hours he let it lay, the coyotes had ravaged the carcass. He says it grosses about 108" with a broken point.

Welcome to Mogollon Taxidermy's Blog

2010-01-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome everyone! Mogollon Taxidermy is now blogging. We will post photos of our customer's trophies as they come into the shop with their permission. This should be exciting as we get some very unique as well as large animals come through the shop. I will also post other pertitant information relating to taxidermy as well as Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young Scoring. Please respond with comments and ideas on posts people would like to see. Here is a photo of my father-in-law's buffalo he killed in Nebraska in December (left to right Earl Laforge, Bill Goldman, Clay Goldman).