Larry emailed me that it had freezer damage on the ears and in a few other isolated areas and he had done the best he could when he skinned it and tanned the hide.

So I was prepared in advance.

He emailed me when it was done and attached a picture. The buck looked amazingly good. I immediately found a photograph of me with the buck and compared the two, I could definitely tell that it was my buck. I was pleasantly surprised.

Then the box came and I opened it. I have to tell you it looked super, the eyes and the attention to detail on the buck are extremely realistic and true to the buck. 

The buck looks alive. Absolutely.

I hung it in my living room. At the time I was in a hurry so I left on a trip in short order.

The morning after I returned I hopped out of bed and started making a pot of coffee. Something in the living room caught my eye, my head swung around so quick it made my neck ache. I starred at the deer mount in the living room, still pumped from my involuntary action of "seeing a deer". 

I shook it off and dumped the water in the coffee maker. Then I sneaked another peak at the buck. It was amazing how alive it seemed to be. I walked over to it and examined it more closely. 

The inside of it's nasal passages went back into the muzzle and they had blood vessels in them! He had a few long, jet black hairs on the sides of his face. His nose and the mouth whiskers under his mouth had a clear substance on them and it looked exactly like the clear mucus and drool that a rutting buck generates during the rut.

Wow!

Animals have personal qualities and attitudes and it takes a real artist to recreate an individual animal's expression and attitude so it looks alive.

I phoned Larry and told him how pleased I was.

He answered, "That is my standard quality. It would get a ribbon in any taxidermy competition."

I asked him what was important when choosing a taxidermist:

"Truly good taxidermist are in the minority so it is important to find one that is more than qualified to preserve your trophy. Don't let cost be a factor in choosing your  taxidermist, you will only get what you pay for and the better taxidermist will spend more time on the details, and use better materials. Remember, the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of  LOW price is forgotten. "

"Shipping is actually inexpensive, many times people think it will be much more than it is."

(My shipping from Maryland to Texas was only $27.03 and I had expected it to be at least triple that. Also it came UPS, the box Larry used meets the UPS size restrictions.)
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Larry Reese
Larry Reese graduated from The PA institute of Taxidermy in April 1993 and is a full time taxidermist at his place of business, Wildlife Artistry Taxidermy in Centerville, MD. He does museum quality work and has done work for museums as far away as London England. He also done work for large hunting and fishing associations, Federal Wildlife Refuges, collectors, and sportsman throughout he world. 

He specializes in  custom one of a kind poses for clients who want something extra in their trophies. Larry puts true to life detail into every mount, so they will look alive.

Larry spends a minimum of a week each year doing continuing education in the taxidermy field. He is already scheduled for the next couple of years to study under National and World Champion taxidermist to put him just another step ahead.

Larry is a bowhunter and has been bowhunting since the 70's. His first bow, which he still  has, was a one peace solid wood compound bow made by Ben Pearson.

For information about Larry Reese or Wildlife Artistry Taxidermy visit:  www.WildlifeArtistry.com
 or email larry@wildlifeartistry.com.