To all of you that venture into the woods and fields with hightened anticipation of bagging one of our national treasures, the wild turkey this season, a sincere Good Luck to you!. I personally have taken some time this past week to spend some quality R&R time in a turkey blind. I'm here to tell you that bagging one of those long beards this past week has been a great lesson in frustration for me, I've barely even heard one! Like all good hunters and those of us that want to be, "It ain't over till it's over". That being said, I'll get out as much as time will allow for the next week or so until my season is over. I just finished up a huge flying turkey in the studio and Robin loved it. She thinks the next one I shoot should be mounted like that for our own wall. Being the good husband that I am, as well as jumping at any chance to get into the woods that I can, I will set the clock for way too early a few more times this next week if the rains ever stop. Good luck to everyone who is brave enough to take the chance of being humbled by one of those creatures. The rewards are well worth all the sleep loss and frustration once you've finally been sucessfull at harvesting one of those beautiful birds!
Again, good luck!
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A New Year 01/30/2011
 
To all that follow this blog, let me start by apologizing for my absense from it for so long. As you might guess, Hamilton's Taxidermy has been a very busy place of business for the past couple months. We've taken in more deer for shoulder mounts this past season than any other since we began in 1992. Half mount bears were also up from any previous year. The fish and birds are keeping us busy as well. For all this, I want to send a most sincere "Thank You" to all our clients that have trusted us with your hard earned, possibly once in a life time, trophies. As your taxidermist, let me add also that your trust will never be taken lightly, your mounts will be individually processed through our system getting all the attention they deserve and all that you should be able to expect.
We've taken in some beautiful bucks this past season too. It seems as though the racks are getting bigger each year lately. Could it be that the QDM program is doing what it promises?
I'd like to think so, how about you?
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Today is November 1st and to anyone who engages in chasing the whitetail deer it is the time of year we all dream of. The chase phase of the rut is in full swing now and the woods are alive with the sounds of breaking twigs, rustling leaves, running hooves, and not the least of which are the grunts that seem to come from a different mammal altogether.
These are the days that the bowbenders find themselves in a solitary perch with maximum camoflage blending into their surroundings and loving it.
I was part of that scenario this morning when the noisest buck I'd ever heard roared his way into veiw. Unfortunately he was concerned with the unatural camoflaged blob in the tree he was headed toward and turned back and melted from my sight again. His absence was short lived though when a hot doe crossed his path and led him back into one of my shooting lanes.
I'm relatively sure that most hunters feel a certain sense of remorse after taking the life of one of these magnificent creatures as I always do. The shot was perfect and I listened as the giant deer crashed and fell not far from my treestand. I can only imagine the generations of hunters before me that have felt this bittersweet emotion, and I thank God that I still have the privilege to act out my instincts.
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September 2010 09/22/2010
 
It is nearing the end of September now and the chill of fall is definitely in the air. I have hung all my tree stands as of yesterday, I would have preferred to have had them hung three weeks ago but better late than never, right?
Things in the taxidermy studio are very busy lately. I'm finishing up the remainder of the deer taken in for 09 now and putting in some long hours to do so. October first is only about a week away and that's when more will start coming in, hopefully :) The state of the economy still has a grip on our business like most others but we have every reason to believe that we will continue to grow and be here years from now. Thanks to all of our loyal clients that trust Hamilton's Taxidermy with your hard earned trophies.
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Summer 2010 07/03/2010
 
I have to apologize for not writing for so long. Here it is midsummer already. The fishing seasons are in now and we’ve been busy taking in trophies from around Michigan. I actually took a trophy of my own this summer, a beautiful gold fish from the Grand River. As much as this fish means to me, I have to admit that I have taken five others that are still waiting to be mounted. I think being a taxidermist is a lot like a plumber or electrician, their plumbing and wiring is the last to be done. I have nine deer of my own to be mounted yet………… and so it goes.
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Spring 2010 04/09/2010
 
Now that the convention is over things have settled down to some resemblance of normalcy here at the studio and it feels great. After all the long hours prepping for the convention and all the nights away from home it is really nice to have a normal work day/week. The only problem now is that the weather has gotten a lot nicer and it makes staying inside a real challenge.
The grass is getting greener and growing, the trees are budding, the birds are singing and the peeper chorus coming from the swamp near the studio is constantly testing my dedication. I have to admit though that it does help that I love my job so I'm sure I can persevere for a couple more weeks. I'll have to excercise my rights then to take some time off to bag a gobbler with my bow.
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The 2010 MTA convention and competition is over........... finally. I suppose I honestly didn't give myself enough time to do these critters for competition but I surely learned a lot. I learned that African critters are a new and difficult challenge especially considering that the people who skin them will never have to show their face again. I learned that the hides exhibit much more shrinkage than do our North American game animals. I learned that working with the right clientele makes it all worth while.
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Today was one of those "feel good" days. Myself and dozens of other taxidermists from throughout Michigan traveled to Hamilton Michigan to help mount a deer for our US veterans that have been wounded while risking their lives to protect our freedom. There were eleven purple heart recipients from all over our country that were invited to the Legends Ranch in Bitely, MI. to hunt for a trophy whitetail buck as a tribute to one of our fallen heros. The Michigan Taxidermists Association stepped up to the plate again, as in the past two years to skin and mount the trophies these veterans collected there.  I was honored again, as in the past two years to take the lead role in mounting one of these trophies. My assistant today was Ralph Ely, he and I mounted a deer taken by James McConneghy, an 87 yr old hero from WW2. I was able to talk to his son and grandson as Ralph and I breathed a sense of realistic life into the beautiful whitetail that James had taken at the ranch. I'm sure that mount will now be handed down from generation to generation as a reminder of the bravery that James displayed all those years ago. I am more than proud to be a part of that memory, and proud to play a small part in saying "Thank You" to James and all the veterans in the past and future to protect what we as Americans enjoy in our everyday lives. Our veterans should never be forgotten, if you appreciate life as an American thank a veteran.
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We are now well into the month of January. The holidays are over and all of the 09 deer capes are ready for the tannery. I am busy every day in the studio working on various mounts with an emphasis on preparations for the upcoming competition/show in Grand Rapids, MI in March. I have three African deer that will be mounted as one piece, as well as my own whitetail that I shot last October.
Doing mounts for competion always takes up a lot of my time but it brings out the best in all taxidermists, and for this, it is worth all the effort. As much as I'd like to, this year doesn't look like the year for me to toss my hat into the ring for the coveted " All Around Taxidermist" award. For this award each taxidermist has to complete one mount each of a bird, lifesize mammal, fish and game head of some sort. To be elegible for the award a score of at least 80 points must be achieved for each piece with the highest total score for all pieces winning the award. Every year I keep thinking that next year will be the year that I have time to enter that arena but as the show becomes  closer and closer I again realize that time doesn't allow me to do it this year. I'll be lucky to get the mounts done that I have started, given the amount of time that I will ultimately put into each one. Oh well I never dreamed of being the fastest taxidermist around, only the best. Maybe next year............
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Here it is, a week before Christmas and only two weeks till the end of 2009. I have many blessings to be thankful for and this year brought a few of those to me. To say that this has been an incredible year would be an understatement!
In March at the Michigan Taxidermists Association's annual convention I felt like I was dreaming each time I was called up to accept another award for my bear/fawn peice.
In April I finally pulled off a quest that I'd been attempting for quite a few years. I took a beautiful double bearded eastern tom turkey with my bow.
October came with rewards of it's own this year, after shivering in a tree stand for three hours the most beautiful buck I've ever seen in the wild sauntered by within bow range and my shot was perfect! So came to fruition my longtime desire to take a Pope & Young record book buck.
All these events meant a lot to me without a doubt but the best was yet to come. I realized in December that Hamilton's Taxidermy had actually grown 150% in the past year, and we're in a recession! It's always great to have your dreams of good things come to fruition but to be able to make a thriving business with those dreams is amazing. I want to thank all of you for trusting me with your trophies and allowing me do what I love.
Merry Christmas to you and yours and a very happy and prosperous New Year.
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