What is a deer skull worth

[Desk Jockey]

dropped of a nice 8 pointer skull to be cleaned. The guy is ghosting me. Getting grumpy. He only lives about 20 minutes away. I called several times but get no response. I don’t like the idea of just showing up at his house. Seems like that could lead to and things. Thinking about filing a police report.

it wasn’t a Boone and Crocket buck but it was my best archery whitetail to date. Not sure what is going on but I would like the damn thing back.

I am curious, what is it worth? My quick conversation with my local police guy says I will need to estimate value to file a report.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Is this a business or just some dude? You might try talking to a local warden and see if he can put the screws to him.

 

[TSAMP]

Id say you certainly have to show up to wherever you dropped it off and inquire before filing a police report. Obviously with a good attitude. Poor communication seems to come with the taxidermy job description.

 

[bsnedeker]

How long has he had it? Did you talk about a timeline when you dropped it off?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Just a dude. Dropped it off mid December and got a call to say it was down after Xmas but before New Years. I called back to say I was out of town and would have to arrange pickup after the 1st. Called 4x since and he is not returning calls. Went once and left a note on his front door to call me please. I am going to go over there one more time Before I file a police report or anything but my spider sense is telling me he is a scumbag.

 

[zpooch]

He in jail? Hospital?

 

[RamDreamer]

I doubt he is ghosting you, but if you have to put a price on them then it would only be what the weight of the antlers (minus the skull) are currently going for in the antler buying business. Last I heard around here that is $8 per pound for Grade A. So for a decent buck you are looking at maybe 3lbs

 

[dtrkyman]

What is decent? I was offered 300-400$if I remember correctly for 140 plus whitetail skulls. Otherwise I got 10$ a lb for sheds.

The thing is this is obviously more valuable than that to you.

Add up all the cost of tags, fuel and hunting time along with the actual value of the skull!

 

[EastHumboldt]

They just want a number. Used to be 500 + would kick it up to grand larceny but maybe that has changed. Totally don’t go with an attitude, and just tell him you want your skull back no matter if its done or not. If things get dicey... remember it’s a deer skull and the biggest one on the planet is not worth a night in jail.

 

[Stalker69]

Picture of said rack would be nice, the bigger the more it’s worth. Without a picture it’s really hard to say.

 

[orionsbrother]

The guy could have Covid or be dealing with a family member with Covid. Try not to get amped up before you know there’s an actual problem. He could be doing you wrong. He could be up to his ears in family problems.

 

[jlh42581]

How long has he had it, do you know where you are in line.

Im not saying hes not a scumbag but Ill tell you this much, my neighbor does them and he gets backed up quick. Hes out there every single night of the week working on deer skulls since fall. Every morning he leaves for work by 4am. That doesnt give a guy much time.

 

[bdg848]

Where I'm at that's a civil issue, judge judy style, not a police matter.

 

[GHOSTofWENDELL]

Him only having it since mid December doesn't seem very long at all... obviously poor business etiquette on his part not returning calls.
If he is using beetles I would say no way he is done yet either.

 

[TheGDog]

The Taxidermist had my Bobcat for Greater Than a Year. When I first initially called back to check up, he explained that with CoVID Taxidermy Supply Wharehouses, at that time, (this was right in the beginning of it all) got largely impacted in the supply chain.

I didn't pressure the guy because there was a significant balance I would need to pay when it's time to pick them up. And lots of folks even on forums I was on at the time gave the guy praise for his work. So I figured it's money he's gonna want in his pocket, he'll come around.

Eventually he called me back... but boy did it sure take a while!

Unless it's in Velvet, next time just do the Euro yourself. It's not that hard to do. Vids on Youtube, etc.

 

[92xj]

My father had a few deer mounts and antlers stolen. Once stolen, along with tons of other stuff, the insurance company asked dad what value he would place one them. Dad had no idea and asked the insurance person what is the fair way to price out mounts. Insurance guy said to add up the values of the license, tags, fuel, lodging, expenses of the trip, if there was a trip involved and then add $500 for "the memories". A few of the racks were local to Dad kills, so they were valued around $750. One was a cross country adventure (DIY), that one dad had around $2500 into, so that is what insurance paid.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Just ask the warden to investigate why this dude has so many more deer then skulls then tags were ever purchased.
In Oregon your technically supposed to keep your punched tag with the mount forever.
Nobody really does and I've ever only seen it as an add on to other offenses.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Show up to house.

“Hey Bob, how’s it going? You said the skull was ready, and I’m just coming to pick it up and get you paid!”

Seems pretty easy...unless you M F’d him in a voicemail or something.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Thanks all for the input. To be clear, he called me to say it was done 3 weeks ago and has not returned my calls in the last two weeks. No angry voicemails or texts. Just called and left messages. Try to reach out via text.

it seems crazy he would call me to say it is ready and then not return calls.

i am going to go over Saturday AM when there is a good chance to catch him at home.

 

[Medusa7MM]

It’s not a criminal matter. It’s a civil issue. Police or game warden would have a hard time helping you out. If he called and said it was done I seriously doubt he is trying to pull something. As others have mentioned I’m betting something came up in his personal life that has him off track.