Opinions Requested|Gamehead and Lifesize Mammals|Forum|Taxidermy Talk

I learned to do deer heads back in the 70’s through a mail course known as Northwestern School of Taxidermy.  Later took Sam Touchstone’s course.  Back then there was no internet and learning was pretty tough without someone showing you hands on how to do something.  Local taxidermists weren’t interested in sharing much information understandably so.  So it was trial and error for several years until my regular job consumed more time and I gave up taxidermy.

While doing deer heads over the years here and there I have always had trouble with the ears.  Never a nice crisp ear.  Always wanted to curl some no matter how much I tried to prevent it by carding or taping them.

Now since the internet has come along I read about all the latest techniques and even have a much better understanding of the older techniques that was difficult to understand by stick figure drawings from a book back in the 70’s.  🙂

I have been doing a lot of reading about ear liners and bondo ears on Taxidermy Net.  From what I have concluded it looks like about 50/50 as to the use of ear liners or bondo ears.

I have two nice bucks that my grandson recently killed and I do not want to have bad looking ears on them.  Out of curiosity I went to the slaughter house the other day and picked up some deer ears they were going to trash.  Came home, skinned them out and put the bondo to them just to see how hard it would be.  As it turned out they were the nicest looking ears I have ever produced which still doesn’t mean they are all that nice from they eye of a professional taxidermist.  I didn’t have an ear mold to use on them as one guy had suggested.  I had to form the ear as I went until the bondo dried which took about 5 minutes to set up.

I have read a lot about thick looking ears and that sort of thing.  I am not sure what is meant by that.  All I know is that these ears have a much more crisp look to them then when I use the ear liners.

Then I worry about them not being as tough as a plastic ear liner in case they are bumped.

Then I read that Bondo is not an adhesive and after years the skin is going to start separating from the bondo.  I can’t hardly believe this one because after the skin has dried I can’t imagine it moving since I use dry preservative.  Any skin I have ever used dry preservative on dries like cement and there is no chance of it ever moving. 

My questions would be:

How do these ears look to someone who knows what a nice ear should look like.

Would they hold up for years to come.

Advantages and disadvantages of ear liners and bondo ears.

Maybe it is important to know that the cartilage was left in the ear and dry preservative was used.  I had absolutely no problem with what I think they call drumming where the front side of the ear does not want to lay flat against the front of the ear liner.  I had serious problems with this issue when I use the ear liners.  Back in the day the recommended solution was to staple the front of the ear to the earl liner which caused additional problems of staple holes.  🙂

Thanks for any input.  I just want to produce a nice mount for my grandson.