I had the opportunity to sit down with Candace and her dad a couple of weekends ago and let Candace show me why she can do a better job than her competitors mounting any game animal. We walked over to their showroom where we were looking at some of her finished mounts, she was quick to point out the attention to detail she puts in to her work. "No lazy eyes, the eyes are lively and perky as well as the ears have a natural upright look about them" according to Candace. Then she showed me the airbrushing and work detail around the eyes and the nose and how they blend with the color of the cape for that particular deer. It was apparent she did not miss any details. Another impressive point Candace mentioned was that a "buck that is brought in to her during the rut and has swollen neck, she will make sure the finished mount is going to have a swollen neck"
One of the commitments she gives to her customers when they bring in a trophy deer to mount is "you will get the orginal cape back on your deer when it is mounted"
In fact she goes to a lot of effort to insure that the orginal cape comes back from the tannery by "number punching the cape and tracking the cape from the time it is shipped to the tannery and arrives back to the store, then matching that number and cape with the clients mount" she added.
All mounts are guaranteed ready for pick up by the next year's start of hunting season, now that's not bad!
Both Candace and dad both acknowledged that "they will take care of your trophy as if it were their own!"
And the whole family enjoys hunting, when they have time to get away from the business. Candace showed me her deer trophies and her first boar she killed and mounted. Saying she 'would like to go more often but she has a lot business and must tend to that first'. She pointed out to me a long wall at the back of the store with over 70 plus racks hanging up in neat rows waiting on the capes to come back from the tannery and from that I could see she does not have much time for hunting.
I had one final question for Candace that day, how many other gals do you know that hunt or are involved in an outdoor business like you? Her response was "very few,I know a lot of friends that would like to go hunting but they do not have the opportunity of someone to take them or get them involved in the sport." I asked what would you suggest to them? She replied "If you really want to go, be persistent at finding the opportunity or someone that can take you hunting"
Candace Dulin is truly a gifted taxidermist and her work shows it, next time your in the area stop by and talk with her and her dad, they are both very knowledgeable about taxidermy, game processing and hunting and they just might have good tip for you on where to find some good hunting.
By Doc
