20 Crazy Good Deer Mounts from the NWTF Convention

By Josh Honeycutt author of Brow Tines and BackstrapFebruary 20, 2019

Which of These Are Your Favorites?

The 2019 NWTF Convention was a wild success for many reasons. But the taxidermy contest was one of the most impressive events at the show. While I’m no taxidermist, I know a good deer mount when I see one. Here are my 20 favorite deer mounts that were entered in the NWTF taxidermy contests this year. Enjoy.

1 | Velvet Open-Mouth Buck

This is a beautiful full-velvet mount. The deer has tons of character with points going in every direction. And that red, summer-coat hair is pretty sharp. This is a very cool early season deer mount.

Pose: Semi-sneak

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open

Extras: Floor pedestal mount

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2 | 10-Point Open-Mouth Buck

Talk about antler spread — this buck has it. And the open-mouth theme is pretty intriguing as well. This deer looks like it’s truly alive with the realistic detail and leaf in its mouth.

Pose: Semi-upright

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open

Extras: Floor pedestal mount

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3 | 9-Point Buck Chewing Apple

Deer love apples. And it looks like this buck is having its last supper on them. The realism is incredible as this buck appears to be plucked right out of a grove in a late September or early October setting.

Pose: Semi-upright

Head Variation: Up and straight

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open

Extras: Floor pedestal and apples

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4 | Feeding 7-Point Buck

This buck is frozen in time as it reaches up to bite off some greenery growing on a branch. This is truly great work with time and effort going into this open-mouth deer mount.

Pose: Full-upright

Head Variation: Up (high) and right

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open

Extras: Floor pedestal

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5 | Alert 10-Point Buck

Want more of a traditional mount, but something just a little different? This floor (or wall) pedestal mount is pretty cool.

Pose: Semi-upright pedestal

Head Variation: Up

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Closed

Extras: Wall or floor pedestal

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6 | Butterfly 9-Point

The creativity that went into this mount is unreal. A great pedestal platform. Food hanging out of the mouth. A butterfly on the nose. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Pose: Full-upright pedestal

Head Variation: Up (high) and left (hard)

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open

Extras: Floor pedestal, grass and butterfly

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7 | 6-Point Buck Shedding Velvet

Talk about caught in the moment — that’s what happened with this mount. The taxidermist certainly accomplished that by making it appear as if this deer was coming out of velvet.

Pose: Semi-upright pedestal

Head Variation: Down (tucked) and left (hard)

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open (tongue out)

Extras: Floor pedestal, hanging velvet and greenery

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8 | 9-Point with Pedestal Art

Want a wall (or floor) pedestal mount with some artwork on the back of the form? This is a great example of such work. Check out this cool deer taxidermy job.

Pose: Semi-sneak pedestal

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open (slightly)

Extras: Floor pedestal and vegetation

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9 | Alert 8-Point Buck

This hard-horn buck is as cool as it gets. A classic 9-pointer if I’ve ever seen one. This is a beautiful buck and an incredible taxidermy job.

Pose: Full-upright

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Closed

Extras: Floor pedestal

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10 | Relaxed 12-Point Buck

This buck looks as if he’s just hanging out in a shaded block of timber. Maybe a mid- or late-September setting. This buck is a true giant, though.

Pose: Semi-sneak pedestal

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Closed

Extras: Floor pedestal

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11 | 8-Point Buck Eating Acorns

This mount was one of my personal favorites (of my favorites). A deer eating acorns? Who ever heard of such in a deer mount? Absolutely one of the most creative jobs I’ve ever seen.

Pose: Semi-sneak

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open

Extras: Floor pedestal and vegetation

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12 | 10-Point Buck Eating Corn

Are you a midwestern deer hunter who hunts around a lot of ag? This might be that real-life setting that goes perfectly with your next deer mount. This is one of the most impressive deer mounts I’ve ever seen.

Pose: Half-body semi-sneak

Head Variation: Up and right

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open

Extras: Floor pedestal and corn stalks

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13 | 8-Point Buck with Ears Pinned

This was one of the more “normal” deer mounts that I saw at the show. That said, despite it not having the flair and extras that other mounts had, this one certainly exhibited talent and skill.

Pose: Semi-upright

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Closed

Extras: Floor pedestal

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14 | Bedded Main-Frame 13-Point

Want a full-body mount? It’s hard to beat this bedded buck position. And if giant velvet bucks are your thing — this deer is that.

Pose: Full-body bedded

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Closed

Extras: Floor pedestal and vegetation

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15 | Velvet 9-Point Buck

This is another great example for those who like full-upright mounts. This big velvet 9-point is as pretty as whitetails come, too.

Pose: Full-upright pedestal

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Closed

Extras: Floor pedestal, rock and vegetation

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16 | 8-Point Buck Chewing Cud

This is a really cool buck with wide-set brow tines. It’s also mounted in a manner that it appears to be chewing either vegetation or its cud. An all-around great mount.

Pose: Semi-sneak

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Open

Extras: Pedestal and vegetation

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17 | 7-Point Buck in the Snow

This is one of the finest late-season deer mounts I’ve ever seen. This buck is set in snowy wintertime setting that really takes the hunter back to the day of the hunt.

Pose: Semi-upright

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Closed

Extras: Rack, vegetation and snow

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18 | Big Non-Typical Buck

This deer is a giant. It’s full of character and exhibits why I love whitetails so much — which is that every whitetail is different. No two are the same.

Pose: Semi-sneak pedestal

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Closed

Extras: None

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19 | 9-Point Buck Working a Scrape

This is one of the most creative mounts I’ve seen in a long time. This buck is suspended over a scrape and is caught in the act of working the licking branch. A one-of-a-kind mount.

Pose: Full-upright

Head Variation: Up and left

Ear Variation: Back

Mouth Variation: Closed

Extras: Pedestal, tree, branch and vegetation

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