Has anyone ever got a velvet buck mounted? Did you have to do anything special or tell your taxidermist anything special? From my limited online searching at work it appears they do have to preserve the velvet somehow. I got a pretty nice velvet Axis on the 31st and he is currently in route to the taxidermist while I struggle through my first day back at the office - will post some pics tonight when I get home.

I got an axis in velvet. Just called ahead to make sure the taxidermist did velvet because some small operations may not. To my knowledge they methanol dipped mine. Looks great.

I had a Axis euro mounted in velvet. It was a lot more expensive than regular. A different taxidermist said that freeze drying them over time is the best way to preserve them.

I've got an axis shoulder (pedestal) mount in velvet. Turned out great. Double Nickel Taxidermy in New Braunfels.

They up charged me $50 for the methanol dip, total cost for the wall pedestal was $600

I shot a whitetail in velvet about 16 years ago and had it shoulder mounted. Not sure what they did to preserve it as it still looks great today. I do remember asking the taxidermist if he had worked with velvet before dropping it off.

HCHunter said:

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I shot a whitetail in velvet about 16 years ago and had it shoulder mounted. Not sure what they did to preserve it as it still looks great today. I do remember asking the taxidermist if he had worked with velvet before dropping it off.

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Not trying to be confrontational at all, but how was the WT still in velvet during deer season?

Probably shot it in the first part of bow season, I'm guessing, and had a late bloomer?

Or it could have been a "cactus buck"

A cactus buck is a deer that has a condition called cryptorchidism, which results in velvet remaining on antlers and continuing to grow throughout the year. The condition generally occurs to bucks that have irregular testicles or have incurred testicular damage, which impacts testosterone levels.

Rock08 is correct. The place we hunted near Llano always had a few "stags" as we called them, that were in velvet 24/7. This was the best one I ever killed with about 21 points. A biologist once told us that the condition was due to a special moss that grew on the pink granite, but I never confirmed that.