My NOv 05 Elk is back from Taxidermist

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

So, I went on a guided elk hunt Thanksgiving week 2005. I managed to shoot a great bull. He scored right around 320 and by looking at all of the mounts at the lodge, I decided to leave it with the taxidermist who does all the work for the guide. He wanted $650 for the mount and my local guy, Dick's Taxidermist, wanted $1200.
The taxidermist calls me three weeks ago and says the mount is ready. He says he has a usual shipping company and with his discount the cost was $580. I nearly pooped my pants when I heard that. I told him to hold off a few weeks and I would make a decision to either drive out to Noxon Mt. or have him ship it.
He called me last Monday and said he had a regular customer who lives in Spokane, Wa. and he was coming to Sacramento to visit his Dad. He volunteered to bring my elk out to me if I helped with his gas. So I agreed to pay him $250 for gas and my elk was on the way.

I met him at Applebees in Davis, bought him a beer

and I was on the way. The elk was mounted in a 6x5 solid box made out of plywood. It took four guys to move it from my truck to his. He says "Do you want to tie it down" I say, "No, it will be fine." IT WASN'T.

I get on to the freeway and the box lifts itself up out of the bed of my truck, does three flips and lands in the middle of interstate 80. I jamb my truck in reverse and pull the still intact box off the freeway and back into my truck. By this time, I was shaking so bad I had to sit there for awhile.

Long story short, I get the elk home and it is completely undamaged after a helluva ride out of my truck and on to the freeway. I have no idea how it got airborne. Here is a pic of the mount on my wall. Well it won't let me post the pic so, I guess you will all have to take my word for it.

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

If anybody can help me Post a pic, let me know

 

[Backcountry]

Sweet Jesus! Thank goodness the mount wasn't damaged (and no one on the highway was killed).

To post a pic, first try to upload it to the photo gallery... then, right click on the photo, copy the URL code for the photo, and past that into the thread. If that don't work, e-mail it to me and I'll post it.

 

[Zbearclaw]

That is lucky, glad it wasn't damaged, nor anyone following too close.

 

[paulc]

Got a good chuckle out of that. You know what they say.

Alls well that ends well!!

 

[inchr48]

If the guy behind you laid on his horn, you could have laid the antlers on him.

Glad it turned out OK, can't wait to see the mount.

 

[Arrowslinger]

"the box lifts itself up out of the bed of my truck, does three flips and lands in the middle of interstate 80."

Let's see some pics.

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

K,

I tried to post and the file is too big

 

[Arrowslinger]

send'em to me & i'll downsize'em....just sent ya an e-mail w/ my address.

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

WOW that is crazy, cant wiat to see your mount. how lucky you are PC............tra

 

[BOWUNTR]

I almost threw up when I read that. Ouch. Thank God everything was OK.

I was on a bear hunt last season, we were done, tired and heading home. I had my quad tied down in the back of my truck with two tie downs and the tailgate down. I was cruising, just cruising, down a dirt road, hit a bump and heard a loud crashing noise. I look in my rear view and see my quad, on all fours in the middle of the road. I suspect that when I hit the bump, the shocks compressed, tiedowns came off, shocks rebounded causing the quad to get a little air and I drove out from underneath it. The parking brake was still on and the quad was unscathed. I use four tiedowns now!! I tie everything down now!! Ed F

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

[attachment=31628:attachment][attachment=31627:attachment]Here is my mount!

 

[Speckmisser]

Nice elk!

And AWESOME luck on that highway mishap. So many things could have happened, and actually damaging the mount was the least of them... congrats on being kissed by an angel.

 

[Backcountry]

I see you got the pictures posted OK... beautiful elk!

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

Here is one more pic. Thaks to Backcountry and my wife I figured it out.

 

[YoungBlood]

That's a great looking bull.

Amazing story as well. Glad to see everything worked out fine. -YB

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

great mount and great bull, i would be happy with an elk like that! i am glad it survived the fall

.......tra

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

Tra,
I am very happy with it. I am just very happy that nobody got hurt. There were actually two smart people on the road for a change that blocked the road for me while I took it out of the way.

 

[Kentuck]

Great Elk and Deer! It's amazing how big things will blow out of a pickup. Tie down everything!

 

[snoopdogg]

PCNWTF, my goodness! What the hell?? Congrats on several fronts; your elk, the driver coming through Sacto, nobody killed with the Flying Elk, and the fact that that som'b*tch was undamaged! Holy moley, super-schmoley!