North Star Taxidermy Studio

04/16/2024

We have the latest edition of the Big game records book of Minnesota on hand and for sale for $35.00.
They print a new edition about every 3-4 years, so if the last version is fine with you, we have a few left for $10.00 each.
Great gift for someone you know who has a deer, bear, moose or elk recorded.

03/26/2024

While I'm not a big fan of board mounts, this one we just finished is kinda cool.

03/24/2024

For those of you who have wall pedestal style deer mounts that we have done for you in the past that require the special "T hanger" type hanger and you have lost the part that goes on the wall because you moved or what have you, we have more in stock now!

01/21/2024

It's probably a little early to celebrate but the DNR has finally taken the input from taxidermist and hunters around the state to modify the current law that does not allow deer, elk or moose skulls to be brought into Mn unless they are already finished taxidermy pieces. The legislature still has to approve the change but if it does, hunters will be able to bring them into Mn as long as they go to a Taxidermy Studio that meets the qualifications to accept them. It will have to be done 48 hours from the time you enter back into Mn.
This will make many hunters and my life so much easier!

01/04/2024

So this is literally a post about a post!
I'm looking to purchase old weathered fence posts. I usually pay $10 per post.
They need to be "unique", not manufactured ones. They also need to be 3-4" in diameter. I can use a few larger like 6" or so. They have to be naturally weathered, that's a must!
The cooler the better!!
You can call me at the shop at 507 232-3337 if you have any.
Thanks!

12/25/2023

Quick recap of the painting of a giant Florida bass replica .

12/23/2023

Happy Holidays everyone!

12/23/2023

We had a very successful fall in the shop, these are just the euros we were able to complete before Christmas .

12/23/2023

Little refurbish job on a moose that was neglected.
Before and after

11/25/2023

Big Iowa bowkill going home today.

11/21/2023

Now that Thanksgiving is upon us and many of you will be hunting out of state, be aware it's illegal to bring a deer or elk back into Mn on the skull unless the skull has been boiled out. In the past it was ok to just remove the brain but now they are enforcing it to the letter of the law. If it's going to be a shoulder mount, it needs to be skinned off the head and antlers cut off the top of the skull.
Feel free to call the shop for skinning instructions and check out our videos on how to do it yourself, it's pretty easy.
Good luck hunting!
Jeff

11/20/2023

Just wanted to thank everyone on the kind words about the Kare11 story and take a minute to just explain one thing.
When asked how many full time taxidermists are from here to the metro, I said the crazy thing is there are 4 of us within 20 miles but then you have to go about an hour to find another one but only that last part was aired. So certainly no disrespect was meant towards Pat, Dale or Bob.
We love free advertisement and sometimes they just don't have time to air as much of the 2 hour interview as they would like.
Happy Thanksgiving all!

11/17/2023

Hey everyone, tune into Kare11 at 10 o'clock tonight, you might recognize a couple people in a story ...😉

11/16/2023

Waterfowl hunters, we are now accepting bird mounts again.
In an attempt to keep our turn around times under 1 year, we had to suspend taking new birds last winter but we will now accept a limited number of new duck, small geese and pheasant mounts.
We are charging $595 for ducks and pheasants and $695 for snow, blue and Ross geese with a $200 deposit.
First birds in should be done in summertime and so on from there.
You must have your hunting license with you when dropping off.

11/11/2023

Thanks everyone, I got the deer I was looking for. Thanks Jake!!

Deer Hunters, I'm looking to buy a lifesize skin from atleast a 3 1/2 year old buck for a mount display I'm doing for a sporting goods store..
I'll pay 200 cash to the first one who shows up at my shop, only catch is you need to leave his "privates" on the animal. When you field dress him, just make your cut along side of them.
Another bonus is that I'll skin the deer for you and have it all deboned and I can either deliver it to Schmidt's for you, or you can pick it up.
Picture for attention!
Call the shop at 507 232-3337 if you have any questions.
Update, there has been a lot of questions about what's a 3 1/2 year old look like. While antlers aren't always the true indicator of age, this picture gives an example of a 1 1/2, 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old bucks.

11/04/2023

As many of you know, we mount 300 shoulder mount deer per year. One of the first questions people as is, "how long til I get my deer back". The answer is, it depends when you bring it in..
If your at the start of gun season, it's a 6 month wait, then goes from there. We usually never go over 1 year on any deer mount, unless it's an extenuating circumstance.
If you've never been in our showroom, stop and check out our mounts, you won't be disappointed!

11/04/2023

Good luck deer hunters!
Just wanted to take a minute and give a little PSA about the care of your trophy if your fortunate enough to get one you would like mounted.
If your unsure how to cape it properly, we are more than willing to cape it for you, right in our parking lot.
If you do it yourself, watch our videos we've posted or call the shop if your unsure where to make the cuts. Biggest mistake people make is to cut it incorrectly in the armpit area.
Couple more things, don't hang it by the neck. If you do hang it by the head, attach to the antlers and not the neck.
Never wash out the chest cavity with water! If you do, your just inviting bacteria and spoilage. If you wash it out and hang it by it's legs, the water will run into the head and neck and create what we call a "water head" and this can ruin your cape and meat fast!
If you kill a buck 3 1/2 years old or older and do not plan to mount it, we would love the chance to buy the cape. We won't buy anything over the phone, we need to see it in person to look over the size and condition before we can quote you a price.
Have a great hunting season!

10/12/2023

Now that deer season is in full swing, this is a good useful video for those of you unsure how to skin your deer properly for a shoulder mount.

09/22/2023

This post is aimed at out of state deer hunters.
State law says your not allowed to bring in a deer, elk or moose back into Mn still on the skull, unless it's been boiled out. It's fine to cut the top of the skull off if your doing a shoulder mount. So basically what this means is that if you want to do a shoulder mount, you need to skin the hide off the skull. If your hesitant to do this, don't worry, it's not that hard. Feel free to call the shop for instructions. I have posted videos on this in the past, so you can find it in my videos or just search YouTube.
If your wanting a Euro, you'll have to plan ahead to cook it out there, we can finish it up for you once back however to make it super nice.
Good luck hunting all!
(Photo for attention)

09/11/2023

Last fall we did cwd testing for the dnr, as a promotion to encourage people to participate, we gave away a free shoulder mount for anyone who brought a deer in to be tested.
Your winner is Katey (embacher) Gahl.
Congratulations Katey!

08/30/2023

We will be closed this Friday and Monday for the holiday weekend.
Have a great one everybody!

08/16/2023

Now that we are on the backside of August and nearing Bear season, I thought this would be a good time to let everyone know that we are only accepting shoulder mount bears this fall, no lifesize, 1/2 lifesize or rugs. Feel free to stop and check them out in the showroom but they do make a nice reasonably priced option for your fall bear.
Good luck everyone!

07/08/2023

This isn't meant to be negative but just a friendly reminder to our customers, please don't call checking on the status of your mount. We give a good estimate of when we will get to it when you drop it off and we are pretty close to that currently but for everyone that calls checking on it, it takes time to drop what we are doing to look up your info and so on, so it really does the opposite and makes us less productive, which means it will be longer to complete each project.
Trust me, we didn't lose your number and if yours changed, then by all means, please contact us.
Thanks again for all the business you provide us!!

06/23/2023

First class operation, check em out!

Christine Michaletz knows what it’s like to be uncomfortable with guns, but the blast of a pistol no longer alarms her senses. Perhaps that’s what makes her uniquely qualified to

06/22/2023

Does anyone out there know a Bradley Larsen from Mankato?
Used to live on Warren street, if you have any info on him, phone number or what have you, please DM me.
Thanks!

06/11/2023

Pretty cool northern went out today.

06/04/2023

Happy Sunday all!
So the Minnesota official measurers, who keep track and produce the Mn record book for big game, are getting ready to print the next edition of the record book. If you are in this and have any information that needs to be corrected, like name spelling, county or date killed, let me know asap and we can get it corrected.
(Photo for attention)

05/14/2023

So we've been very busy with lots of "unique " projects lately.
This one will end up at a great repeat customers "shop"..
Big shoutout to my buddy Dave Krampitz in Waseca for hooking me up with the old truck box.
Waterfowlers, we will have some for you in a week..:

05/14/2023

Just finished up this brown phase black bear from Northern Minnesota, what a beautiful coat !