BlackRiver Taxidermy

09/12/2025

📸 Customer Spotlight!

Huge thanks to Jer Wildma for sharing this awesome photo of his mount! It’s always rewarding to see our work displayed with pride.

Taxidermy work done by BlackRiver Taxidermy, and the result speaks for itself — top-notch craftsmanship all around 👏

09/05/2025

I don’t stop…
Stack of freshly turned and fleshed bear hides on the salt table. Feels good getting all these done just prior to packing the truck to go chase elk!

09/03/2025

Shop will be closed September 5th-18th. Intakes may be arranged ONLY by calling me but will have limited service. Best of luck to you archery hunters!!

09/02/2025

08/31/2025

To say I’m excited about the upcoming elk archery season is an understatement. Who’s going?
When you’re putting your pack together, do you consider your in-field caping equipment, even if you’re only a ‘euro’ hunter? We’re going to post a video on Tuesday about so very small items to include to make the process easier, more efficient AND ways to capitalize on getting saving capes for exchanges dependent upon your taxidermist? This covers elk, deer, moose, etc. Stay tuned!

08/24/2025

I love this job! Crankin’

08/15/2025

Thank you Comstock & Co. these pack frames are awesome and make mounting our projects to them much simpler than even the hard-to-find traditional ones!

Big shipment going out today! 🚚💨 Huge thanks to for your trust and support! We’re so excited to be part of your journey and can’t wait for what’s next. Stay tuned for more!

08/02/2025

A gigantic coues buck headed home. This small subspecies of whitetail resides in the lower Midwest states and into the deserts of Mexico. They are half the size of a young whitetail deer, extremely elusive, and can sport some really unique headgear. This stateside buck is exceptional for antler size. Stay tuned for the next one coming up that is from Mexico and how different the coat color is! Thank you for the returning client for the work!

07/31/2025

Last day before opener. Saved the last post for the most common bear cut/skinning instruction diagram, the ‘rug cut’.
Very important to get the bear on its back, is possible, to make these cuts. Here are the most common mistakes we see often with bears coming in-
1. Cutting back legs poorly. START at the tip of the pad (back pads are shaped like a triangle), stretch the leg out, keeping your cut down the back hairline. DONT roll your cut up and over to the front of the leg.
2. Leaving too much red meat on the skin- spoils VERY fast and more weight for the trip out. Let the skin cool off before rolling up to pack out.
3. Cut the front legs starting at the chest and moving outward, stopping at the middle of the pad (pic #2). For a rug, stay more towards the top of the hairline/leg so there’s not a ‘flap’ on the upper side.
4. DONT SALT!!!! Unless you have completely removed the head, paws, ALL flesh and fat, and turned the lips, ears, and eyes salting will do NOTHING to preserve your hide and create more of a problem for your taxidermist, incurring potential significant costs increase to your project.

These skinning method can also be used for packboard style mounts, trapper tans, and of course rugs.
Best of luck to everyone this year, feel free to reach out to me or the taxidermisr you use if you have questions!