Turkey guy in North AL or ship turkey?

[aclawrence]

Hey guys, I've seen a lot of comments from people saying they hunt in North Alabama. Is there a go to guy for turkey taxidermy around here?  I've seen pictures of Blackwings turkeys mounts also. Do some of you actually mail your turkey to a super duper turkey guy?  I've just never heard of that and wondered what kind of process it was. There is one guy here that gets a lot of good reviews for deer mounts but I looked at a couple pictures of some cats he had done and I wasn't too impressed.  If I were to get a turkey done I would like it to be someone who really has a passion for the turkeys.


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[aclawrence]

No insight into shipping a bird out there?


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[Ridgerunner23]

I highly recommend John Beard with Birds Only Taxidermy. I'm in southern middle tn and he is who I use. He is located in Dickson, TN

[dejake]

Freeze it, and overnight it.  simple as that.

[fountain2]

There are many good ones to ship to, but look and ask around locally.  Surely there is one near you that is good.  If not, look into blackwing, cally Morris, billingsby road taxidermy or wildlife by chip (chip hayes)

Those are some of the best in the industry and will get you fixed up.  Don't expect any of those to be cheap though

[aclawrence]

Cool, Dickson is just a little over 2 hours away from me.  I'll have to check him out.  I know the good turkey taxidermist are fewer in number than the deer guys and wasn't familiar the process of shipping a turkey.  For those who do ship one do you ship in a box or a cooler?


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[Blackwing]

Shipping birds is pretty simple. You just double bag with bags sealed and put in a cardboard box. Surround the frozen bird with bubble wrap or newspaper or something similar to keep bird from moving around in the box. Ship so that it gets to the taxidermist on 2nd day which is regular ground in most places. Turkeys are so well insulated naturally they will still be frozen upon arrival. Return shipping for be is usually $80-$100 for closed winged birds.(strutting, gobbling) And around the same for open winged birds if I can ship to a business address using a frieght company. John Beard and Ryan Searce(billingsby road) are good and in Tennesse. I'm not sure if Chip Hayes is taking in work right now. Shane Smith is in Bridgeport and very good but he takes in a limited amount of turkeys and Blake Wilson Is near Huntsville and is good. Hope this helps. You can give me a shout at 407-620-9019 if I can help you further.

[aclawrence]

Hey sorry I just now saw your post. Thanks for the response blackwing!


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[aclawrence]

Thread update, I ended up deciding to use Billingsby Road.  His freezers were full and asked me to hold it to September.  Anyway I finally dropped my bird off a few weeks ago.  The great news about waiting so long is he said I should have my bird back in a couple of months.  The bad news about wanting so long is he said I should have my bird back in a couple months haha.  I should have been more diligent in my savings lol.  It was great to meet Ryan and I really looking forward to getting my turkey back.  I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as I get it. 

[Blackwing]

Ryan was a good choice. He will do a very good job on your bird.

[Daggerz]

Shipping birds is pretty simple. You just double bag with bags sealed and put in a cardboard box. Surround the frozen bird with bubble wrap or newspaper or something similar to keep bird from moving around in the box. Ship so that it gets to the taxidermist on 2nd day which is regular ground in most places. Turkeys are so well insulated naturally they will still be frozen upon arrival. Return shipping for be is usually $80-$100 for closed winged birds.(strutting, gobbling) And around the same for open winged birds if I can ship to a business address using a frieght company. John Beard and Ryan Searce(billingsby road) are good and in Tennesse. I'm not sure if Chip Hayes is taking in work right now. Shane Smith is in Bridgeport and very good but he takes in a limited amount of turkeys and Blake Wilson Is near Huntsville and is good. Hope this helps. You can give me a shout at 407-620-9019 if I can help you further.

Great info. John mounted a Rio, for me a couple of years ago (very pleased). Hoping to let you do an Osceola, sooner than later!