What Kind of Blogs Would You Like to See Here at Skinny Moose?

by Steve Remington

This is your time to give us some input and let us know some of the things you would like to see here at Skinny Moose Media. What types of blogs would you like to see and how are you liking what we have so far? Feel free to answer some or all of the questions below in a comment.

1) What other type of blogs would you like to see here at Skinny Moose?

2) What type of blogs do you already read here?

3) Do you find our blogs informative? Friendly? Resourceful?

4) Do you feel a sense of community when visiting Skinny Moose?

5) How long have you known of Skinny Moose?

Thanks guys and gals and I look forward to hearing from you all. Don’t feel limited to these specific questions if you have more to say. Appreciate the feedback…

A Quick Look Ahead

by Steve Remington

I just wanted to prepare everyone for what to expect in the next couple of weeks here at Skinny Moose Media. We have a few new blogs that will be added to the Network. Here is a sneak peak and breakdown of what you may see coming up shortly:

1 – International travel and outdoor blog. This will cover mostly travel destinations and outdoor news in other countries such as Costa Rica and the Central America region.

2 – Hunting blog. A person who is new to the hunting world will be blogging about hunting.

3 – Travel – Another travel blogger who will be covering hot spots, deals, and destinations for everyone.

4 – Fishing – Another fishing blog

5 – Fishing in the Florida Keys… This will cover news, stories, and write ups on local charters in the Keys.

And more emails are coming in as we speak to set up some new blogs. We will keep you posted.

New Western National Parks Blog Joins the Network

by Steve Remington

Skinny Moose Media is happy to announce our newest blog which will cover National Parks news and facts in the Western part of the country. The new blog is called Western National Parks – For Visitors, Hikers, and Outdoor Enthusiasts.

Welcome Sherril, the author of the new blog, to the Skinny Moose team.

Sherril is a full-time freelance writer and researcher, who lived and worked in Grand Canyon National Park for two years. She has visited most all the Western National Parks at least once, and has a passion for the parks and their history. She lives in Reno, Nevada with her husband and three cats, and when she’s not traveling, she enjoys gardening, cooking, crafts, and reading. You can reach her at www.sherrilsteele-carlin.com.

Richard Interviews John Navan of Homestead Taxidermy

by Steve Remington

Located in Woodstock, Connecticut, John Navan of Homestead Taxidermy was interviewed by our very own Richard Kratzke of Tails and Trails.

Rick – First thanks for doing this interview and taking time on a Sunday night for showing me what obviously you love doing. I guess my first question would be What made you decide to get into Taxidermy?

John – Ever since high school I have been interested in Taxidermy. I used to hang out at Hobby Taxidermy in Killingly and have been around hunting all my life.

Rick – How long have you actually been doing Taxidermy?

John – I started working with them 15 yrs ago and stopped after a short time, then began to work with them again a few years ago when I heard they would be retiring. I also took a workshop with Bill Yox who is one of the tops in the industry. I did have referrals from Hobby Taxidermy when I started but this is my real first year on my own and so far I am off to a good start with 1 moose, 1 bear, 2 wild boars and 1 deer not counting all the other stuff I got from Hobby before they left.

Rick – Do you hunt and if so how long have you been hunting?

John – I have been hunting all my life really, even now I go out with my dad every year and hunt state land and private land when we can get it. I love hunting Whitetails and I have hunted Turkey and Moose. I even tried Elk once. I have to say deer is my favorite. I am a fanatic when it comes to deer hunting.

Rick – “Fanatic” now your beginning to sound like me, that’s cool.

Rick – What types of animals have you mounted and what would be your favorite to do?

John – I have worked on mostly North American Game that is available in New England. I approach every animal with the same attention, with the use of ref. materials I do my best to make it look natural. The customer needs to be happy with the end result and I need to be proud to put my name on it before it leaves my shop. I subscribe to a lot of magazines and they have great photos of live animals in all different positions plus excellent photos are available from suppliers. My best inspection method through out the mounting process and after completion is to have my wife look it over and it is not done until we are both happy with it. My favorite I would have to say is of course deer.

Rick – What has been the most challenging mounts that you have worked on?

John – I would have to say a full bear mount and a moose had to be the hardest to do mainly because of the size of the animals, it sometimes is tough to work on by yourself.

Rick – Is this a full time profession or a part time thing?

John – Right now it is part time but I have hopes of doing it full time some day. My full time job is being an estimator for a sheet metal aerospace company during the day. I spend at night and weekends doing Taxidermy.

Rick – How is business now compared to when you started a year ago?

John – Pretty good actually for my first year. I have had a gentleman who has come back as a repeat customer which is good and I have had others that were very satisfied and said they would return as well.

Rick – I’m curious what is the biggest Whitetail that you have ever mounted?

John – I would have to say a 205 pound buck that scored approximately 160″

Rick – When you say scored does that mean you measured the antlers?

John – Yes, I am a certified measurer for the Northeast Big Buck Club. I became certified after taking a class that they put on last year.

Rick – That is awesome and good to know that we have a certified measurer in the quiet corner of Connecticut. I have thought about taking that same class myself and as a matter of fact I have a rack that I will bring over for you to score.

Rick – What do you charge for say a full shoulder mount of a whitetail or maybe a antler mount or a european mount?

John – Right now I charge $395.00 for a shoulder mount and for a antler mount it is $125.00 and for a european mount it is $180.00

Rick – For someone who is thinking of have a deer mount done how long would it take before delivery of completion?

John – Right now I would have to say 8 to 12 months before they get their trophy back. I know it seems like a long time but you can’t rush these kinds of things if you want them to come out right.

Rick – Last question and that would be Do you have any tips for someone who might want to become a Taxidermist?

John – There are video’s that you can get that help and there is a website that you can visit called Taxidermy.net but the best thing to do is try and find a Taxidermist that would be willing to teach you. Hands on training is always the best way to learn.

Rick – I want to thank you again John for your time and I also want to thank your wife Christine for the apple cider, it was very delicious. I have to say that if you ever need help on the weekends please do not hesitate to call me. Taxidermy has always been interesting to me and I would consider it a honor to just be able to help.

If you are from the area and wish to have John do some work for you than contact him via email at northeastwhitetail@hotmail.com

Great Smoky Mountain Blog Joins Skinny Moose Media

by Steve Remington

With our push for travel and national park blogs we have a new Great Smoky Mountain blog which was added to the Network late last week. Please welcome Amy, who will be keeping us informed on the park and some great resources for those who may be interested in traveling to the park in the future.

Here is a little bit about Amy:

Amy Bender is a freelance writer and blogger. She is author of the book Gatlinburg: A Guide for Tourists, a guide to traveling in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the surrounding areas. She is also a contributing blogger for thebudgettravelista.com, and is currently developing a site at PreschoolRock.com devoted to tips and advice for traveling with young children. When Amy isn’t writing, she loves to travel. She and her family are slowly making their way through all the national parks, and Great Smoky Mountains is one of their absolute favorites!

So head on over and give her a warm welcome!

Essay Contest for Teenagers- Five Winners Rewarded with Youth Deer Hunting Opportunity

by Steve Remington

The Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Foundation, in partnership with Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World-Baltimore and the United States Land Alliance will reward five talented youngsters with an opportunity to participate in a youth-only deer hunt at Talisman Farm on Youth Deer Hunting Day, November 10, 2007.

Any young person, ages 12, 13 or 14 may submit an essay, 200 words or less, addressing on the subject of “What a Healthy Chesapeake Bay Means to Me as a Teenager and a Sportsman”.

Read More >>

Lance Dutson of Skinny Moose Media On Fox News Network

by Steve Remington

Lance Dutson, Skinny Moose blogger, and author of Maine Web Report has been on several main stream media networks. Lance who is the Online Director for Senator Susan Collins tried to take out anti-moveon.org ads through Google and the ads were removed. Google claims it was infringement. But was it? Is Google actually politically motivated in this case. Watch the video and determine for yourself.

Source

Skinny Moose Media Covers Gander Mountain Grand Opening in Evansville, Indiana

by Steve Remington

John Stabley, Vice President of Global Operations here at Skinny Moose Media and U.S. Hunting Today, spent some time last weekend at the official Gander Mountain Grand Opening in Evansville, Indiana. He spent the entire day there covering the event and taking lots of pictures.

The Evansville store is 53,000 square feet which features innovative products including firearms, equipment for hunting, fishing, and archery, apparel and footwear, camping and tons more. Gander Mountain currently has 114 stores in 23 states.

Here are a few pictures he took but head over to his blog and check out the entire article with all the photos he took of the place.

Gander Mountain Store

The Gander Mountain Truck

Sneak peak inside the store of the hunting and fishing departments

John Stabley (left) and Michael Waddell

See entire story and pics here >>

Skinny Moose Media Bloggers Continue to Interview Industry Leaders

by Steve Remington

One of our newer bloggers, Brad of Southern Adventures, recently interviewed the Founder of Youth Outdoor Connection, Inc. The following is only a excerpt of the actual article, but feel free to follow the link to read the entire thing.

“Youth Outdoor Connection was founded by me, Keith Southern. We officially got incorporated in October, 2006 and are currently celebrating our 1 year anniversary.

I’ve been hunting and fishing here in North Western North Carolina as far back as I can remember. I’ve always wanted to share the great outdoors with others. Once my son was old enough to start tagging along with me, I realized what I should do, provide free outdoor events to all kids regardless of wealth, disability, creed, national origin, religion, or any other reason…”

Read entire post >>

Transfer Your Website to Skinny Moose Hosting and Get the First 3 months for $3

by Steve Remington

Skinny Moose Media offers hosting services. We usually don’t push the service too much and rely mostly on word of mouth. We try to keep our services to related websites and to provide exceptional customer service. We also understand most people are paying a lot for having a website for your business.

So we want to become your hosting company. We will transfer your website for you at no charge (Normally $30 fee for doing the work to switch) and not only that but you can get the first 3 months for only $3. This is $1 per month. Once your 3 months is up it will return to the normal prices. We want the 3 months to be a trial period so you can see that we are the hosting company for you.

We provide custom made package but we do offer 3 basic packages and here they are with the pricing:

Web Hosting Packages

Business A
300 MB of disk space
3,000 MB of transfer (bandwidth)
Unlimited Email Accounts
Unlimited FTP Accounts
Unlimited Database
cPanel/Skins
FP Extensions
$6.95/month
$79.95/year

Business B
600 MB of disk space
6,000 MB of transfer (bandwidth)
Unlimited Email Accounts
Unlimited FTP Accounts
Unlimited Database
cPanel/Skins
FP Extensions
$12.95/month
$149.95/year

Business C
1200 MB of disk space
12,000 MB of transfer (bandwidth)
Unlimited Email Accounts
Unlimited FTP Accounts
Unlimited Database
cPanel/Skins
FP Extensions
$24.95/month
$289.95/year

Please contact me at steve@skinnymoose.com to get your site moved over ASAP.

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