Interview with John Navan of Homestead Taxidermy in Woodstock, Connecticut.
I found John Navan’s card at a QDMA banquet that I attended recently. Why his card was there was because he was giving away a free deer mounting as part of some of the prizes that were being raffled off, unfortuneatly I was not the one who won it. I thought that it would be good to hear from a local Taxidermist and contacted John and between his schedule and mine we were finally able to meet last night at his shop.
Let me start by saying that John works where he lives and it took me only a half hour to get there. I drove through some of the nicest deer woods I have seen in the northeast corner of Connecticut. I was greeted in the driveway and headed right for his shop where I met his wife Christine of eleven years who helps John as much as she can.
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
[...] in Woodstock, Connecticut, John Navan of Homestead Taxidermy was interviewed by our very own Richard Kratzke of Tails and [...]
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