Testimonials
While bird hunting in the Broadus area in Sept. 2022, I had a chance to visit Powder River Taxidermy. I am very interested in both taxidermy and hunting. Being an amateur taxidermist myself I was most interested in the operation as a whole. I was able make many visits into the shop while hunting in the area. What first stood out was the hospitality. The shop is a 3 generation business with many family members being involved. Everyone was extremely nice and put up with all the questions I had, and the endless photos I took. I was giving the run of the huge facility. This is no one room taxidermy shop. Everything that can be done in house is house is done in house. The tanning of the all hides is done in house. Many if not most taxidermists send there hides out to be tanned and in so loose control. There is a very big pressurized rotating tanning tank, a large sawdust tumbler, and other tanning tanks as well as fleshing machines. The beautiful pedestals and plaques are done in the area by a friend and some done in a unique cedar, but most woods are available. They are also setup to do all their own meat processing.
When you walk around the different rooms you are able to see hundreds of mounts, horns, forms, tanned hides, pedestals, plaques, back ground scenes that go with the mounts. There are full size mounts of Lions, smaller cats, badgers, bear. Honestly the amount of mount's are overwhelming. But what I was able to do is see the mounts close up. The areas that separate the Masters from the rest. The details in the eyes, the set and shape of the ears, and the nose which really makes the mount look real. Every detail was perfect, I could very seldom find a detail out of place. Full lion mounts that looked like they were alive and ready to pounce if need be.
The deer and the antelope were simply outstanding, the beauty and majesty that stood out in the trophy mounts left no room for improvement.
I had a chance to watch Shawna at work on a few Antelope, and snap some photos and ask questions. It is apparent that she loves what she does. She told me that she often makes trips to the field to observe the wildlife. When asked what her favorite mount was she said, Antelope, Whitetail, and Muledeer, but be assured they can do it all in this shop. I'm not sure how many hundreds of mounts she has done, but it's more than most.
When I mentioned to her that her work was good enough for competition works, she thanks me and took a few seconds to reply. She said someday I may have the time, but right now I don't want to take anything away from the work I'm doing for our customers.
Which brings me into the area of customer service. There were many people coming and going. Some just dropping in to visit, and many dropping off their Trophies. The team at Powder River, always made time for whoever came in, and they treated everyone like an old friend.
The dedication to their work and their customers was outstanding. I seen first had where they went out of their way to keep their word even if it meant loosing some money. I heard story after story from this family member or that one, of the hard times, the lack of supplies for the taxidermy part of the business or the sporting goods side, covid, the loss of loved ones, and the inability of getting help when needed. And yet they all just pushed on. The level of their work ethic was second to none. They simply were always working, seven days a week from early morning to late at night. They are a very hard working family who take pride in what they do. They all feel so blessed that the family can be together, and no matter what happens they work so hard to get the customer what they promised.
I received absolutely nothing for this re-view, it's simply what I seen.
Randy Randall
Desert Point Kennels
Wellton Az.
While bird hunting in the Broadus area in Sept. 2022, I had a chance to visit Powder River Taxidermy. I am very interested in both taxidermy and hunting. Being an amateur taxidermist myself I was most interested in the operation as a whole. I was able make many visits into the shop while hunting in the area. What first stood out was the hospitality. The shop is a 3 generation business with many family members being involved. Everyone was extremely nice and put up with all the questions I had, and the endless photos I took. I was giving the run of the huge facility. This is no one room taxidermy shop. Everything that can be done in house is house is done in house. The tanning of the all hides is done in house. Many if not most taxidermists send there hides out to be tanned and in so loose control. There is a very big pressurized rotating tanning tank, a large sawdust tumbler, and other tanning tanks as well as fleshing machines. The beautiful pedestals and plaques are done in the area by a friend and some done in a unique cedar, but most woods are available. They are also setup to do all their own meat processing.
When you walk around the different rooms you are able to see hundreds of mounts, horns, forms, tanned hides, pedestals, plaques, back ground scenes that go with the mounts. There are full size mounts of Lions, smaller cats, badgers, bear. Honestly the amount of mount's are overwhelming. But what I was able to do is see the mounts close up. The areas that separate the Masters from the rest. The details in the eyes, the set and shape of the ears, and the nose which really makes the mount look real. Every detail was perfect, I could very seldom find a detail out of place. Full lion mounts that looked like they were alive and ready to pounce if need be.
The deer and the antelope were simply outstanding, the beauty and majesty that stood out in the trophy mounts left no room for improvement.
I had a chance to watch Shawna at work on a few Antelope, and snap some photos and ask questions. It is apparent that she loves what she does. She told me that she often makes trips to the field to observe the wildlife. When asked what her favorite mount was she said, Antelope, Whitetail, and Muledeer, but be assured they can do it all in this shop. I'm not sure how many hundreds of mounts she has done, but it's more than most.
When I mentioned to her that her work was good enough for competition works, she thanks me and took a few seconds to reply. She said someday I may have the time, but right now I don't want to take anything away from the work I'm doing for our customers.
Which brings me into the area of customer service. There were many people coming and going. Some just dropping in to visit, and many dropping off their Trophies. The team at Powder River, always made time for whoever came in, and they treated everyone like an old friend.
The dedication to their work and their customers was outstanding. I seen first had where they went out of their way to keep their word even if it meant loosing some money. I heard story after story from this family member or that one, of the hard times, the lack of supplies for the taxidermy part of the business or the sporting goods side, covid, the loss of loved ones, and the inability of getting help when needed. And yet they all just pushed on. The level of their work ethic was second to none. They simply were always working, seven days a week from early morning to late at night. They are a very hard working family who take pride in what they do. They all feel so blessed that the family can be together, and no matter what happens they work so hard to get the customer what they promised.
I received absolutely nothing for this re-view, it's simply what I seen.
Randy Randall
Desert Point Kennels
Wellton Az.