Six Week Course

Our Six Week taxidermy school tuition is $8000.00, which includes all of the specimens and forms needed. The following is our curriculum.

A 10% deposit is required with all enrollment applications. Applications received without a deposit will not be processed.

Subject Clock Hours
1. Game Heads 45
2. Birds 30
3. Life-size Mounts 25
4. Tanning 20
5. Fish 38
6. Antler Board Mount 4
7. European Skull Mount 2
8. Fur Bearing Pedestal 13
9. Business Lecture 4
10. Basemaking 3
11. Painting and Finishing Work 24
12. Dry-Preserving 1
13. Anatomy 3
14. Reference Filing 1
15. Laws 2

Total Clock Hours: 240 Clock Hours (update)

The tuition for our six-week taxidermy training is $7500.00, which does include all of the specimens and forms needed. During the six-week training program, students will receive a complete working knowledge in the following major areas of taxidermy.

Gameheads (45 Clock Hours) Includes:skinning, fleshing, salting, tanning, finishing, coding, form selection, anatomy and mounting. Students will be required to mount one gamehead.

Birds (30 Clock Hours) Includes: mounting, fleshing, body selection, skinning, feather placement, and finishing. Students will be required to mount two birds.

Life-size Mounts (25 Clock Hours) Includes: skinning, tanning, form alterations, finishing, mounting, form selection and base making. Students will be required to complete one life-size mount.

Tanning (20 Clock Hours) Includes: skinning, salting, tanning one fur bearing animal.

Fish (38 Clock Hours) Includes replica bass. All students will learn how to select and order a replica fish. Students will be required to assemble all fins and gills. All necessary prep work will be taught as well as airbrushing.

Antler Board Mount (4 Clock Hours) Each student will be required to complete one antler board mount.

European Skull Mounts (2 Clock Hours) Discussion of whitening and preserving skull mounts.

Fur Bearing Pedestal (13 Clock Hours) Each student will complete one fur bearing animal on a shoulder mount pedestal.

Business Lecture (4 Clock Hours) Students will receive lectures on proper business practices and proper procedures on building his/her business from the ground up. They will also be taught about advertising techniques and accurate pricing of work by evaluating cost per hour and overhead.

Basemaking (3 Clock Hours) Students will receive instruction for the creation of a natural base for his/her mounts.

Painting and Finish Work (24 Clock Hours) Students will be taught the proper colors and techniques in using airbrush on finishing his/her mounts.

Dry-Preserving (1 Clock Hour) Students will be taught the pros and cons of dry-preserving, when to use and when not to use this technique.

Anatomy (3 Clock Hours) Students will be taught basic understanding of the anatomy of each specimen mounted. This is an essential part in the art of taxidermy.

Reference Filing (1 Clock Hour) All quality mounts are backed by having a good collection of reference photos. Keeping photos, proper measurements, and other related data is important for all successful taxidermists.

Laws (2 Clock Hours) State and Federal laws concerning taxidermist will be covered depending on the state in which they will be opening up shop.

Specimens

  • Gameheads: One Whitetail Deer
  • Birds: Two Pheasants
  • Lifesize mounts: (one of the following) Badger, Coon, Bobcat or Fox
  • Fish: One Largemouth Bass Replica
  • Fur Bearing: Pedestal
  • Board Mount: One Whitetail Deer antler board mount
  • European Skull: A bobcat, Badger or a Coon

Note: Some specimens may vary due to availability.

Students will be required to mount a minimum of 6 mounts to complete the six-week taxidermy course. All specimens will be furnished by Central Texas School of Taxidermy at no additional cost. The forms that Central Texas School of Taxidermy uses are the best forms available on today’s market. Our Whitetail forms have been winning all major competitions for the last eight years.