We regret that Wild Reflections no longer offers trophy expediting services. Our studio is fully booked on taxidermy work, and the time and attention expediting demands would compromise turnaround on the mounts already in our queue. For getting your trophy out of Alaska, we recommend coordinating with your outfitter for in-state pickup and a dedicated expediting service for the haul to the lower 48 — call us before you leave the field and we'll talk through the handoff. Once your trophy reaches us in Peters Creek, we handle everything from receiving through the final mount.

Same posture — those are services a dedicated expediting outfit handles, not us. We focus our hours on the bench work that turned us into the studio you've heard about. We're glad to recommend specialists once you've identified the country of origin and destination.

Hours can vary, but typically we are open Monday through Friday, 9 to 5.

It is best to drop off your trophies fresh, unsalted, and frozen whenever possible. It is not always possible for them to be frozen, and dropping them off thawed works just fine provided they get to us quickly and do not sit unfrozen for long periods of time before being dropped off. Avoid salting hides that have not been properly turned and fleshed — salting hides and then freezing them can result in damage to the hides.

We look for a 50% deposit based on the list price, before work begins.

The list price is the starting price and generally includes tanning and everything needed for the mounting process. Additional fees include, but are not limited to, services or items that are optional and don't apply to every project equally. Examples are fleshing hides, advanced or larger habitat builds, crating trophies for shipping, shipping fees, and hardwood bases for pedestals or life-size.

We accept Venmo, checks, and cash. We can also accept credit cards if the customer is okay paying the credit card company's 3% transaction fee.

We strive to keep our turnaround time at one year from the date of deposit, give or take a few months.

You typically have a couple of months to make a final decision on what pose you would like. It's best to get one on record with us as soon as possible to avoid any delays on the mount.

We work on a wide variety of animals from all over the world. Our main focus is Alaska animals, and that does account for the majority of our work each year. We do a lot of all the different Alaska animals each year, but typically we work on more sheep and mountain goats than other species.

At this time we do not accept birds and fish for mounting. The exception is if they are being used in a piece along with another animal — then we do accept birds, and we make arrangements for fish replicas to be made for the display.

At this time we do not accept moose for skull work.

Residents of Alaska can ship their trophies to us with whichever carrier is in their area, and we will pick it up in Anchorage. Generally, Alaska Air Cargo and ACE are the most common.

We do not seal on location. For animals requiring ADFG sealing, you will need to take it to one of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game offices for sealing before dropping it off with us.

Be extremely cautious not to apply pressure to the fragile areas of the mount, which include the face (nose, eyes, mouth, and ears), the feet and toes, the tail, and any reproduction horns or removable antlers.

Do not display close to high heat sources, such as hanging over a fireplace.

Do not smoke by the mount — this will damage the hair and the paint.

To clean, use a dry duster. Do not apply any chemicals such as Pledge or Windex.

It is okay to use a dog grooming brush to gently comb hairs back in place to erase fingerprints if they have been disturbed during shipping or hanging. It is not uncommon for a few hairs to come out when combing, and it is not a sign for concern.

Your mount is precisely groomed — please follow these instructions to avoid disturbing the look of your mount.

Lift the mount by the bottom or backboard of the base or habitat. You can also steady the mount by simultaneously lifting on the legs and body of the animal. When steadying with the legs of the animal, the best place to lift is between the knee and the feet on any leg that is attached to the habitat. DO NOT lift on a leg that is not attached to the base or habitat.

If lifting a detachable animal separately from the base or habitat, lift by the body or as close to the body as possible on the legs. DO NOT lift by the feet or head.

When pushing a mount on its wheels attached to the base, push only on the very bottom of the base or gently on the body of the animal over an attached leg.

Animals attached to a wall-hanging habitat: be sure to securely sink appropriately sized lag screws into wall studs before hanging. The hangers on the back of the habitat will be appropriately spaced to hang on studs and leveled to give the mount the correct look when hung.

Lift the mount by the horns or antlers and the bottom or brisket, or by the back board.

Hang the mount on a lag screw. Ensure that the lag screw is securely seated in a stud — do not hang the mount on a lag screw that is not properly secured. This may lead to a damaged mount or serious injury.

Once the mount is secured on the lag screw, use a dull instrument, such as the back of a butter knife or a screwdriver, to gently tuck the hair against the wall behind the backboard. This creates a cleaner look to the mount.