# Taxidermist in the Atlanta area



## castaway (Aug 20, 2012)

I will be moving to the Atlanta area at the end of the month and I was wanting to get some opinions on a good taxidermist in the area. I have a freezer full of birds that I need done. Any suggestions are welcomed.


----------



## Barroll (Aug 20, 2012)

Chris Fortner (Fortner Taxidermy) in covington.  He does an awesome job.  I bring him all my deer/ducks.


----------



## JNW (Aug 20, 2012)

Barroll said:


> Chris Fortner (Fortner Taxidermy) in covington.  He does an awesome job.  I bring him all my deer/ducks.



x2    Couldn't be happier with his work!


----------



## Barroll (Aug 20, 2012)

couple pics of fortners work


----------



## Joe Overby (Aug 20, 2012)

Dana Stanford.  Hands down.


----------



## fredw (Aug 20, 2012)

Take a look at the waterfowl mounts by Lee Johnson, Unique Taxidermy.  He does great work.


----------



## vrooom (Aug 20, 2012)

Dana Stanford in Roswell


----------



## ThunderRoad (Aug 20, 2012)

Go with FORTNER. You will be very happy...


----------



## CLDUCKS (Aug 20, 2012)

Beaks and bands waterfowl taxidermy in Stockbridge 678/.787/1964  Brett Miller


----------



## chad smith (Aug 20, 2012)

X3 on Chris fortner!!!
He does my taxidermy work and IMO by far the best around! I was actually in his shop today dropping off a deer head I killed in the past and him and his guys were working on some ducks and let me tell you his ducks are JAM UP!! 
They are so life like I almost pulled out my duck call to call to them
You need to give him a call, I think he is doing a great special on ducks until the end of the month!


----------



## USMC0321 (Aug 20, 2012)

Chris Fortner is the man to call!  His work is excellent, he has a strong work ethic and strives for perfection in each mount.  I took an Alligator to have mounted, fish, snakes, turkeys, deer, and ducks to him and all the work was quality. Don't hesitate to call him.  Prices are fair too.  I drive an hour to take my stuff to him.


----------



## emusmacker (Aug 20, 2012)

Picked these up from Fortner's last Friday.  He is top notch and his prices are great too.


----------



## gsuchevy (Aug 20, 2012)

Go with Chris Fornter. He does the best work I've seen you won't be sorry. Is a great guy too.

http://fortnertaxidermy.com/


----------



## Jasper (Aug 20, 2012)

Chris Fortner does all my work. Quality work, super nice guy.


----------



## ngaduck (Aug 20, 2012)

Joe Overby said:


> Dana Stanford.  Hands down.



Yep!


----------



## cmtemple (Aug 20, 2012)

fortner hands down he always goes above and beyond what you expect.770-480-5241


----------



## DeepweR (Aug 21, 2012)

Chris Fortner for sure!!!!


----------



## AMBWANA (Aug 21, 2012)

Hardens in thomasville he is awesome on birds and ducks. It's worth the drive for him to do them. He delivers mounts to hunters in atlanta on a regular basis and would probably pick them up. His artistic add ons really make the mounts.


----------



## CLDUCKS (Aug 21, 2012)

Heres the link to Beaks and Bands Waterfowl Taxidermy's page. Theyve got some awesome looking birds.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beaks-and-Bands-Waterfowl-Taxidermy/250422128317081


----------



## Larry Young Jr (Aug 21, 2012)

fredw said:


> Take a look at the waterfowl mounts by Lee Johnson, Unique Taxidermy.  He does great work.



There are alot of good Taxidermies here in Ga. But I have been using Lee for the last 7 years and he mounts 3 or 4 birds a year for me..


----------



## THE RETURN (Aug 21, 2012)

Larry Young Jr said:


> There are alot of good Taxidermies here in Ga. But I have been using Lee for the last 7 years and he mounts 3 or 4 birds a year for me..




  you are correct ..alot of great taxidermist.i say go shop around and meet these guys/girls and use the 1 that you hit it off with..


----------



## mike new (Aug 21, 2012)

*Taxidermist*

Lee Johnson at uniques taxidermy. He has done a great job on every bird he has done for me.


----------



## castaway (Aug 21, 2012)

AMBWANA said:


> Hardens in thomasville he is awesome on birds and ducks. It's worth the drive for him to do them. He delivers mounts to hunters in atlanta on a regular basis and would probably pick them up. His artistic add ons really make the mounts.



I have three birds at Hardens now and they have been there for right at 2 years. All of my mounts have been done by him in the past, he is a great guy and does exceptional work. I know you get what you pay for and good taxidermist will be backed up but the wait is not worth it imo. I like the pics from a few of the suggestions everyone has made, looks like I have a few shops to visit here soon. Thanks for everyones help and suggestions


----------



## jayjay24 (Aug 21, 2012)

Joe Overby said:


> Dana Stanford.  Hands down.



Dana has done three for me so far and has done a ton of people I know.  He has won Best in the World twice (hope that's right Dana) and was the lead taxidermist for Ferbank Museum.  He only does birds and there is not a single feather out of place when he is finished unless you already shot em off the bird!


----------



## SMASHINFOWL (Aug 22, 2012)

I would suggest beaks and bands..they are in stockbridge,,about 20 minutes south of atlanta...they do my ducks and turkeys....just compare pictures from other taxidermist...and then look at their pictures.....that's how I made my decision......good luck bud....


----------



## brownceluse (Aug 22, 2012)

Chis Fortner hands down! He is a class act and he will do you right. His prices are fair, and he will make sure your happy.


----------



## Jakehinton (Aug 22, 2012)

He's gotten a ton of plugs already, but Fortner will get all my trophies from now on.  I've tried a lot of different folks around the southside and nobody does as good of work, is as nice, and is as professional in their work as Chris.  Great guy in general who makes some masterpieces.


----------



## brownceluse (Aug 23, 2012)

Jakehinton said:


> He's gotten a ton of plugs already, but Fortner will get all my trophies from now on.  I've tried a lot of different folks around the southside and nobody does as good of work, is as nice, and is as professional in their work as Chris.  Great guy in general who makes some masterpieces.



Nothing wrong with a plug or 10 for a class act and artist like Chris!


----------



## Boudreaux (Aug 28, 2012)

Depending on where in Atlanta you are.

I have used Dana Stanford and Chris Fortner, and both will preserve your trophy in a way that will make you proud to display it for years to come.


----------



## Cougar Spray (Aug 28, 2012)

xxx


----------



## CLDUCKS (Aug 28, 2012)

*yep*



Cougar Spray said:


> this certainly isn't saying anything negative, but from my understanding Chris doesn't do his own bird work.  He has another guy that does it for him.  "They" did a green wing for me 2 years ago and it looks great.  But, from Chris's mouth, he doesn't do the work.



That's what a buddy told me too.


----------



## Hornet22 (Aug 28, 2012)

Like some have said, depending on which side of Etlanter you'll be on. Rodney Casteel is just west of Macon off Bolingbrook, wouldn't be too far if you're on the S or SW side. He's over 2 hours from me, but worth every mile.


----------



## Dustin Pate (Aug 28, 2012)

I use Steve Lewis in Palmetto.


----------



## emusmacker (Aug 28, 2012)

Ummm, Chris Fortner is hands on with his birds.  He does have a guy that mounts birds, but they work together. I have witnessed Chris myself, working with a duck and a turkey. He worked til late in the evening with that turkey he posted in the turkey forum.  

Chris has always been honest and straight forward. Don't think he would have that many people recommending a lying jackleg.  Funny how folks want to start something.  He may not do every bird and there may have been some ducks that his other guy helped with, but trust me, Chris is hands on. more like a team, they work together.  


I'm very picky about my bird mounts, and even though Chris is a great guy, if I thought he lies, or takes credit for other folks work, then I would not use him.


----------



## huntchesies (Aug 28, 2012)

It depends on what you want mounted and where abouts your going to be living.


----------



## pitbull (Aug 29, 2012)

Chris and an "employee" does the mounts...come on guys you making it sound like he subs it out. All in house and all top notch. No way I could work for Chris, he wants everything to perfect, lol.

This is the tens Chris has done for us
3 shoulder hogs
3 euro mount hogs 2 dipped
2 ducks

Gotta a friend that had a ton of ducks done and who recommended him to me.


----------



## SMASHINFOWL (Aug 29, 2012)

I don't know but I waant the owner doin my birds.......js


----------



## Barroll (Aug 29, 2012)

SMASHINFOWL said:


> I don't know but I waant the owner doin my birds.......js



Y'all clearly don't low how A business works. Are you going to have your top mechanic changing oil? NO.  He is going to be doing the more complex things and there will be a less experienced mechanic doing the simple things. It would be highly inefficient to pay that top mechanic a premium to watch the oil drain out of a car. So they pay a less experienced one less money to do the same. Now I'm sure you could have that experienced mechanic do it, but it's just going to cost you a lot more. However, if that inexperienced mechanic runs into a problem, he will have the guy with more experience fix it for him.  

The same thing happens in a taxidermist shop. Why would Chris waste his valuable time doing a job that he can pay someone less money to do. He wouldn't let anything out of his shop that he was not happy with. And trust me, he does the work on birds that needs to be done to make them look great. 

Moral of story: if fortner did everything with no help you would be paying twice as much per bird. The choice is up to you, I'm sure he would like to charge you double and just do it himself.


----------



## emusmacker (Aug 29, 2012)

Barroll said:


> Y'all clearly don't low how A business works. Are you going to have your top mechanic changing oil? NO.  He is going to be doing the more complex things and there will be a less experienced mechanic doing the simple things. It would be highly inefficient to pay that top mechanic a premium to watch the oil drain out of a car. So they pay a less experienced one less money to do the same. Now I'm sure you could have that experienced mechanic do it, but it's just going to cost you a lot more. However, if that inexperienced mechanic runs into a problem, he will have the guy with more experience fix it for him.
> 
> The same thing happens in a taxidermist shop. Why would Chris waste his valuable time doing a job that he can pay someone less money to do. He wouldn't let anything out of his shop that he was not happy with. And trust me, he does the work on birds that needs to be done to make them look great.
> 
> Moral of story: if fortner did everything with no help you would be paying twice as much per bird. The choice is up to you, I'm sure he would like to charge you double and just do it himself.



Great post Barroll

Some folks just gotta put in a negative comment. The OP asked for recommendations of a good taxi in the Atlanta area.  Several have been named, and all are great. But no one here has said anything negative or out of the way about other taxis mentioned. Don't try it with Chris.  

I do like the saying, and it's very true.   There are some good taxidermists and there are some great taxidermists. In my opinion, Fortner is great at what he does.


----------



## emusmacker (Aug 29, 2012)

SMASHINFOWL said:


> I don't know but I waant the owner doin my birds.......js



That would depend whether or not the owner just can't mount birds. Some taxidermists are big game taxis, some are fish taxis and few are bird taxis.   If the owner has no clue I wouldn't want him to mount anything for me.   Just saying....


----------



## emusmacker (Aug 29, 2012)

One more thing. A great taxidermist let's his work speak for him.  Check out Fortners mounts that customers have posted on here and LISTEN to what the MOUNTS tell you.


----------



## CLDUCKS (Aug 29, 2012)

i looked at all of fortners ducks.....some look great and some look not so great . i think the ones that looked good chris did....and the ones that look rough his partner probly did....im just being honest with the way some of the birds look...alot of people will just put ...nice mount...


----------



## pitbull (Aug 29, 2012)

lol boy I tell ya, That young gifted man doing Some of Fortners ducks has done 2 for me already and can do everyone from this point forward! He is awesome. I cant wait until season so he can do some more for me.
Fortner's Taxidermy does great work if its him or his help or whoever else is doing whatever if it comes outta shop take it to the bank! That goes for all mounts not just ducks.


----------



## emusmacker (Aug 30, 2012)

I hear ya pitbull. Good post.

One more bump for Fortner's Taxidermy.


----------



## emusmacker (Aug 30, 2012)

CLDUCKS said:


> i looked at all of fortners ducks.....some look great and some look not so great . i think the ones that looked good chris did....and the ones that look rough his partner probly did....im just being honest with the way some of the birds look...alot of people will just put ...nice mount...



A you a taxidermist. just asking?


----------



## CLDUCKS (Aug 30, 2012)

Nope


----------



## jmh5397 (Aug 30, 2012)

I don't use Chris, but he does some jam up work!  I've got friends that use him and I've been to his shop in Covington.  He's a class act young man and has an extremely bright future in that line of work.  As far as the "owner only" doing your work....well....good luck with that.  Don't know too many of those anymore!  And if they still exist....wonder how long it would be before you got your mount back?  If you don't like a guys work, leave it at that.  Plug your guy/gal's shop and move on.  Why slam somebody's work on a forum?


----------

