COLUMN: Outdoor Type: Bringing competition quality work to the everyday hunter

"I've always liked creating things with my hands, whether it's woodworking or taxidermy. My dad was a carpenter who was very particular. I take after him I guess."

Jamie Switzer is a 53-year-old lawman functioning as a Patrol Lieutenant for the Clay County Sheriff's Office, in charge of the officers on the road and busy covering a variety of trouble spots. He got his love for hunting from his dad. After some disappointing experiences with taxidermists, he decided he could do better. After examining his work with my grandson Walker's trophy deer, now suitably framed over my son Aaron's fireplace, I can attest that he is a craftsman who takes a lot of pride in his work. The detail on this animal is amazing.

"I've been doing mounts for about 15 years but just got into body mounts about five years ago," Jamie said.

He learned his craft through deer school in Wisconsin, then a more in-depth school in Missouri and has an in-depth turkey school under his belt as well.

Jamie says the biggest challenge for him is dealing with an animal that hasn't been properly cared for after the kill.

"Some people like to drive around for three days with the deer in the bed of the truck. I get that. They want to show it around," he said. "Very understandable. But the deer will soon develop a bacteria which will make the skin develop 'slippage', a condition extremely hard to correct because hair soon starts falling out."

He's seen some very slipshod care taken with customers' deer, even to the point of having beer cans and other trash inside the carcass. The proper care is to get it to a taxidermist immediately. Lacking that, a processor can also remove the head and freeze it, or the hunter himself can do that if it can be done correctly.

"Whatever Aaron and Walker did was correct because that deer was in perfect shape for me to work with," Jamie said. "It turned out well."

Aaron commented that conditions were ideal for hunting and for maintaining the deer intact.

"We had it caped at the processor," Aaron explained, "and then we put it in a bag in the refrigerator. This was a youth hunt at the end of September. Chilly in the morning but warm in the afternoon. The very beginning of the rut left him unscathed, and we didn't have to drag him through the mud."

Jamie says that a basic mount costs around $750, the standard shoulder on the wall. Discounts are available for law enforcement and the military. If the hunter desires an open mouth look, such as the animal chewing on a corn cob, that can run a little more. If the back of the deer is exposed in the mount, that can run higher.

"Right now, I'm working on a four-by-four scene that involves a turkey strutting in a field, with a whiskey barrel and a deer in the rear, with barbed wire and cattails," Jamie said. "It's a big, complicated scene, but it's going to look great."

Jamie will also do other animals, such as bobcat, coyote and fox. He doesn't do birds or fish.

If Jamie wasn't busy enough, he and his wife have taken on the responsibilities of fostering five youngsters, ages seven, six, five, four and three. They have a grown daughter, 25, and two grown sons, aged 25 and 28, two of which help with the taxidermy business. The older kids gave their parents their blessing and support for taking on this task. You can see a well-done video of this special foster family on Facebook, and you can view some of Jamie's mounts by searching for Wallhanger Taxidermy.