Below is a Whiskey Legends product review that was recently published in a popular outdoor magazine:

Whiskey Legends is revolutionizing the way trophy antlers are displayed with unique, and the finest, Do-It-Yourself Antler Mounting Kits available. The Antler Mounting Kits include the ultra-modern powder coated Steel Series plaques with laser cut flames and the finest handcrafted wood plaques available. Each Antler Mounting Kit uses professional taxidermist grade materials. Step-by-step instructions, with photos, are included to ensure a professional looking mount that you can do right in your home. For ladies, each antler mounting kit is available in the Desire series. In addition to the antler mounting kits, you can now display your predator hunting furs, gear and calls with pride using the Whiskey Legends Predator Hunter displays. The most popular displays, “Predator Fire!” and “Whiskey Moon”, are great for any home or cabin.

All products are proudly Made In The USA.

For more information or to order their products visit:

www.WhiskeyLegends.com

Phone (563) 380-3082

Read this article that was published about one successful hunter's mission to find the perfect Do-It-Yourself Antler Mounting Kit. It just happened to be a Whiskey Legends Kit!

Do-It-Yourself Antler Mounts

It was a crisp October morning two days into early muzzle loader season. I was sitting in my tree stand patiently waiting for the smoke to clear from my shot. When it finally cleared, a respectable eight pointer lay motionless on the ground near the edge of a small clearing in a cedar patch that I have hunted for years. He died just a few feet from a burnt red sumac tree that he visited often. My trail camera photos reveled that he had stopped by this sumac just about every morning for the last week to rub and leave his scent in preparation for the upcoming rut. October was a success. November was also looking good as I began to apply pressure to the trigger on my bow release.

I had the ten yard pin aimed slightly low on a twelve point buck that was standing broadside just fifteen away. I watched the nock disappear as the beautiful buck jumped forward with the shot. He walked a few more yards and laid down. It wasn’t long and I was standing over my second trophy of the year.

As a hunter, you know that a lot goes through your mind after shooting a deer. Weather it is a doe or a trophy buck, your mind fills with thoughts. My first thought on both of those bucks was how am I going to break the news to my wife that her living room wall was about to get another shoulder mount!

It seems that over the years I have had more luck than skill on my side when I enter the woods. This luck has led to a collection of shoulder mounts and an assortment of racks accumulating in various places. You would be surprised to see where I find places to “store” a rack until I have the time or money to do something with it. I surprise myself occasionally when I am searching for something and find a rack in my closet, basement, garage, or trapping shed.

I spent a lot of time scouting and getting to know these two bucks and was particularly fond of them. I felt that I owed it to them to do something sooner than later with their racks. I priced the cost of a shoulder mount and knew that it wasn’t going to be an option anytime soon. So I started on plan B.

I went to a local sporting goods store and purchased two DIY (Do-It-Yourself) antler mounting kits; each from a different manufacture. I gathered a few tools and the two racks from this past season that I was going to attempt to mount. The first kit that I opened had a few instructions listed on a piece of paper. What I gathered from the instructions and the materials in the kit was that I was supposed to attach the skull plate, with the antlers still attached, to the plaque with a metal band and a few screws. I tried several times and couldn’t get the antlers to fit tightly and square. I set that project down and opened the other kit to see if I would have better luck with that one.

The second kit instructed me to drill two holes in the skull plate and then attach the skull plate to the plaque with screws through the drilled holes. This seemed to work better than the metal band, but the antler beams were touching the plaque since there wasn’t any way to hold them away from the plaque. The instructions then stated to attach the “velvet” covering, which was actually felt, over the skull plate and attach it with the provided tacks. The mount was now complete. I finished the other mount and stepped back to take a look at them.

I consider myself a handyman, and a do-it-yourselfer. I do most everything myself from vehicle and home repairs to home remodeling projects, but these mounts were not turning out to be something that I would even consider hanging on my wall. From the particle board plaques to the felt covers, they were unacceptable in my opinion.

I was looking for something different, a kit that would produce a professional looking mount that I could assemble myself. I knew that there had to be DIY antler mounting kits that were designed differently. I searched the internet and found some homemade plaques and mounts that fellow hunters had made. It appeared in the pictures that most of the mounts were hanging in garages, trapping sheds, hunting shacks, and “man caves”. There was a reason for this; most of them didn’t pass inspection from their wives!

I narrowed my choices down to a handful of “higher end”, or more expensive kits. I decided on using Whiskey Legends kits since they included professional taxidermy grade materials and step-by-step picture instructions. I ordered two. The mounting materials, plaques, and instructions were of much higher quality than that of the cheaper kits that I had attempted to assemble.

It seems these days that in our hunting world, if you shoot a respectable buck you take it to your local taxidermist and have it shoulder mounted. I want to be clear that I am in no way discriminating or discouraging against shoulder mounts. I have spent a lot of money on shoulder mounts and support my local taxidermist and the industry. Shoulder mounts are beautiful pieces of art and with the latest advances in taxidermy; they seem to be even more realistic each year. There just comes a time when a shoulder mount isn’t the best option due to adequate room for the mount or a tight budget. This is why I set out to find an alternative.

As I began the antler mounting process with my Whiskey Legends kits, I soon found out that the key to a professional looking antler mount is to use an antler mounting form, the correct covering for the form, and to properly fit the covering to the form. I now prefer to spend more money on a kit that uses professional taxidermy grade materials because they use an antler mounting form and come with genuine leather for the covering. I have tried several different materials for the covering and believe that genuine leather is far superior due to its ability to stretch, and aesthetically it is the best looking.

The biggest challenge when mounting the antlers is to get a proper fit of the leather covering over the antler form. A sharp razor blade, fine tip marker and patience are crucial during this step of cutting and fitting the leather on the form. The most important tool of all during this step is the last one, patience. It takes several times of fitting the leather, marking it with the marker, and then trimming a small amount off until the desired fit is created. The rest of the steps are very simple to do since the proper materials are supplied with the kits.

After mounting these two sets of antlers, I was very satisfied with the results. I have an older shoulder mount that is yellowing and the glue is cracking. Rather than spending the money on having it restored, I am going to cut the rack out and mount the antlers on a plaque. I will take a less than desirable looking shoulder mount and turn it into a very nice looking antler mount.

There are several companies that sell antler mounting kits. Make sure the kit contains quality materials before you make your purchase. This will make the mounting process easier and the finished mount will look professional. I personally prefer the Whiskey Legends kits due to their quality of materials and step-by-step instruction book that includes photos. I believe in the idea that spending a few more dollars for a higher quality product is cheaper in the long run. Once you have an antler mounting kit with professional materials; it is up to you to assemble them correctly.

DIY antler mounting kits make a great project for a young hunter as well. Spend some time with a young hunter helping them mount a set of their antlers. It doesn’t have to be antlers off of a trophy sized buck, in a young hunter’s eyes, any buck is a trophy. These few hours you spend with them might be enough to create a lifelong hobby or career in taxidermy.

So try your hand at this basic form of taxidermy. I was hesitant, but I tried it and I am now glad that I did. I made mistakes along the way, but hopefully this article will give you a jumpstart on your antler mount. Overall the mounting process is simple to do. The first one will be challenging, but will also be that much more rewarding. At a fraction of the cost of a shoulder mount, and its compact size, your wife might even support the purchase of a DIY antler mounting kit too!