NMTA Member's Stories
My start in Taxidermy
I was sitting with a group of friends at a table during one
of our recent NMTA Conventions, sharing stories of past hunts, our successes and
failures and laughing at some our many misadventures we’ve had throughout the
years. Of course, the
topic of “taxidermy” also came up. One person at the table asked how the
others got involved with taxidermy and some indicated that they got their start
by mentoring with some of the great veteran taxidermists in our state; some
attended seminars and others began by reading or renting videos.
It got me to thinking about my start in taxidermy.
Before I actually started practicing taxidermy, the spark that lit the
fire under me began at about the age of twelve when I first gazed upward in awe
at several mounts in the home of a hunter/rancher named Sam Gutierrez.
Sam Gutierrez had been my Dad’s good friend and hunting buddy
for decades before I began my friendship with him.
Sam was as tough as they came, with a weathered face and calloused
hands which he earned from a lifetime of hard work on his ranch in Trujillo, New
Mexico.
Trujillo is a dot on the map which lies about 35-miles east of Las Vegas.
Sam’s parents were one of the original families that had settled in
the rugged region surrounded by historic areas such as Canyon Largo, Trementina
and Sabinoso.
Sam was a youngster during “The Great War” as he called it and he recalled
that the only ammunition available to the public was .22 caliber bullets and the
government rationed these to three (3) bullets per family-per month.
Sam and his family would occasionally make the long trip to Tucumcari
for food and supplies, and fortunately for Sam, the store owner liked him and
would sell him one box of 50-bullets.
Being that Sam was responsible for providing meat for the family
table, he could not risk being wasteful with the rationed bullets.
He learned quickly that he must get close enough to a deer to make
each shot count with his .22.
It didn’t take him long to become an excellent hunter and marksman.
Each of my visits to see Sam led to a barrage of questions
from this eager to learn youngster;
where did you get this deer, how far was the shot, what’s your
favorite caliber, what’s the best rifle, did you ride in on horseback, what’s
your favorite animal to hunt?
Sam would chuckle and tell me to slow down, but he answered every
question and much more.
Sam took me under his wing and throughout my teenage years, he taught
me how to track and read sign, how to re-load ammunition, the importance of
patience, respect for the animal you hunt, how to properly clean and skin an
animal and to take pride in a good days work.
Over the years, I spent many weekends and entire summers with Sam helping him on
his ranch and we shared many hunts together.
Sam lost a long hard battle with cancer in 1985, but even with cancer,
he was riding horseback and branding his cattle up to the last month before he
died. I could
go on and on with countless stories about this “old timer” but I will always be
thankful to him for taking the time to answer a twelve year old kids many
questions, for taking the time to teach and mentor, and for instilling the
thought and passion in me to become a taxidermist.
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