 Dan Swanson has been a licensed taxidermist in the state of Pennsylvania since 2005, but his passion for taxidermy began at an early age. An avid outdoorsman, Dan has been hunting and fishing since he was able to carry a fishing pole or a gun.
He learned early that the kill is not the exciting part of the hunt. There needed to be a better way than a picture to preserve the memory of the trophy as it existed in the wild. He made his first attempt at preserving one of his trophies, a 13- inch native brook trout that he mounted himself at the age of 12. From that time he has dabbled in the art of fish preservation and beginning in 2002 he has mounted nearly every trophy buck harvested by friends and family.
In 2004 as an amateur, he entered a submission in the Eastern US Outdoor Show held annually in Harrisburg, PA and received 2nd place honors in his division. This award earned him classes with one of the top taxidermists in the US. These classes have allowed Dan to combine his natural eye for detail with a new-found knowledge of the intricacies of the anatomical structure of the white-tail deer from the subtleties of the naso-lacrimal duct to the all-important positioning of the eyes in the skull.
Anyone that has dabbled in taxidermy knows that anatomy is only part of the job. A cape that is not properly preserved and prepared is useless in this profession. Dan is excellent at tanning and fleshing and is even an accomplished sewer. He has been able to masterfully conceal more than one errant gun-shot wound to return the mount to its original life-like qualities.
Dan has experience doing shoulder mounts of white-tail deer, bison, fallow deer, and wild hogs. He has done full-body mounts of pheasants, bobcats, coyotes, mink, grouse, squirrels, turkeys, woodchucks, and several species of fish. He also specializes in European mounts and hide tanning. Another characteristic of his work that separates him from many taxidermists is his creative side for unique framing of head and shoulder mounts, or for production of backgrounds or perches for the full-body mounts. Don't hesitate to ask him to produce a one-of-a-kind scene that will define your game room.
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