Dakota wins Mayor's Award at 2008 NTA Convention

Dakota Smiley, son of William Smiley (taxidermist/owner of Smiley's Taxidermy) wins the Mayor's Award, one of the major awards given at the 2008 National Taxidermists Association (NTA) Convention and Competition.


RJ Simington (left), 2008 NTA Convention Operations,
presents the Mayor's Award to Dakota Smiley (right)

New Shop In Town

We finally got some commercial space just West of main town Boerne on IH-10 in the North Forty shopping area (in the big red barn). Will is still moving in to his new shop, but it shouldn't be long until he is ready for a grand opening celebration. The building is new and Will's space is about 800 sq. ft. Although its not huge, he has twice the space he had in his shop at home and the location has a lot more visibility. We are real excited to see how the move works out for the business. I will post more pictures as soon as I have them.

2007 World Taxidermy Championship

We just got back from the world taxidermy championships in Reno on Sunday. We had a great time and Will did very well. He ended up taking a whitetail shoulder mount, which we checked on the plane to ensure it got there in time. As it turned out, it didn't make it to Reno with us, so we were a bit worried. We ended up getting it around 3:30 am the morning it was due for check in. Needless to say, we shipped it home instead of bringing on the plane again.

So how did Will do? He brought home a third place ribbon in the professional division. Although he really hoped for a first or second, the judges were tough, so he is pleased with what he received. He got great feedback from his judge and hopes to correct as much as possible on the mount, then take it to the state competition in June. Between the judge's feedback, all the seminars, and the great people we met, the show was so worth the trip.

The national competition is in Texas next year and the next world show (2 years from now) will most likely be in Missouri (Will's home state), so we have a fun road ahead of us.

Whitetails Unlimited - Youth First Buck Mount

This past September was the Lonestar Chapter Whitetails Unlimited 25th Anniversary banquet at the Kendall County Fair Grounds in Boerne, Texas. Smiley's Taxidermy was a sponsor for the banquet and donated two mounts for the Youth First Buck Hunt winners.

One of the winners shot his first buck in November. It is a nice-sized 6-point management buck that is probably about 3.5 years old. Will just mounted the buck this week, but still has finish-work to do. I will post a picture of the mount once it is complete.

Mathews Drenalin Bow

As I mentioned in the 2007 World Taxidermy Show post, I have promised Will a new Mathews bow if he gets a first place. We have been checking out the different bows online and its looking like the 2007 Drenalin might be his first choice. It is a little more expensive than the Switchback XT, which he was previously dreaming about, but with its "Slimlimb" design, it's a little lighter and faster.

My little brother just bought a Drenalin yesterday, so hopefully he will be able to come out sometime to let Will check it and take a few shots. I would like to try shooting it as well. We bought Dakota (our older son) a youth bow last year and that is what I used to hunt since he couldn't pull it back yet. However, I feel like I need a 'real' bow. Fortunately, the Drenalin and Switchback XT can be configured from 40 - 70 lbs, so I might get one too -- wishful thinking :-).

If you have any comments on this bow, with or without experience with it, please feel free to comment on this post and give your personal review.

2007 World Taxidermy Championship

Smiley's Taxidermy is going to the 2007 World Taxidermy Championship in Reno, NV in April. We are really excited.

So what is Will going to mount? Not sure yet, other than definitely a whitetail shoulder or pedestal mount, but also thinking about a mountain lion. Any suggestions are certainly welcomed.

This is our first world show. Will has competed at the county and state level several times, but never on the national or world stage. Next year the national show and competition is in Texas, so we will probably attend that as well.


This whitetail pedestal was Will's mount for the 2006 Texas competition (TTAI) this past June. He got a 2nd place in the Professional Division for the third year, although he has received higher scores progressively each year. At the county competition he took a bobcat catching a quail, axis deer, whitetail deer, duck scene, and a ram. He received four 1st place ribbons and one 2nd place on the axis mount.

For the World Competition, Will hopes to get a first place in the professional division. He has been wanting a Mathews bow for quite some time, so I told him he could get one if he gets a 1st place in the world (not a small goal, but I think he can do it).

Smiley's Hunting Stories (2006)

Well, the 2006 hunting season has come to a close. It was a great season for 'firsts' for the Smiley's.

I started the season out with my first bow kill. Will has wanted me to try bow hunting for years, but this was the first year I really had a chance. I only practiced for a couple of weeks before bow season opened, but did fairly well. I ended up shooting a whitetail doe at about 20 yards from a tripod stand the first week of bow season. Now I am really pumped for the 2007 season.

Opening weekend of rifle season we went to a friend's ranch in Junction, TX. The first evening Tyler (8 year old son) shot his first deer. It was a nice sized 6-point buck (large body-size for the Texas Hill Country). Tyler then proceeded to shoot a corsican ram and a hog later in the season. He is only 8, but quite the shooter.

Then, the day after Tyler shot his buck, Dakota (11 year old son) shot his first animal, which was a fox. Later in the season he got his first deer as well, a whitetail doe. Dakota is learning the taxidermy business and mounted his fox. He did a great job and plans to enter it into the 2007 TTAI competition.

Will didn't have any firsts, but other than whitetail deer, he also shot an axis doe, some hogs, and a turkey.

Needless to say, it was an exciting hunting year for us and we have pleny of meat to last us through the year. Please comment and let us know how your season went.