For the March monthly chapter dinner meeting, the kitchen crew served meatball subs with hoagie rolls, tossed salad, iced tea, and a variety of homemade desserts.
Our guest speaker for the evening was Chapter Ike Mike Pullen, owner of Pullen’s Wildlife Taxidermy at his Studio in Suffolk, Va. which has operated since 1998. Mike brought with him samples of his craftsmanship, as you can see in these photos. He enlightened us about the many years of hard work in his youth as an apprentice that were required to become proficient in his profession, and later how after he retired from his job as a shop teacher he was able to pursue his passion for Taxidermy full time.
Mike talk about the special chemicals that he uses in tanning hides, and the various tools used in his trade such as scalpels and specialty pliers. He told many entertaining stories about humorous incidents, for example one incident involving the school cleaning crews’ reaction to a stuffed copperhead left in the classroom; also about a customer who struggled to pack a very large full-sized stuffed bear into a very small minivan; about ticks on carcasses that just won’t die even after being frozen; and one customer who bought him the carcass of a large bear that he had shot 15 times which caused him many extra hours of work to repair.
Mike educated us about the increasing encroachment of chronic wasting disease in the western part of Virginia and the impact this in having in his work for not being able to move deer carcasses across state lines; the increased difficulty in importing carcasses from overseas due to more severe licensing/training requirements; also about the massive cost increases he has since these past few years in the supplies that he purchases (bondo, scalpel blades, glass eyes, foam molds, etc. purchased from China).
He closed by encouraging us to pass our knowledge about the importance of hunting ethics on to the next generation; stressed that we should take them with us while hunting, or in any type of outdoor activity.
