Local taxidermist getting ready for a busy season
DELIGHT, Arkansas —Adam Morris Taxidermy is preparing ahead for a busy deer season in November.
Although much of this year hasn’t been quite normal, Morris doesn’t expect that to stop hunters, young and old, from entering the woods for a release in the fall months.
“I don’t think much will change,” Morris said. “Well, the taxidermy business hasn’t been affected much because you plan for things six and eight months ahead of time. Everything I’m working on right now was planned before the pandemic happened.
“I think everything is going to roll right along.”
Morris says hunters spend a majority of their time in the wilderness.
“Regardless of what’s going on, hunters are going to hunt,” Morris said. “Most of the people that I know that hunt are not too concerned about that when they get ready to go hunting. I’m going to hunt and I know there’s people who feel the same way that I do.
“Pretty much November is our busiest month. That’s when deer season here in Arkansas is really rolling. The whole month of December there’s a hunting season again. Deer is the main thing we’re hunting around here.”
Morris also urges young people to hunt or to also give it a try for the first time.
“If you don’t hunt, just like anything else, it’s going to die off in the future,” Morris said. “It’s a known fact that anything that’s hunted will thrive. People have put money towards it to protect it.”
Morris is also a advocate for hunter safety and hunter awareness.
“I’ve fallen out of a few tree stands,” Morris said. “I wear a harness now if that tells you anything. I tell anyone that’s heading out there to wear a harness. You hit the ground a few times out the deer stand, you’ll be a fan of a harness, too. I’ve had a fall from 30 foot before. The last time, I was about 10 foot. I’ve broken bones in my foot before falling out of a tree stand.
“I’ve heard stories of guys falling out of their stand from being asleep. One guy left his stand in the woods all year and the strap to the tree broke once he got back in it. He fell out and broke his arm. Harnesses are popular with hunters, they make several different types. Some have pockets and some have room for other things you may need out there while you’re hunting. It’s not just some extra junk that you have to wear.”
Almost 90 percent of Arkansas is privately owned, as stated on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission website. The state’s hunting community have a large influence on the state’s deer quality and quantity.
Morris prefers bow hunting, rather than with a traditional rifle.
“I’ve been shooting a bow since I was about 10 years old,” Morris said. “I don’t know, there’s just something about it, getting in close and letting it go. I’m good from about 40 yards out, but I like them around 20.”