Almost alive is the whole job.

Big game and bird taxidermy at 851 CO‑224 in Denver, right off I‑25. A mount is right when you feel it before you can say why. We’ll show you where that feeling comes from — then hold our own work to it.

Got one down? Call (303) 297-0757 before you put a knife to the cape.

Mon–Fri, 10am–6pm · right off I‑25 · 4.6★ across 55 Google reviews

A hunter in blaze orange standing in dark timber while a second hunter rests in the undergrowth — In the timber — where the job starts.

Stand in front of any mount and your gut answers first. Here is where the gut gets its answer — four places the life either lives, or doesn’t.

First, the eye.

A live elk’s eye is wet and deep-set, catching light from somewhere. In a poor mount the eye is the first thing to die — flat, doll-round, aimed at nothing. The eye itself is glass; the life in it is the work.

Look at the eye before you look at anything else, on our work or anyone’s.

The quality of work is outstanding — you can really tell they take pride in what they do … especially for the level of detail and craftsmanship. — Patty, Google review, on her mule buck

Rocky Mountain elk shoulder mount — Rocky Mountain elk — out of this shop

Then the ears.

Ears are posture. A mule deer wears them like radar — it’s how the animal got its name — and a live one is always listening to something. Set the ears wrong and the whole head goes wooden. Set them right and the animal has a mood again.

Every part of the process was excellent with these guys … Elk is fantastic, 3 prongies done too. Many more to come. — Andrew Abraham, Google review, returning season after season

Mule deer mount with ears spread wide, listening — Mule deer — listening somewhere

The cape, and the coat.

Hair grows in currents — whorls and cowlicks, the grain running off the shoulder. A cape that was cut short or handled hot in the field fights the form forever after: seams show, the coat sits like a borrowed suit. A good one lies the way it grew.

The cape is the one thing nobody can give back — which is why we’d rather you call from the field than guess with a knife.

I have been using Almost Alive Taxidermy since 1997. They’ve always done a great job. This is the bear I picked up today plus the whitetail they did last year for me. Both are amazing. — Keith Shaffer, Google review, customer since 1997

Axis deer mount, spotted coat lying in its natural grain — Axis deer — the coat lying the way it grew

Last, the stance.

Life is weight. A standing bear leans on the world; a landing goose is all brakes and intent; a tom on a branch is halfway into his next step. The animal should be caught doing something — mid-thought, the way you last saw it.

That’s the whole trade, and the name over our door.

These guys continue to work wonders … their quality of work truly comes to life in their mounts. — Hunting Made EZ, Google review, repeat customer of years

Life-size bear mount standing upright on a mossy rock base — Bear, life-size — leaning on the world

Now stand back.

Work out of this shop — big game and birds, shoulder mounts to life-size. The eye, the ears, the cape, the stance: check us on all four. Waterfowl, our customers will tell you, is a passion here, not a sideline.

Snow goose mount landing over a habitat base of cut reeds — **Snow goose** — landing, habitat base — the world built to the season it happened in

Mule deer mount with snow and juniper habitat — **Mule deer** — winter habitat

Bear half-body mount coming down a rock — **Bear** — half-body, rock ledge

Axis deer shoulder mount — **Axis deer** — shoulder mount

Wild turkey tom mounted on driftwood — **Wild turkey** — tom on driftwood

Wild turkey mount on a habitat base — **Wild turkey** — habitat base

Mule deer pedestal mount on a wooden column — **Mule deer** — pedestal mount, standing free of the wall

On the wall of one longtime customer: a bear, a whitetail, birds, and the first elk we ever did for him. These ducks were for my sons who got them this past season, another wrote. They are beautiful. That’s the job — walls that keep filling, season after season.

When it goes right,

— at first light, some Tuesday in the timber, and your hands are still buzzing — here is everything that matters in the next few hours.

Cold. Heat is the enemy of a good cape. Get the animal cooled as soon as you can and keep it out of the sun until it reaches a freezer, or reaches us.

The call. (303) 297-0757, from the field. We’ll walk you through the cape-out for your animal — deer, elk, pronghorn, bear, or bird — the same as we’ve done for our customers for many seasons. When in doubt, cut long. Better: call first.

The drive in. 851 CO‑224 in Denver, right off I‑25 — Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm. We’ll look at what you have and quote it straight. Customers say it plainly: prices more reasonable than local competitors, with a fast turnaround.

The wait, and the wall. You’ll get a true turnaround expectation at drop-off, not a guess. Then one day you come in, and it’s looking back at you — and you find the spot on the wall.

The shop is right off I‑25, and the season doesn’t wait.

(303) 297-0757

851 CO-224, Denver, CO 80229 — open the map
Monday–Friday, 10:00am–6:00pm · closed weekends
4.6★ across 55 Google reviews

Good luck out there this season. When it goes right, call us from the field.

Almost Alive Taxidermy · 851 CO-224, Denver, CO 80229 · (303) 297-0757