HELP! Golden State Taxidermy. John Hidalgo Concord,CA

**Gaddy** · 07-28-2010, 12:21 PM

I dropped off a speck and a ross' goose to a taxidermist named John Hidalgo about a year ago and I cannot get a hold of the guy. I have 2 business cards and the phone numbers just go to an awnser machine and the box is full. One number being disconnected. I drove to the house where I met him in Concord,CA him and theres is a non english speaking family living there so they're no help. Anyone know where this guy lives?!! I don't know what else to do but find him. Thanks.

**Ridge Runner** · 08-03-2010, 01:34 PM

Gaddy.. I have a buddy in the same position you are with this guy.. John did a euro mount for me years ago and it took a year. He was working out of a shop behind that house you are talking about. Well last year I came out to hunt with family and my friend took a bear. He wanted to have a rug made and could not find anybody in the area. I said he could check with John. BIG MISTAKE! He told them he was moving to Lodi so they would have to meet in a Kmart parking lot. Well they did and he said if they wanted a quicker job they could pay 50 bucks extra and the tannery would speed up the job.

Well they gave him the 50 and he said to just call and leave there number in his mailbox as he will see the number and call it back. This worked for the first 2 calls that they put in to check the results of there mount.

Last time they talked to him he said that the bear was at the lady that stitches the felt on the back of the bear. They asked how could this be as they have not even talked about the pattern or color they wanted.

They asked for her number but of course he did not have it. Well many left numbers in the full mailbox later and still no call backs from this guy.

Don't know what to tell you but this guy is a terrible businessman. a return phone call at least would be nice. If you want I can have my buddy call you and you can maybe get together on the hunt for him.

Sad thing is that it was my friends first biggame kill. Not a good way to start his hunting career off. Hope you find him and get what is yours.

Ridge Runner

**Ridge Runner** · 08-03-2010, 01:41 PM

Gaddy.., PM sent

**Gaddy** · 08-03-2010, 08:44 PM

Ridge, I got your PM and thanks for the help. I found out where this guy lives, somwhere near lockeford. This guy sounds like some sort of scam artist to me.

I defineitly going to get a hold of your friend and we can think something to do. I'm going to contact DFG and see if they can help.

**Ridge Runner** · 08-08-2010, 05:42 AM

Gaddy... My buddy is home now from his camping trip. give him a call.

**d.graves** · 08-08-2010, 11:34 AM

Gady,hidalgo used to send his birds out to Steve Eberhart [whom is excllent]. Maybe you could see if he still does his work and has your birds.hidalgo has a bobcat and antelope for over 15 years of mine , let me in on anything we can do.

**PaPaBob** · 08-08-2010, 11:52 AM

Holy cow, I did a search and there are postings here back to 2001 about this guy. Stealing horns and not doing work. Hope you all catch up to this guy . . .

**d.graves** · 08-08-2010, 11:57 AM

Gaddy,hidalgo used to sub his birds out to Steve Eberhart [whom is excellent].Maybe he still does and has your birds? Sorry I don't have Steve's # anymore but I'm sure you could find it,he's in Oregon but still does work for people in bay area.hidalgo has had a bobcat and antelope of mine for over 15 years, I also need help and will help anyone else if I can.

**Gaddy** · 08-08-2010, 07:13 PM

Graves, Steve Eberhart does great work with a quick turn around. But I still cannot get ahold of hidalgo. Im running out of options here.

**d.graves** · 08-08-2010, 09:42 PM

Gaddy , did you try calling Eberhart to see if he still does hidalgos birds?
If so, does he or did he have your birds,they should of been tagged.I also wonder if he has a # that hidalgo will answer? Just a thought.

**Gaddy** · 08-09-2010, 08:08 AM

Graves, That is a good idea. Steve has no problem with his phones, I'll call him today.

**k_rad** · 08-09-2010, 08:53 AM

FYI, I believe another good taxidermist is right on our site here. Glasseye! You may want to get ahold of him for any mounts. Please correct me if I am wrong...

**Ridge Runner** · 08-09-2010, 08:58 AM

Gaddy.. Did you end up going to his house? You had said you got his address so just wondering. Also did you give my buddy a call yet?

**Gaddy** · 08-10-2010, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by Ridge Runner

Gaddy.. Did you end up going to his house? You had said you got his address so just wondering. Also did you give my buddy a call yet?

No I haven't called your buddy yet or been to his house. But heres his address:

Golden State Taxidermy

(209) 727-5112

19289 Lambert Way, Lockeford, CA 95237

**Big Thunder** · 10-02-2010, 09:19 PM

got my deer mount today from john will post pics later

**CATManReid** · 12-23-2010, 08:19 PM

I had a major issue with him on a bobcat that my boss wanted mounted. Gave him the cat and a deposit and he disappeared. Took getting DFG involved to get the cat back. I posted all the drama on here. Steer clear!!

**472x1A/B** · 12-26-2010, 11:07 AM

I could never understand why it took so long to do mounts untill I started doing my own tanning. Yes it does take a while, 1-2 weeks up to 1-2 months to tan some hides but NOT a year to 15 years to do a head mount or even a full body mount. With all the resources that the taxidermy industry has today there's no way why a mount can't be done in a year or less. If a fellow has that much work and he's that good he needs to hire another worker. ( refer to mentors forum for my post today )

This thread really needs to be rated for everyones attention guys. ( hope nobody cares ) Gaddy, you should consider contacting the BBB and turn this Hidalgo dude in to them. And possibly getting a lawyer.

**Duknutz** · 12-26-2010, 05:38 PM

Steve Eberhardt is usually at the ISE shows in Sacramento and San Mateo.He had a booth next to us a couple years ago.Man the people dropping off birds at his booth was crazy!

**Blacktail Hunter** · 04-17-2011, 08:52 PM

I'm in the same boat, and am mulling my options as to how to proceed.

I dropped off my bear with John on 10/14/09. Gave him a $200 deposit. Never even bothered to call him about it until August 0f 2010, and could never get in touch with him. I was callin daily, sometimes multiple times, and always just got a full voicemail box. I started doing some online research on him about then, and wow I was shocked at some of the stuff I found. He's been doing this exact same thing for many years.

Then, out of the blue, I get a call from him in mid December of 2010. He of course had a long sad story about this and that. He tells me that my bear hide is with the lady who does his stitching for the back of his rugs and that she had moved to Nevada and he couldnt get in touch with her. He says that he has an address for her (which I wish I would have had him give me now) and that if he hasnt heard from her by Jan 1 of this year, he was going to drive to her house. He assures me the hide came back good from the tannery and that he mounted the head himself.....everything was good.

Here it is, mid april and again I cant get a in touch with him. Same ole same ole....a full voicemail box. I knew he was duckin my calls (he has caller ID), so I had a buddy call him this last friday. John called him back within hours, gee how shocking!! So know I know for a fact he is choosing not to return my calls.

Seems I have two options.......get a lawyer, or go to his house and handle it myself. The address in Lockeford listed above is the one I found also. This was my first bear, according to DFG tooth analysis she was 22 years old.

**spectr17** · 04-17-2011, 10:01 PM

Cops are going to say it's a civil case so you can't take them with you to demand your hide and skull back, if he even has it anymore. Rubbing knots on his head isn't going to anything but get you in trouble but I can feel your heartburn since I've been burned by 2 of the last 3 taxidermists I've given stuff to. It's one of the outdoor communities biggest blackeyes IMHO and it makes folks hesitant to search out the honest ones.

I'd serve him a demand letter and phone call giving him 7 days to produce either a finished mount or the hide and skull. If he doesn't meet the one week deadline sue him in small claims. I'm not sure what value you would put on a animal not mounted yet, my hog skull that Scott at High Desert Skullworks has that I'm trying to get back I have no idea what to put on a small claims for value. Reporting him to the BBB is useless since they now sell ratings and are just as corrupt. Once I got my mount back or he skips out on your work I'd make sure and post the facts of your case on EVERY hunting forum I could find. Make sure and include all the keywords in the title of the post, body of post and tags if the forum has them too so the search engines can find the posts. A quick Google search shows this post indexed at #6 and some of the reviews on Yahoo give him one star. Looks like the word is out there.

Bottom line, DO YOUR HOMEWORK before you hand over your hard earned game. One of mine I got burned on was a friend's dad who had a good reputation but he flaked on me and I got tired of trying to get an answer out of the grouchy dude.

Good luck, it's a huge turd sammich I know too well.

**CATManReid** · 05-08-2011, 07:43 PM

Contacting DFG may produce some results on the bear since it's a highly regulated animal. That's how we got the cat back and I'm sure since he's a returning black eye for them, they'll be eager to get to the bottom of it.

**Blacktail Hunter** · 05-10-2011, 10:48 AM

Just to update. I emailed DFG, and got this response this afternoon:

I have included Captains Don Kelly and Steve Riske in this response. Between them they supervise all the Game Wardens who work the central coast area. They will assign your report to the appropriate Game Warden to determine what can be done to help you.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

Phil Nelms
Enforcement Division

Maybe if enough guys were to complain to DFG, we could get this expedited. The email address I sent my complaint to was director@dfg.ca.gov

**Blacktail Hunter** · 05-30-2011, 01:41 PM

Just got a phone call from the Lodi warden, Adam Kraft. Interesting chat. He is aware of the past problems with this guy and Mr. Hidalgo should be expecting a visit from DFG real soon.

If anyone else wants to speak with this warden about this and see if he can do anything for you, pm me and I will give you his phone number.

**SporkMaster** · 06-06-2011, 11:56 PM

Man that would really piss me off. Good luck with the recovery of your bear.

**Gaddy** · 11-25-2011, 08:44 PM

UPDATE!!! GOT ALL MY BIRDS BACK!

**solus** · 11-25-2011, 09:12 PM

congratulations

its good to see scum pay

**solus** · 11-26-2011, 10:52 AM

Howed you get them back maybe it'll help other people as well

**DirtyDave** · 11-26-2011, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Gaddy

UPDATE!!! GOT ALL MY BIRDS BACK!

So, what happened?

**Lipripper** · 03-23-2013, 05:59 PM

John Hildago has had my first Elk since 2004 and my trophy Bear since 2005. John told me he would be finished with my elk a few months later but after I dropped off the bear he was never seen or heard from again. I tried hundreds of calls and showed up at his home with no answer for 2 years .The last time I went to his home it was sold. We have tried to contact John again and again wih no call backs. This is something that means so much to people to haave there animals back. Lost memories stole by a bad business owner. John sent us 2 letters in 2008, letting us know he was ready to give our animals back, but he wanted us to send money first. We sent a letter letting John know we will pay him for his work, But we wanted to see what he had first, then he was not heard from again. All we ask for is for the animals we had dropped off to him given back to us, even if he hadn't done anything. These are memories he has stolen from us. I made one last attempt on tuesday March 21st, but did not leave a message this time. John returned my call and I asked him to please just give me my animals no matter what he had or had not started. John said he had not done anything with my Elk, but the Bear was finished. I told John I would pay him for what was done and written on the letter from 2008 but i wanted to just get them back. John said he would drop my animals off at a friends home and call me friday March 22. 2013 to let me know where and when to pick up. Haven't heard from John nor does he answer his 2 phone numbers. What the heck do we need to do to get this guy to give back our animals?
C.Grant

Then, out of the blue, I get a call from him in mid December of 2010. He of course had a long sad story about this and that. He tells me that my bear hide is with the lady who does his stitching for the back of his rugs and that she had moved to Nevada and he couldnt get in touch with her. He says that he has an address for her (which I wish I would have had him give me now) and that if he hasnt heard from her by Jan 1 of this year, he was going to drive to her house. He assures me the hide came back good from the tannery and that he mounted the head himself.....everything was good.

Here it is, mid april and again I cant get a in touch with him. Same ole same ole....a full voicemail box. I knew he was duckin my calls (he has caller ID), so I had a buddy call him this last friday. John called him back within hours, gee how shocking!! So know I know for a fact he is choosing not to return my calls.

Seems I have two options.......get a lawyer, or go to his house and handle it myself. The address in Lockeford listed above is the one I found also. This was my first bear, according to DFG tooth analysis she was 22 years old.