Rollert, who grew up on a ranch in Luling near the San Marcos River, said the river and its surrounding wildlife sparked the passion that he eventually turned into his career in taxidermy. He got his start in taxidermy in a garage while he was studying at Texas A&M University.
“I had some family [and] friends who would send me their stuff and mounts, and I would put them together,” Rollert said. “I didn’t know where it was headed, but the side money was cool.”
After a friend in Montgomery let him know of a space where he could take his business full time, Rollert opened Darst Creek—named for a West Texas stream—in September 2017 while finishing school.
Once his initial lease expired, Rollert moved to the store’s current location on Keenan Cut Off Road in July 2020. The new location opened just before Texas’ deer season, which begins in the fall.
“I wanted to stay [in Montgomery]; it’s a nice place,” Rollert said. “Ideally I thought I’d be doing this in West Texas [because] I thought there was nothing to hunt out here. But it’s a flourishing place.”
Rollert said he found many business and corporate customers who travel to West Texas for hunts and send their trophies back to Darst Creek. Deer and ducks are the most common, but Rollert also works with wild pigs, bobcats, coyotes and snakes from across Texas.
As his business grew, Rollert found himself taking requests from out of state and even international customers. Rollert said the key to receiving those requests is establishing trust.
“I don’t usually hang mounts for customers, but I went out to help this elderly couple, and we were there for four hours,” Rollert said. “They were reliving the memories [of their hunts], and stuff like that is what it ends up being about.”
Clients can have their animals turned into mounts for decoration or hides for blankets, rugs or other uses. Darst Creek can also mount skulls—described as “European mounts”—and Rollert’s wife makes pillows using the hides.
In addition to Darst Creek’s taxidermy, the business features a wild game processing facility for customers. One of Darst Creek’s specialties is fajita meat, but other products include sausages, burgers and ground meat.
Rollert said he hopes to grow meat processing to a year-round operation.
“You keep your head down, make friendships, relationships, and every year it gets bigger,” Rollert said. “It’s been five years, and it’s been going really well.”
Darst Creek Taxidermy and Wild Game Processing
20022 Keenan Cut Off Road, Montgomery
936-597-8050
www.darstcreek.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sat.-Sun.
