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Question for the taxidermists here. I have a life size common bush duiker mount that was not done well. I’m looking at the viability of my options to fix the mount as it just bothers me because the face does not look like a duiker. I’ve explored having it remounted, but I was also curious about how simple it would be to pop the horns off my mount and swap them with the horns of an already completed mount? Two advantages I see to this are, first, I know the mount I would be swapping it to looks good as it’s already done and I can inspect it and, two, I could probably use the horns off the new mount to replace the ones on my current mount and resell it to recoup some of the costs. Just curious if this idea would be feasible? Also, before someone goes on to lecture about getting your stuff done here instead of Africa. Mount was done stateside by a taxidermist who had a good reputation at the time and had done work for me before, but during the course of mounting my African animals seemed to become interest in other pursuits and neglected his taxidermy business. Talked with others who had similar issues with him as well. ____________________________ If you died tomorrow, what would you have done today ... 2018 Zimbabwe - Tuskless w/ Nengasha Safaris 2011 Mozambique - Buffalo w/ Mashambanzou Safaris | ||
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I've always thought mixing horns/antlers with different capes seemed to be slightly fraudulent, but that is JMO. Would it be possible to remove the cape and horns from a completed mount and remount the entire thing on a different form? Good luck. BH63 Hunting buff is better than sex! | |||
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Post some photos of the bad and good heads , so we can see what you want to do. | |||
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African taxis often don't epoxy the horns on, but ours do. That said, I have Euro mounts of kudu both ways and they are NOT interchangeable. The horn cores, even if sawn shorter for ease of transport/shipping the horns (wrapped separately in the same crate) and skulls are individual. So, likely the look will still be "weird". Also, FWIW, my mounted kudu is now on it's second cape, using a set of natural colored blonde horns I bought off a local taxidermist who had them and the skull + horns for a project he never got around to. I did this to NOT have blackened horns from the dip and pack process (vs. maceration) on the kudu I've been enjoying since 2006. It's your mount, so do what brings you pleasure. Just keep it honest if it doesn't represent your actual trophy. Heck, I even added an eBay bought ivory tip to one side to make it balanced. Apoxy and gunstock stain have let me get away with what I want. The capes are from my own hunts, and the Euro "shield" mounts make good decoration elsewhere in my house, even if they are shiny black. _______________________ | |||
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Buff, that’s one of the other options I was investigating. The body part wouldn’t need to be remounted, but the head needs to be redone and I would want a little more turn if going that route.  ____________________________ If you died tomorrow, what would you have done today ... 2018 Zimbabwe - Tuskless w/ Nengasha Safaris 2011 Mozambique - Buffalo w/ Mashambanzou Safaris | |||
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I have had a Taxidermist do it when I shot a better impala. The cost was very reasonable. Fraudulent? really? taxidermist replace damaged capes with undamaged capes all the time. When I brought in my deer head to be euro mounted they asked what I was going to do with the cape because they would give me a $50 credit towards my work because "we always need good capes". Unless an animal had some unique pattern on their hide can somebody really tell one impala, deer, elk, moose etc from its face? I don't think I have ever heard anyone say, "I recognize that elk his head is burnt umber and that other one was chocolate brown with a hint of grey." Mike  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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I had something similar a number of years ago. I had taken the grand slam of South African Springbok and when they arrived, the horns on the black springbok (outstanding) had been mounted on the common springbok (typical). Only I really know the issue, but I've never explored it to see if the horns could be safely taken off and switched. Of course, all of my large antelope trophies have detachable horns.  | |||
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Remounting the head is simple on your duiker. But it depends on how old the mount is ( sometimes, not always . Tanning quality determines the possibility it might fall apart when softened with water. I would suspect that yours will be fine to remount. | |||
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This may be irrelevant. First season after WWII, Dad and 4 BIL's went hunting. One killed a 187.7pt Mulie. His wife wouldn't let him have it in the house. So he hung it in the garage next to a window. It was mounted short necked upright. The sun ate the ear and most of the hair off, eye was white. Really looked like shit. He died in '73, she died in '95. I told the grandson's: "If none of you boys want that head I do, don't throw it out". A few years later I got a call to go get it. When I killed an average buck, the taxi said that wasn't big enough cape. But, he had a road kill the cape was perfect, horns busted up. He'd swap me for $20. So we did and he remounted it in a L sneak pose. As perfect a taxi job as many of us have ever inspected. Dad and I took it to show his brother. First thing he said was: "that's Teague's buck". I have it on the wall. Wish I could kill a buck equal in size. Don't be afraid to swap horns or capes if your taxi knows what he's doing. IF he don't, you sure don't want his work anyway. George "Gun Control is NOT about Guns' "It's about Control!!" Join the NRA today!" LM: NRA, DAV, George L. Dwight | |||
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Maybe I read the original post wrong but then someone started with the "ethical" crap along the way. I have swapped horns numerous times over the years for clients and a multitude of reasons. As "nobody" stated, the only issue becomes the quality of the tan, but a good hide can easily be rehydrated, stitches cut, horns and skull cap removed, replaced and resewn where no one except you know the difference. RETIRED Taxidermist | |||
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You can just take them off one and slide them on the other...I see no reason for a taxidermist..In most cases they arrive in the crate with the skull and the horns separated. there is a base that the horns slip over.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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As to ethical, whats that all about, capes age and wear out, turn brown, so are we supposed to throw the trophy in the dumpster..As the horns get bigger I'll swap them out and retire the old set to my shop wall.. I also shot a monster Buffalo and got it mounted in RSA, they used a damn holstien bull case..I had the horns put on another buffalo head I had that was correct and its beautiful, the RSA mount was horrible and stupid looking. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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