I am going on my first hunt and I am going to have all of my trophies done as European mounts and wondered if it was worth saving the capes to sell so I could maybe shoot another animal or 2. Is there any market for this out there or am I waisting my time going throught the hassle?
I am also interested in any other ideas for mounts or taxidermy work other than head mounts if you have any ideas for me as well.
I have seen some really neat Ides with warthofg tusks and porcupine quills in a framed box type of thing.
Thanks

Yes, there is a definitely a market out there. Skins with matching horns, teeth, claws, etc... always bring top price. But lone African skins are always in demand. Try taxidermy.net in the "For Sale" forum.

nube,

For many years I helped to finance my hunting addiction by caping all heads shot by myself and friends and then selling the capes. Whichever Hunting Outfitter you use is going to have a skinner available to cape your trophies, let them do it and prepare the capes properly. I suggest you then deal with the taxidermist that is going to treat and do the export for your European mounts.

By choosing to do European mounts you already save yourself a few extra trohies' costs, and selling the capes can also add to your available hunting budget.

Enjoy your hunt.

Andrew McLaren

nube, both RSIMMONS and Andrew have good points, but consider this: If you are shipping your unfinished horns/skulls back to CAN., then you would most likely benefit from shipping your capes/skins back as well. Your going to be charged by dimensional weight, so it may be feasible to include your capes/skins. Be sure you check on what the shipping costs would be; raw horns/skulls with added capes/skins versus finished euro skull mounts. The increased size of your crate (with capes/skins) could offset any profit you could make by selling your capes/skins. If that is the case, take Andrew's advice and sell your cape/skins to a local African Taxidermist. I would ask them in advance (email them) if they would be interested in securing any you have for sale. They may not need them, but again they may have a solid market for them, giving you the extra money to hunt for additional game. The taxidermy.net site offers a good place to sell your extra capes/skins, but do a little investigating to see what African game skins are bringing. Some species bring more than others and from what I've noticed, the average cape can bring $200-$400 depending upon species and condition. Some are offered as tanned, some raw-salted (called flint in the trade). Tanned capes/skins bring more but it wouldn't benefit you to have this done as your profit will decrease. Do a little homework on the Internet and you'll have answers before you leave. Good hunting, David

Good thoughts guys. I didn't think of offering them to a taxidermist there. It would be better to do that than try to get them back to Canada and get all the permits to shipp them to the U.S if I did sell one. I just thought it would be a waste to throw the capes away and if I could make a few bucks and be able to harvest another animal or 2 it was something I wanted to look into.

Email your PH and ask him to suggest some local Taxidermist near where you'll be. You would want one close enough to do business with BEFORE you finish your hunt. Could put some extra animals on the ground for you. Good hunting, D.

My thoughts . . .

I'm not sure that your hides would sell here in the states for enough to make a profit after the shipping costs to get them here. That would need to be investigated.

Remember that if you sell your hides there, you'll get paid in African money, but when you shoot the extra animals, you'll pay in US dollars. Evaluate the exchange rate to see if it's worth it.

Good luck!

JDS

If they are common animals, I don't know how much they would be worth over there. I have had to have taxidermists buy a cape here and there for animals I've had mounted in Africa, and normally, they just throw them into the order without additional charge. Granted this has always been for common animals they can easily get. I would think they would be worth more here, and I can't imagine the weight of shipping would add significant costs, as you'll already be shipping your skull mounts and horns.

It will need some research into this to see if it is worth my time but like a few guys have said it might add an animal or 2 to the list of things I can shoot so I don't go way over budget which sounds like it may be easy to do when you are there. The animals are so nice looking there and I wish I could get head mounts for them but I am just an average guy with an average income trying to fulfill a dream. I'm sure getting excited about it.