May have an elephant PAC hunt on the near horizon -- sooooo--- if I should happen into one with decent ivory would like to get a set of reprductions made --- any suggestions??
G

I have not had any repros made for myself, but I saw a pair of repro tusks at Atcheson Taxidermy in Butte, MT that looked fantastic. They were difficult to tell from the real thing. Give Tom Hardesty a call at (406)782-0569 or check out their website at Atcheson Taxidermy

Best of luck to you on your upcoming hunt!

Brian

Wendell Reich has molded a set and is selling them for the PAC hunters. They are nice.
He made a set for AR member Postdriver and he was very pleased with them.

I have a set that I got from Transafrican Taxidermy in Johannesburg. They're not expensive to have made but quite bulky to ship. We have them fixed at the camp front gate.



They look real enough to have had one stolen last year! I hope the thief got beaten up delivering his loot ...

you can order some from mckenzie!

Alistair Pole of Zambezi Hunters says he can arrange for a taxidermist in Zim to come and make a plaster mould and repros of the PAC eles. Seems this is the way to go as every scratch, dink etc in the ivory will be on the reproductions. They in fact will be exact replicas.

Mark

Field and stream taxidermy in Louis Trichardt, a small town S. Africa, does a great job.

Tony Rathbone is the owner and Field and stream can simply be entered into your search engine.(@ least if it is google)

Tony is a good guy and attends the SCI and Eastern sportsman's show on a regular basis.

I believe I have seen them in Life Form and Highveld Taxidermy in RSA and as I recall not too expensive, like $400 each, but I may be wrong-

I must have missed this topic!!

Here's my pair of repros in the house to represent the bulls I've taken thus far..

My little huntress showing her tusks off..


..and how they look on either side of the TV in the den.


I bought a blank sheet of copper and textured and formed the tusk coverings and had a friend make me the bases out of Cocobolo wood.

We take our clients to Safari Taxidermy in Pietersburg. When they want reproductions of their tusks.Safari taxidermy have many sizes of tusk and the quilety is exellent

Come on guys!!--------there has to be a place here in the states to get a "good" set of repos done??-------I visited a local taxidermist here in Denver that claimed he could get r' done but was not really impressed with what I saw --sooo--still looking
G

On an old thread here there was a set of instructions/materials needed to creat a "mold" of your tusks in the field. At the time(a few years ago???) it seemed pretty slick. You would then take your impression to whomever/wherever.

30 seconds on Google.

http://trophyreproductions.com/
http://www.elephant-tusk.com/
http://lonestartaxidermy.com/
http://www.jonas-supply.com/

Contact Wendell Reich who posts on here. He's made some sets of repro tusks. I think the mold he has now are from Jerry Huffaker's tusks. I had him made me a pair and I'm very satisfied!

Looks like Wendell is in business: http://trophyreproductions.com/

If you want a set of exact replicas of THE tusks made, you will have to get a taxidermist in Zim to mold them in the field, or on the way to Park's warehouse.

If you just want a generic set of tusks similar to your elephant, then you can shop around until you find someone who has a mold close to yours in size. I know that Collett's Taxidermy in Bulawayo has them in 3 sizes, for about $700 per set mounted on bases. You can get a hold of him at colwild@mweb.co.zw This guy is probably the best taxidermist in Zim.

Most PAC animals are young bulls circa 15 or 20 lbs per side. The old bulls are too smart, and the cows are too protective to venture into human habitation. Anyway, most PHs won't let you shoot cows on a PAC hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
Looks like Wendell is in business:

It started as a hobby, reproducing antlers from animals on my ranch and progressed into an actual part time business.

I have made a few sets for guys here on AR who have done these PAC hunts. Like Gould said, they are the perfect size for a PAC bull, PH's won't let you shoot a big trophy bull on that hunt so most wind up in that 15-35 lb range. I cut off a bit if the request is for one in the smaller range.

Even if you shoot a Cow, it is nice to get a small set. Even if it is a tuskless, it is more a memorial to the animal that you shot than anything else.

I am working on an 81 lb tusk at the moment. I can not wait to finish it. It is a beautiful tusk! Also a huge Fallow Deer who died on the ranch.

This Fallow is enormous!

I will try to post photos of both when I am done.

I would like to see a picture of the 80+ one when you finish it Wendell. I saw a picture that is listed over on the current "Taxidermy Forum" of a tusk hanging up with rope over a doorway. I was thinking of doing something similar over my "cooking area" and barbecue grill in the back yard. A repo would work great.

Wendell, I shot a 70 pound one tusker last year. Is it possible to make a mold and recreate a second tusk like the one I have? Just curious. Also what does something like this run?

Please pardon my ignorance, but what happens to the originals?

I had reproduction rhino horns made from a rhino I darted, and it is one of my favorite trophies, but I almost want to put a sign on em that they are reproductions, in case someone sees them and decides they are real and comes back to nab them....!

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Wendell, I shot a 70 pound one tusker last year. Is it possible to make a mold and recreate a second tusk like the one I have? Just curious. Also what does something like this run?

Mike, that is exactly why I am making a replica of this 81 lb tusk. It was a 1 tusker and he wants a match to go with it.

Once I am finished I will have a beeter feel for the cost. It was a bigger project than I anticipated.

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
It was a bigger project than I anticipated.

Those are never words that are followed by good news.

quote:

Originally posted by montea6b:
Please pardon my ignorance, but what happens to the originals?

Anybody? I'm serious, I don't understand the need for repros. I know ivory is tightly controlled due to poaching, but I never realized that on a legal permitted hunt the hunter can't keep the tusks. (unless he is too ugly, fat or gay...)

The animal is dead, he doesn't need them anymore.

So, what happens to the originals?!

If it is a PAC bull or tusked cow, the ivory is often not exportable. From some countries, no ivory is exportable, i.e., Mozambique. So if you want a trophy from the hunt a reproduction is the way to go. Also, in my case, my bull was a one tusker. I thought it might be nice to have a reproduction to display a set.

What is a "PAC" bull?

Problem animal control, an elephant that has been raiding village crops in communal areas.