Anyone have any experience using Mochaba Taxidermy in Botswana? I'll be hunting at Tholo soon and it looks like they are the only game in town. I'm not having any luck with a website for them which isn't very reassuring. I'm on the fence whether or not to bring any trophies home so a little first hand experience would be helpful.
Thanks
Brian

I hunted at Kanana in June 2013 and we received our shipment in July 2014.
I had them tan flat skins, including a zebra rug which came out great.
The only problems were with kudu flat skins where there was flaking of the very top layer of skin so basically it was pigment flaking off. According to Debbie, the owner of Mochaba, that is an issue specific to kudu, oily skin, something like that.
I can't comment on shoulder mounts.
Most of our problems had to do with euro skulls........the guys at Kanana boiled the holy crap out of the skulls so we are missing some nasal bones. It don't think that had anything to do with Mochaba.

They have done a couple of elephants for me out of Kasane and have done a fantastic job. Debbie was the main person at that time.

No problems with them for shipping skins and skulls out, but expensive. Africa + no competition can be a bad combo.

If I do anything it will be euro mounts on shields and perhaps a zebra skin. Not interested in shoulder mounts. What was your experience with cost and shipping? Were you satisfied or would you do things differently looking back? I already have a zebra skin and a euro style Kudu that I am very pleased with so I don't necessarily feel compelled to bring anything home.

Used them in 2010 to prepare and ship my husband's elephant ivory. Excellent service. Elephant was shot in September and they had it shipped and delivered to the U.S. by December.

I had to use them when I hunted at Kanana. No issues with the skins or skulls, except my warthog had the end of the tusk broken. My biggest complaint is the cost. Paid out the nose for dip and pack and ship. At least it was to me anyway.
I would like to go hunt at Tholo with Jason, but if I did I would be very hard pressed to bring any trophies home, just because of getting screwed by them.
If you would like me to dig out the costs, shoot me a PM.

Funny, how guys in taxidermy business in Africa could make more money by treating customers fair, but it doesn't seem to be the case.
I dealt with some bad shit in Waterport ( Walter ).
Too bad as they would have more business. Maybe they are rich beyond belief and they are just eccentric personalities, doing taxidermy for fun ...

I used them to prep and send trophies to my taxidermist in houston. I got way overcharged twice. Seriously they charged me $2400 for one small crate. I couldn't believe it. That was more than my airfare there and back, plus a chartered plane while in the country.

I do not feel good about writing this post. In my opinion, I received VERY POOR care of trophies by Mochaba. The packing was worse than bad!!!!! Skulls broken, skull plates broken. Packing was non-existant!! Elephant tusks packed very, very poorly.
In their defense I will say this. I asked for my tusks to be shipped post-haste......any by God, they got them here FAST! I mean I had those suckers in about 3-4 months. Couldn't have been more pleased about that service - but then again......the squeaky wheel gets the grease - and I was squeaky!!!!!! The rest was poor. Another positive thing - ANY TIME I called and wanted to speak to Debbie Peak, she was there on the phone, and very reassuring, even offered to try to replace what was broken, you cannot beat that - but then again, you cannot really replace your own trophies.
So, I guess it comes down to WHO they had, and/or have working for them in the packing department, and you can probably see that scenario very clearly. Hey......they did not loose anything.....but Lord, the packing was SHIT!!!!!!

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like if I take an elephant I will be good to go. Plains game maybe not so much. I'll have to ask Jason if they have any elephant available .

Good luck on jumbo in Botswana
Hmmm, don't tell anyone

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
Funny, how guys in taxidermy business in Africa could make more money by treating customers fair, but it doesn't seem to be the case.
I dealt with some bad shit in Waterport ( Walter ).
Too bad as they would have more business. Maybe they are rich beyond belief and they are just eccentric personalities, doing taxidermy for fun ...

Their business model is once in a lifetime hunters, not regulars.

I had 4 tusks sent. It was insanely expensive.

BC3,

I dug out the bill from Mochaba dated 11/24/10, at that time their fees were:

dip,pack crate, 2 elephant tusks $500
dip and pack, 1 lechwe trophy $190

collect freight charges $990

bank charges: $50

total was $1730 U.S.

The tusks weighed 58.4 pounds and 54.8 pounds

Best of luck on your hunt.

since you can't hunt elephant in Bots, the tusk thing is a nonissue. when Mochaba sent my leopard, kudu, gemsbok, springbok and jackal to an RSA taxidermist 6-7 years ago, it was VERY expensive. it cost almost as much for the dip/pack/shipping From Bots to RSA as it cost to get the final mounted trophies from RSA to the US.

I don't like saying anything about other taxidermists but these people absolutely stabbed one of my customers. 10 plains game animals, dip, pack and freight to the states. 5600.00! I highly recommend not using them, not to mention all the skulls were boiled to pieces.

Holy balls
Cleaning up skulls is very inexpensive
Here in US, on average $ 50-70 per head
What is these guys problems?

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
Holy balls...............
What is these guys problems?

Monopoly.

And I can do ten heads a day easily by myself without any help whatsoever
What a racket

Got our trophies from our trip to Kanana last year.

Mochaba did good. Great communication right the way through. Perfect, robust packaging. Hides and skulls look great! Shoulder mounts good with the right pose for each animal.

Debbie Peak and Mochaba have served the Botswana hunting industry for over 30 years , with thousands of happy clients - think 400 elephant trophies a year alone. Skulls over boiled are not their responsibility but the outfitter responsibility.
Botswana is an expensive country full stop due to many reasons. With only 13 outfitters in its heyday and even less than that in the 1990's competition never surfaced due to high running costs and all outfitters loyalty to Mochaba and Debbie who gave excellent service. Debbie has no control over freighting , transport , but what she is responsible for she backs up.

As to hunting in Botswana , there are still many options and one is hopfull elephant hunting will return in the near future remembering that it was a temporary moritorium and not a ban.
Sadly although a lot of elephant buffalo and leopard are still shot they are shot as problem animals.
On our ranch which lies next to the concession areas of the Southern Chobe we still have buffalo lion leopard and a lot elephant, including wild dogs and hyena.

Used the in 2011 to export my elephant ivory and hide. Debbie was my key contact and was very responsive. Interesting side note. Thieves high jacked the truck my ivory was shipped in. Mochaba had GPS systems in place and quickly secured the truck and ivory with some special security action. Like gold in the wild west. All is well that ends well.
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