What is this "dip and pack" I read about? Is this preparation for a taxidermist in the states? Just to give me an idea, how much for dipping and packing an Eastern Cape kudu?

Is taxidermy in S.A. usually cheaper or more expensive than in the states?

Is there an option to just have the skulls shipping back to the U.S. Is this done by the hunt operator, or by the same people that do the dip and pack?

quote:

What is this "dip and pack" I read about? Is this preparation for a taxidermist in the states? Just to give me an idea, how much for dipping and packing an Eastern Cape kudu?

Is taxidermy in S.A. usually cheaper or more expensive than in the states?

Is there an option to just have the skulls shipping back to the U.S. Is this done by the hunt operator, or by the same people that do the dip and pack?

Dip and pack includes the process of preparing/dipping the skulls, hides, preparing paperwork for export, crating etc... Yes, in your case it is the preparation of skulls and hides for export to a US taxidermist. You should budget in the neighborhood of $150 per animal for dip and pack. Dip and pack does not include shipping costs or fees associated with clearing your trophies through US Customs and USFWS. If you are having your taxidermy done here, use a taxidermist who is familiar with the process and they will walk you through every step with ease.

Taxidermy varies wildly in price and quality all over the world. Find one that does work that satisfies you at a price that you are happy with. Best to do some research before your trip. CONSISTENCY of the work produced is something to study on.

This varies, but most outfits will deliver your trophies to a RSA taxidermist who will perform the dip and pack services. You will pay them and then they will hand over your trophies to a shipping company. You will get a quote from the shipping company. After paying them, your trophies will ship. I recommend you use a customs brokerage to receive and clear your shipment into the US.

I hope that helps.

Post Oak,
My experience is that it is a wash in terms of cost of having the taxidermy done in RSA vs US. I used Life-Form Taxidermy in RSA and had the mounts shipped to Houston. The taxidermy was a bit cheaper (and well done) but the freight was a whopper. Conversely, I have had the hides and skulls shipped (not tanned, but dipped and packed) to Houston and had them mounted here. The shipping was cheaper but the taxidermy was more expensive.

Of course, taxidermists vary in price & quality. I used Brush Country Studios (NW Houston). They are a little pricey but they do nice work.

Good advice so far and here's another vote for Lifeform Taxidermy.

Also, you might find this useful: http://www.shakariconnection.c...ermy-for-africa.html

ANOTHER VOTE FOR LIFEFORM IN SOUTH AFRICA. THEIR STAFF IS ON TOP OF EVERYTHING. MOUNTS ARE SECOND TO NONE.

This one of the pickles of hunting,

I tried different taxidermists too quote for my clients, and then they chose whoeever, this has back fired tremendously.

NOW I WILL ONLY USE AND ADVISE THE USE OF LIFEFORM TAXIDERMY NOT CHEAP BUT BY !@## NEVER A HASSLE

I've always used Life-Form Taxidermy in South Africa for any animal that I shot on the dark continent -- and, they always do a fantastic job for me at a reasonable cost.

The shipping of finished trophies all the way from SA is expensive, of course, but the cost of the actual taxidermy work is a bit lower and goes a long way toward offsetting the additional shipping cost -- In fact, I've concluded that it's something of a "push."

My logic has always been to use as much of the local businesses as I can wherever I hunt. It's the same philosophy I used when I was doing lots of international business -- it's both a show of respect and an attempt to make my prescence in that country as economically beneficial to its citizens as possible.

I currently have trophies from my last hunt at Life-Form, but in light of current economic conditions in the U.S. I am thinking about finding an American taxidermist for the next bunch to bring a little more business "home." Life-Form is fantastic, but I'm certain that the same quality of work can be had here and, if the economy stays weak, I'll feel obligated to do my part to help the local guys out.

quote:

Originally posted by postoak:
What is this "dip and pack" I read about? Is this preparation for a taxidermist in the states? Just to give me an idea, how much for dipping and packing an Eastern Cape kudu?

Is taxidermy in S.A. usually cheaper or more expensive than in the states?

Is there an option to just have the skulls shipping back to the U.S. Is this done by the hunt operator, or by the same people that do the dip and pack?

Talk to Lynnette at ABX-Logistics (Houston).
You are close to several great taxidermists, who tend towards the artist rather than just "Here's what I shot!"

$85. or so for dip & pack per animal.
You can get really disappointed with the horn treatment, but if European mount do it there. (You'll have to bondo the horns to the skull after pulling them out of the crate.) BTW, specify a wooden crate for shipment. Cardboard boxes are often used and that SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are going to do tanned skins, like a zebra rug, then I would recommend getting it done in Africa.

The shipping cost is almost the same for green hides as finished rugs, plus your finished rugs don't have to be received here in the US by a USDA licensed taxidermist, you can pick them up yourself.

A zebra rug mounted on felt backing was $300 in Namibia last year and the quotes that I received to get it done here were $1200 - $1400.

quote:

Originally posted by BNagel:
Talk to Lynnette at ABX-Logistics (Houston).
You are close to several great taxidermists, who tend towards the artist rather than just "Here's what I shot!"

$85. or so for dip & pack per animal.
You can get really disappointed with the horn treatment, but if European mount do it there. (You'll have to bondo the horns to the skull after pulling them out of the crate.) BTW, specify a wooden crate for shipment. Cardboard boxes are often used and that SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

ABX isn't providing that service any more, but Lynette is now at WELL Worldwide and their service is great. Here is their info:

WELL Worldwide Energy Logistics, Inc.
3340-C Greens Road Suite 450
Houston, TX 77032
PH: 281-606-2400
FX: 281-606-2435
EM: llilley@well-usa.com

This is for the shipping.

Your outfitter provides the dip and pack. Your taxidermist should give you trophy tags to be attached to your trophies at the skinning shed, and should also tell you if they have other requirements for receiving your shipment.

Good luck!

another vote for WELL Worldwide as the shipping agent!!

$150.00 per animal from RSA? Not in my house. It should be anywhere from $50 to $75 max. Maybe a permit fee for something special.

quote:

$150.00 per animal from RSA?

You are right, they are usually less....but I tend to budget a little high so there are no surprises. Plus he could be going a year or two out and who knows what it will be by then. If he budgets 150 per animal he will be be in a better position than if he only budgets 50 per animal IMO.

Is shipping usually more or less than the dip and pack?

quote:

Originally posted by OldHandgunHunter:
I've always used Life-Form Taxidermy in South Africa for any animal that I shot on the dark continent -- and, they always do a fantastic job for me at a reasonable cost.

The shipping of finished trophies all the way from SA is expensive, of course, but the cost of the actual taxidermy work is a bit lower and goes a long way toward offsetting the additional shipping cost -- In fact, I've concluded that it's something of a "push."

My logic has always been to use as much of the local businesses as I can wherever I hunt. It's the same philosophy I used when I was doing lots of international business -- it's both a show of respect and an attempt to make my prescence in that country as economically beneficial to its citizens as possible.

I currently have trophies from my last hunt at Life-Form, but in light of current economic conditions in the U.S. I am thinking about finding an American taxidermist for the next bunch to bring a little more business "home." Life-Form is fantastic, but I'm certain that the same quality of work can be had here and, if the economy stays weak, I'll feel obligated to do my part to help the local guys out.

If the economy stays weak, it will stay weak in RSA. I would tend to stick with Life Form, if that's your preference, because helping the hunting industry is at least as important to me as hdlping the American economy.

quote:

Is shipping usually more or less than the dip and pack?

More.

For an average size plains game package hunt in RSA I would budget at least $1,200 for shipping of skulls/horns to the US. This will most likely cover the customs brokerage costs/final truck shipping as well.

The final price of shipping can vary quite a bit (size of crate, air vs. sea shipping etc..) But I would say most end up paying around $1,200 or so to ship and receive dip and pack trophies from RSA. Finished mounts can easily double that cost.

I am sure there are some folks here who have paid these costs recently and would not mind sharing their costs with you. You are wise to ask these questions. A lot of people have ended up with $5,000 package hunts that turn into $20,000 by the time the last bill is paid. (airfare,hunt,tips,extras,dip and pack,shipping, customs brokerage, taxidermy.....)

Worth every penny, but be prepared!

Other than just leaving everything there, is there any cheaper option to the dip and pack?

quote:

Other than just leaving everything there, is there any cheaper option to the dip and pack?

No. Legally, this is pretty much how it has to work. If there is another way, I would love to hear about it!

This may be a little off topic.
Consider discussing surface shipping with your customs brokerage. With air transport so expensive these days, it can save considerable money. I have used Fauna and Flora, and they basically fill a container periodically and bring it over via ship.
I have also heard horror stories about people taking this option.

I had my Lion mounted by Life-Form in RSA. They did an excellent job. Even the habitat base was above the norm for any other RSA firm I'm familiar with. However, the cost of shipping home was right at $3K. So be aware that shipping costs greatly increase for mounted trophies. I would give Life-Form the highest marks for communication. Their forte is large cats. As for US taxidermists, we have some of the best in the world here at home. Many of whom are members of AR. Visit the Taxidermy forum and check out their work. It's not cheap, but I can promise you it is some of the best of the best.
LDK

quote:

but in light of current economic conditions in the U.S. I am thinking about finding an American taxidermist for the next bunch to bring a little more business "home."

Agreed. We spent a substantial sum on our recent hunt and the tips were good and a boost to the local economy.

With hunting down in the U.S., I'm supporting my local taxidermist on this one. I've had work done in both places. Didn't use Life Form but got good service and quality from Highveldt. I'd rather help keep John Pyles in Orlando in business than an offshore firm, though. The American public is already supporting hundreds of thousands of offshore firms. This job comes home. JMHO.

quote:

Originally posted by Marty:
This may be a little off topic.
Consider discussing surface shipping with your customs brokerage. With air transport so expensive these days, it can save considerable money. I have used Fauna and Flora, and they basically fill a container periodically and bring it over via ship.
I have also heard horror stories about people taking this option.

I had a huge shipment coming from Life-Form a few years ago and one of the crates was too big to fit on an airplane unless I paid for a temporary modification (VERY expensive it turns out).

So, I used the cargo ship alternative -- if memory serves Safari Air Cargo handled the arrangements on the African end and Fauna & Flora handled the American receipt. In any case, I had no horror story -- in fact, everything went perfectly and there was virtually no shipping damage to any of the trophies (better than the best air cargo results I've had) -- and it cost me in the neighborhood of $10K less than air would have cost for that shipment.

The only downside was that it took a bit longer -- two weeks longer, if I recall. But, two weeks is no biggie after waiting most of a year for the trophies.

quote:

Originally posted by postoak:
Is shipping usually more or less than the dip and pack?

It all depends on the weight of everything and size the size of the crate. My last trip in 2007 dip and pack was $2700 and shipping was $3100, this was split three ways as my friends and I put everything in one name, this helps to save some on the administrative fees involved. Total of 35 animals.

my dip, pack and shipping was right at $1300 (I went ocean freight) from Namibia to NYC last fall. I had 5 animals - kudu, gemsbok, eland, zebra, blesbok. I combined my shipment with the other guys in our hunting party, and had Flora and Fauna clear all the trophies.

quote:

gotogirl3

Thanx!

My recent shipment from Port Elizabeth through Coppersmith in Atlanta and overland to me in Tampa included this $641 shipping and another +/-$600 for Coppersmith to handle the inport details and transport to me. [ I know it would have been cheaper to do it myself , but since the shipment included a CITES Bontebuck, I let Lynley at Coppersmith do the paperwork.]

This was a very only a completed Bontebuck Shoulder mount and a full mount Caracal w/ Dassie. Only weighed about 100 lbs. but dimensions were about the size of an old fashioned steamer trunk. A larger shipment would make the Coppersmith fees look better as they would not change much.

DIMENSIONS
HEIGHT (cm) 80
LENGTH (cm) 111
WIDTH (cm) 78
PORT OF ENTRY: ATLANTA
QUOTE BREAKDOWN
SHIPPING BY AIR $606.00
INSURANCE AMOUNT@$4780 $35.00
Total shipping cost to port of entry: $641.00

quote:

Originally posted by postoak:
Other than just leaving everything there, is there any cheaper option to the dip and pack?

When shipping salted hides they have to be dipped.

Pay the dip, pack and ship(about 125 per trophy),ship to Houston and clear it yourself and save about 600-800 on clearing.

If you want a good deal on your mounts give me a call, I'm in Corpus Christi.

My house is small in size, with low ceilings. I now just get Euro shield mounts for just about everything, and the shipping cost isn't much different than for dip-n-pack. My kudu of a couple of years ago was done as a shoulder mount by Life Form and yes, the shipping cost was much higher.

How do you clear the shipment yourself? Without using Coppersmith or Flora and Fauna?

I have two warthog coming with the shipment, I understand this changes things a bit.

This has been discussed here in some detail in the last few years.

You might check with your taxidermist here too! I believe some things have changed in the last few years requiring trophies, esp. warthogs to go directly to an "approved" taxidermist?

Fauna and Flora and Coppersmith know all these issues, that's what your paying for, in my opinion.

You can save some money by picking the trophies up yourself at ATL if you use Coppersmith there.

Les

Dip and pack plus shipping from Windhoek, Namibia to Anchorage, Alaska for 2 gemsbok, 2 kudu, 2 wildebeest, 2 zebra rugs, 1 hartebeest, and 1 warthog was right at $3100 total. That includes about $120 to Delta and USFWS upon arrival. It came in two cardboard boxes but I didn't have any damage. The only screwup was I asked for extra horns to be included for carving and that didn't happen. Shipping hogs is always a hassle because only certain people are allowed to accept them. In my case, it was a tanner. Otherwise, I could have accepted everything myself.

I've used Life Form for every one of my Safaris with the exception of the first two. They are master taxidermists, especially with the cats. I have a shipment coming from them on the high seas even as we speak, being shipped by Safari Cargo and due to arrive at Fauna & Flora in New York during the first of December. Then on to Las Vegas. This shipment has, among many other trophies, my leopard killing leopard. Can't wait!