I am in the midst of planning a plains game hunt in RSA, for July of 2008, for my son and I and 2 other buddies. As I pour over the miriad of things to do, I am really waffling on whether to even ship the trophies home for european/skull mounts. The 4 of us will all have digital cameras, and I am seriously thinking that the pictures will be more valuable to me than the trophies. I live in a modest 1 story older ranch home with 8 ft. ceilings, and a full basement. My deer heads, horn mts., etc. are all down there. Thats where the skull mts. would have to go. Hell, a kudu or gemsbok would have to be hung up 3 ft. off the floor, just to fit! I'm 55 yrs. old, and by the time we go, will be 57. I'm sure my son, age 25, will want all his trophies, but I'm thinking maybe just a soft tanned, non backed zebra hide, to drape around my bar in the basement, the a whole bunch of 8x10 pics, in nice frames would suffice. Then if what you boys say is true, I'd be $2-3000 ahead for the NEXT trip. Just wanted some opinions from the other members. Thanks.

Mad Dog

Mad,
I have the same issue. I have been twice to Africa and have filled up my wall space. I have a mix of Europeans mounts, heads and lifesize. Frankly, I like the Europeans the best followed by a lot of pics. I will take a 10 megapixel camera next time and take a million pics.

I brought home a lot of skins and made pillows, hangings and rugs out of them. That is very expensive due to shipping weight of skins and then the tanning bills. There is no easy answer. I have spent the cost of another safari on taxidermy issues.

In the end, all we really have are the memories.

I thought about this same thing for my next safari. I like skull mounts as well as shoulder mounts. I will mix them this next trip based off size etc. If it is not an impressive trophy sizewise it may get left over there, pictures and video will be the trophy.

One warning though about bringing the skulls back and planning on mounting them intact. Many were demolished in the crate last time when I opened it. None would have looked good if repaired. Luckily I did all shoulder mounts except a warthog. The warthog was the only skull without major damage.

And yes you can pay for another safari with what the taxidermy will cost.

I guess really the most important part, is hunting with my son, and sharing the camp with one of my best friends, and his son. Come to think of it, nobody ever sees my trophies in the basement, except me. My son and I went black bear hunting , in Idaho, last fall, we both got a bear, and yeah we are having rugs done, but ya know, all my friends saw the pics, but darn few will see the rug. The more I think about it, with the exception of the zebra skin, I think the pics will do.

Mad Dog

Depends on your circumstances. I had a Zebra Skin rug made, had some back skin tanned, and some horn mounts.

The cost taxidermy can pay for a trip! I will take a ton of pictures from here on out and make them into a Power Point Presentation. Just hit the button, and relive the who hunt while planning the next hunt with the money saved.

If you ( four hunters ) decide not to bring home trophies you will save. Allot of money!
Dipping, Crating, Shipping, Clearing, can easily end up costing each hunter $1500- $3000
and taxidermy in the US will cost $,$$$.
Madd Dog if really want to save money you should hunt Namibia. The daily rates are usually
$100 -$200 lower and the trophy fees can be half the cost of South Africa. If you went on a
ten day hunt in Namibia and shot 1-Kudu, 2- Gemsbok, 1- Eland, 1- Zebra, 1- Springbok
You would save at least $3000 per hunter! Namibia is the most affordable place to hunt in Africa!

Pictures only?

Blasphemy!

Blasphemy I say!

I don't think there is one answer for all. The answer is very specific to each of us. I have many pictures and have had shoulder mounts and life size as well a European. The pictures and slide shows are nice to share with friends. My trophy room is also my office and when the Sh*t is getting to me I can take 5 and set back in my chair and look at each mount reliving each hunt, weather that hunt was in Zim, New Zealand, the Rockies etc. or my wood lot for Whitetails, Turkeys or Grouse etc. Just one mans use of hard earned trophies or maybe some not so hard earned - we all get lucky once in a while, eh.

why not both??

Maddog,

The horns will be great conversation pieces... Also the horns can be made into curio works of art light posts and other interesting stuff...
Have a great hunt...

Mike

Pictures will give you a lot of memories but I would never wan't to be without my trophies.

One way of saving is if you know you will hunt the same country again, let the taxidermist keep your trophies and ship from two hunts in one shipment.

I have a shipment from 5 hunts coming in this summer.

I have to agree with Christer. While the photos are surely the most seen - not only by others but me as well - the trophy's presence in my home adds something that would diffinately be missing without them. Its something I can touch and stare at. They've been shot a thousand times during dry-fire practice and while we have few visitors every one wants to see them. This isn't a deer head or even a bear rug (no offense) but something they've only seen on TV for the most part. No I can't imagine being without my trophies. Getting them here has been expensive and could have paid for more hunting but for me they're part of the experience. Its an individual decission and maybe you'll feel different.

I'm with the guys who have sent the trophies home. There is just something about sitting down with your favorite drink in hand reliving every hunt. I have my pictures too but they stay in the office on the shelf. I have my trophies downstairs and 8X10 pictures of my trophis behind my desk in the office. Regardless of which room I'm in, I can sit back and remember.

I've got shoulder mounts, european mounts and tanned hides all over my house. I enjoy looking at them and you need to think about your lovely wife, your husband in law, and your kiddies when you die. Think of the money they can get when they sell them for a penny on the dollar at a garbage sale after you kick the bucket!

I have all kinds of mounts, from skull mounts to head and shoulder mounts to full body mounts, and also many hides and rugs. To me, photography is no substitute for taxidermy.

But taxidermy without photos is also lacking. The photos are just as important as the mounts. The two complement each other.

These things are all about maintaining memories, and for me it takes both, plus a decent journal, to do that.

I go along with TJ on this one. Your trophies are important to you, and will be to your son, because he was with you. But after that point, the importance of your trophies to your family, or decendants will be measured on a completely different scale. I prefer european mounts or just skull caps with the horns attached, and lots of pictures. Mounted trophies help relive themoment, but pictures actually let you see people, animals, and places as they actually were at the time of the event. Trophies bring back memories, good pictures, bring those memories into focus. JMO.

Take a look at the memory box post on here. It gives you some great ideas if you decide to go with pictures.

I have some nice mounts but if I had the money instead, I could have a couple of good safaris. I would not swap some of them but I don't have a place to hang some of them either. If I have to build another room fo rmy trophies it will cost me a bunch more hunts. Pictures are great but some trophies are good too. Have a good hunt. A hunt with your son is the best of the best. Enjoy those days in the sun.

I have made 8 safari's to Zimbabwe and the sum total of my trophies are 2 zebra skins and one pair of Elephant tusks and 2 pair of warthog tusks. I am retired and live in a townhouse with low ceilings and walls that have been decorated for many years. There would be no room for trophies even should I want them. I weighed the cost the first year and came to the conclusion that the cost of trophies paid the airfare over and for at least 2 animals. In the ensuing years the fees got higher but so did the trophy costs. On my last trip I decided to shoot a trophy Elephant and bring the Tusks back. In lieu of trophies I have taken hundreds of photos on film and with the advent of digital I switched to that format and shot hundreds more. From the beginning I used Canon ELPH equipment because it used APS format with high capacity cartridges and was the size of a pack of cigarettes. It fit easily in a shirt pocket, the premise being you can't capture the scene if you don't have the camera with you at all times. I continued with this concept thru the Digital Elph with great success. With digital a good PC and good paper 8x10 prints are a snap. Powerpoint presentations are easy and you can dump them to a CD and send to all who are interested,in fact I have even been guilty of sending them to some who were NOT interested. It's really like so much of the things on these forums it's a personal thing and in the final analysis only you can decide what is best for your needs.

quote:

A good thing would be to laminate a history and stick it to the back of each mount and photo

This is an excellent idea. I usually at least write the name, date killed, and location on the back. A laminated journal page would be much better.

After five trips and five sets of taxidermy and shipping bills I just brought pictures home this time. I agonized over it for months but I think I made the right decision. Shipping alone is round trip airfare for me to return. I do enjoy sitting in my Africa room and sitting under the full mount lion and leopard and other mounts though. In the old days before 2000 shipping was much less expensive. Now the only thing I would ship home would be 60 pound Ivory or a hog leopard.

Some animals are just so beautiful they deserve a shoulder mount - kudu, reedbuck to name two.

mike

Not a bad idea. As much as I hunt, I'm totally running out of space. I would agree.

I know more & more giuys doing pics. I've been over twice & my next trip will probably be pics & euro mounts. If you take a decent Kud, it's worth the money to shoulder mount IMO.

As someone with no nice mounts of big game animials and never having been to Africa I frequent the Trophy rooms pictures with great envy!

Pictures are great but the lesser of the two IMO.

Just this past weekend I went Chukar hunting and the lodge was full of Afican mounts and I couldn't stop looking. Man some of those things are HUGE!! That is the point though, you don't get an accurate feel for the animal in pictures.

I can empathize about the cost and space issue of bringing back animals and the cost of taxidermy. The one thing I can say is that when people come over and walk into my basement and see the animals, their eyes open and and a million questions then arise, thus allowing me to relive the hunt and tell stories all over again. I have photos along with small plaques for the animals but the mount is the real deal for both myself and guests. Just my two cents.

Personally I would at least mount a couple of my favorites or if I took something exceptional I would mount it also. For me pictures just don't do the animals justice.
I know if I go to a friend house and they have mounts up one of the first things I do is start asking them where they killed it, with what etc.

1 year after the safari you won't be able to get any opf your friends or families to sit down and look thru your photos with you! If you have a few nice ones mounted up and framed you might be able to keep them out: (if you take the wife or kids with you and they are in the photos!)

Standard taxidermy mounts will woo your friends for many years and your mind will return to Africa each time you look at them! (but that will be when you go to the room your wife relegates them to!)

Now...If you have a few of the most spectacular trophies mounted up in custom artistic poses by a quality taxidermist they will take a place of honor in the home and the wife will invite all of hers and your friends proudly in to see them!



Custom African Mounts

Good hunting!