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I just received my mounted trophies from RSA. Kwiktan did the work. They sat with Coppersmith for about 5 months due to a lsot CITES permit. I am happy with them, but they smell like mothballs. I also had a pair of Courteney boots tossed in and they also smell like mothballs. Is this common? I assume some agent was used to prevent infestation or something. Is there an easy way to rid the trophies of the smell? I meant to be DSC Member...bad typing skills. Marcus Cady DRSS | ||
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I do not know of an easy or quick way other than just letting them air out. The mothball smell will go away over time. There were mothballs or crushed mothballs in the crate and now the odor has permeated into the mounts. If it is really strong you could take them outside for a brief time on a sunny, windy day (supervised) and I am sure that would help. You could take a damp (not wet) rag and gently wipe them down in the direction of the hair growth in order to remove any powdered residue. If the rag is too wet or you rub too hard you could remove paint, so be careful. Everytime I unpack a crate of dip and pack in the shop the whole place smells very strong of mothballs for a few days. The smell does go away. | |||
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My first batch were the same way. I believe they put the mothballs or whatever chemical inside the trophies. It was so strong that once they were inside the house the smell would knock you down whenever we went inside. What made it much worse is that the horns were dropping LIVE dermistid beetle larva on the floor below. We ended up getting Miller Trophy Room to come and disinfect, kill bugs, and remove the smell from all our trophies. It was expensive but cheaper than a divorce. I hunt, not to kill, but in order not to have played golf.... DRSS | |||
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RAC Who did your mounts that time? make sure I don't use them in the future. Yes it's cocked, and it has bullets too!!! | |||
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That's another reason to have your trophies mounted here at home. I advise anyone to check current crating and shipping charges before you have anything mounted abroad. We just paid nearly $2,800 for a small crate of skins and horns. Last year we paid $5,300 in shipping for 3 crates of mounted trophies and the work was crap. NO money saved and work was substandard. Big promises, high class brochure with quality pictures, but the work was poor. Lesson learned. There are a few good Taxidermists in southern Africa, but the savings you think your getting will dry up when the shipping/importation bill arrives. We have some of the best Taxidermists in the USA as members, right here on AR and I will use them exclusively forever more. LDK Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333 Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com NRA Benefactor DSC Professional Member SCI Member RMEF Life Member NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor NAHC Life Member Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt: http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262 Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142 Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007 http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more: http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409 Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941 10 days in the Stormberg Mountains http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322 Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232 "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running...... "If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you." | |||
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You can always try cheap perfume or colgne. The spray type, I'm no taxidermist but have used this on old critters that I skinned myself. Maybe not professional but it worked well and did not take much spray to cover the smell. Good luck | |||
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It was Ace Taxidermy of Warmbaths, South Africa. Their work was actually pretty good and I had a 2nd batch of trophies done before before I got the first ones in the U. S. and found out about the smell/bugs. Fortunately, the 2nd ones were okay. I am not sure they are still in business. I hunt, not to kill, but in order not to have played golf.... DRSS | |||
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I agree 150% after 10 trips I will NEVER use a african taxidermist again. Most over charge, don't deliver on time and are in bed with shipping agents, they get paid to refer to a crooked shipping agent. I paid over $2000 to get one leopard skin, one buff skin and skull, one puku and one bush buck all raw trophies 2 trips ago. Everyone should get the size of the box and weight and get prices. Its your right. Taxidermist will never tell you that. NRA LIFE MEMBER DU DIAMOND SPONSOR IN PERPETUITY DALLAS SAFARI CLUB LIFE MEMBER SCI FOUNDATION MEMBER | |||
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I agree with everything said so far. I've only been in Africa once, but I did visit a "highly recommended" taxidermist who was supposedly very good. I was less than impressed with the work that I saw, even though one gemsbok supposedly won a major South African taxidermy competition! I've seen better work by taxidermy school students! From how I understand the shipping process, (and correct me if I'm wrong) but you pay based on weight and physical dimensions of the shipping container, right? Well, what is going to weigh more and occupy more space, ten skulls and capes or five mounts, five skulls and five hides? Yes, typically African taxidermists charge lower fees for their work, but their work is similar to what was done here in the states, in the 1960's! And I don't buy the whole argument that African taxidermists understand the animals better than American ones... I've decided that for my next trip, I'm having nothing but skulls and skins shipped. I'll have the skulls for European mounts until the taxidermist has time to work on them, and I won't have to pay a huge shipping bill and hopefully I'll get my trophies here quicker! | |||
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If you can hang your mounts in your garage for a while and let them air out. I had to do this with the back hides I had taned here in the US. It took about 2-3 weeks for the tanning smell to subside. | |||
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I believe cost is figured on the volume or weight, whichever is more expensive using their formula. With mounted trophies the crate will be charged on volume most likely. For the smell, if they were my trophies I would try running an ozone generator to speed up the process of dissipating the smell. Usually ozone generators can be rented for about $15 a day from an equipment rental place. An ozone generator does not cover the smell, it oxidizes the offending smell and effectively destroys it. Jason "You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core." _______________________ Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt. Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure. -Jason Brown | |||
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 +1"You only gotta do one thing well to make it in this world" - J Joplin | |||
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+1 Seloushunter Nec Timor Nec Temeritas | |||
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I have also seen some crap work of some so called top US taxidermists, including promises made and not kept - so the tree bends both ways ! A free market system allows us choices to be able to support or spend our hard earned money with whom we want to. IMHO - These are the taxidermists in Africa that I reckon do top class work - and do their utmost to deliver on their word - in no particular order : Highveld Taxidermy Trans African Derek Robinson Mark  Mark DeWet Mark DeWet Safaris - Africa E-mail: marksafex@icon.co.za  ... purveyors of traditional African safaris | |||
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Any sensible person knows there's good and bad, honest and dishonest taxidermists and shipping agents all over the world. Pick a good one in any country and you'll get a good product at a fair price, pick a bad one and you won't. Also remember that these things cost what they cost. If you're unhappy with a shipping quotation for example, have it shipped by another company that has lower prices. As to the smell, I appreciate it's unpleasant but remember that taxidermy or more accurately tanning is a chemical process and you should worry if there isn't a chemical smell at first. Better to have that chemical smell for a while than the stink of rotting meat because the taxidermy hasn't been done correctly.  FWIW, my favourite taxidermist in Lifeform Taxidermy who usually ship via Safari Air Services and I reckon both do a brilliant job at a more than fair price. | |||
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DCS: How was the work? They did two safaris for me with prety good work saved quite a bit of money too, but that was back in 2006. I don't recall mine smelling of mothballs though. YOu think maybe it happened at Coppersmith? jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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