Hello folks. I'm still sitting here planning out the details on my frist safari to Africa....actually, the first time I've ever hunted outside the country. I've got a question...is it better to have the tropies sent back here to the states for mounting, or is it generally suggested that they just be done in RSA? I've been reading posts, and have seen both methods employed, but there does not appear to be a general consensus. I can appreciate that the shipping costs are lower for skins and horns, but does that effectively increase the time from hunt to mount? Is it just "easier" to leave the whole process to a taxidermist in SA, and use my PH as an agent to check up on the work? Do PH's prefer to have the animals out of the country as soon as possible so they don't have to worry about them?

Anyhow, I'm interested in your thoughts on the subject...cool thing is now this is finally a "real" dilema for me, not just some abstract consideration for some far off hunt that may or may not come to be! I'm finally going to Africa!

I don't think you will get any consensus on this issue on this forum. Some think South African taxidermy is excellent and prefer to have it all done there (like me with LifeForm as my preferred taxidermist), others will say that the taxidermy in South Africa is mediocre and it is preferable to have it done in the USA. I waited one year for trophies when done by LifeForm. Here is the link to their site:

http://www.lifeform.co.za/

The costs are likely going to equal out either way, so might as well use a taxidermist from RSA who has actually hunted the species in question. I'm personally using Highveld Taxidermists.

7mm. guy

The costs will be close to the same either way you go. I have actually visted Highveld shop and seen their work, it is very good. However, I like to have my taxidermy done with my local taxidermist so I can actually see the progress of the work.

...just keep in mind if you utilize a taxidermist in Africa, they are half way around the world, and if you have a problem with one (or more) of your hard earned trophies, securing a satisfactory resolution may prove somewhat difficult.

I've had work done in Africa on two occasions,one was good, and the other, not so good (read disappointment). At the end of the day, I'd been happier had I had my work done here, in the States.
Sure, it costs more, but not enough to off-set the possible grief you may experience when you open your shipment box from the taxidermist from Africa, have a look at a droop eared sable, or a ratty pelt on your trophy kudu. At this juncture, you're not gonna' be a happy camper.
As someone once said: "You pays your money, and you takes your chances."

Good luck, JLS

I would agree that cost-wise it's a wash. A kudu done by a good US taxidermist will probably cost close to twice what it would in RSA, but you'll pay significantly more to ship the mount, rather than just hide and horns. I used www.taxidermyafrica.com after my RSA hunt in 2002 and received the mounts about a year later. I was very satisfied with everything they did. Communication was excellent. They are in Port Eliz.

I have also done both and had similar experiences to JLS. It can be a crap shoot as to what you get when you open your crate of finished work done in SA. Where I stand now....if it is not something very expensive to hunt then I will consider having it done in Africa...expensive animals like Buffalo, Cats, Sable and so on, I will bring it home and have the work done by a local taxidermist. There are some good taxidermists here in the states that do good work and don't rape you just because it is coming from Africa. Find one of them and you may have the best of both worlds.

I had plains game done with Safari Tax. in Petersburg (sp) RSA, a couple of yrs back. I was very pleased, really liked the way they communicate. I felt the work was very good and I saved a lot of money. I feel the mounts are very well done. Some of the US prices I got were what I thought just flat to high and not sure equal to what I got reguardless of the price. 1300 hundred for a Kudu mount ver 365........I'll take the diff and go hunt. I used ocean freight and if memory serves me right paid about 1300 in shipping to my door step and than included several thousand dollars worth of paintings and other stuff we bought shipped in the same crate.

I have found a taxidermist locally who charges only slightly more than the African taxidermists and does good work.I have also used a taxidermist locally that charged nearly twice as much and he butchered a zebra rug for me.It is not as simple as all US taxidermists compared to all African taxidermists.

Only one experience to relate. In 2001, we traveled to South Africa for a hunt and had the taxidermy done by Lifeform. In doing a price comparision I think you will find that there is not much difference between getting the work done here or over there. Our thought in getting the work done in RSA was that these people mount African animals all day long. They are more familiar with the animals and hence perhaps have better insights into how to make the animals look natural. So for the same reason that I would not have a Texas whitetail mounted by a taxidermist in Africa, seemed odd to have a kudu mounted by someone that spends most of their time mounting whitetails. Or so the logic goes. Lifeform did a great job by the way.

quote:

It is not as simple as all US taxidermists compared to all African taxidermists

The above satement is correct. You must look at the work from each taxidermist and make your decision. Some folks do not notice or care about detail and anatomical correctness. Others do.

The notion that a taxidermist who mounts a certain kind of game "all day long" or that a taxidermist who has hunted a certain species will produce better quality than another is incorrect. A taxidermist could be making the same mistakes "all day long" and every time he/she mounts an animal. The bottom line is that the person doing the work should know what the animals are supposed to look like and be able to reproduce them accurately, using the best tanning and materials. Let the quality and longevity of a taxidermists work be your guide.

I disagree with those who say costs are a wash.

In my experience, it is much less expensive to have your taxidermy done in RSA and shipped here by ocean freight, than it is to have the raw skins, horns, etc. shipped here by air and done by a US taxidermist.

Plus the quality of the best RSA taxidermy, such as Life-Form, which is the company I use and recommend highly to others, is either superior to, or at the very least the equal of, any you can have done here.

The cost savings result from the ocean freight and the fact that the best RSA taxidermist will charge you less than a mediocre shop here. The best here will be two or three times the cost of the best, and IMO often far superior, work done by Life-Form.

I prefer to use Highveld Taxidermists. You will be hard pressed to find anyone anywhere doing as good work. Dieter has hunted all the species and knows what they should look like, few American taxidermists can say the same. In fact few American taxidermists have ever seen a wild African animal. The expressions and poses that make your mount look real cannot be accomplished from photos. Further, in the unlikely but real possibility your cape becomes damaged a replacement is easily had in Africa. Can you U.S. taxidermist say the same? Deiter is about to ship several trophies for me very soon. They have taken less than eight months to turn around. Locally it takes over a year for one deer head! Not sure what others are talking about - maybe its location or local competition but in my area a goose mount costs more than I'm paying for my wildebeest - including shipping half-way around the world! Its a decission you'll have to make yourself. Ask around the local taxidermists. A question I'd ask is IF they've ever done African game and if they can arrainge for you to see them. Some are fully capable but I know of one unfortunate situation where an eland was done locally and most of the hair slipped - its horrible and there is no recourse. I'll stick to paying the shipping on finished trophies.

The cost of taxidermy here was equal to the entire cost of my Safari and now three years later I'm about to receive my very last mount.....a ($1,100) full body mount of a duiker.

My Taxidermist has done excellent work and has worked with me all the time doing them in turn and in the order I chose. There have been some glitches but I'd go back to Barry Johnson of North Platte, Nebraska again!!!!! He also received the crate from RSA and helped get it here.

To me the question isn't should I do the taxidermy in RSA or here.....it's should I do it at all.

In future Safaris I'd lean heavily to rugs instead of mounts. A zebra especially that has no horns.

Maybe some ostrich articles.....Warthog tusks and other momentos.

Seriously.....IMO you're asking a question hard to answer.....but it's the wrong question IMO.

Mrlexma, I would agree that substantial cost savings can be obtained by having taxidermy done there and then shipping surface freight. I have always been told that surface is inadvisable because of the salt and humidity. (But, now that I think about it, summer in Wisconsin is pretty damned humid and my mounts aren't falling apart yet.) I would be curious to hear from others on the surface freight versus air freight issue.

I have had Euro mounts done there of a warthog (thought that a finished product of the swine would get it thru customs quicker) and hartebeast also a zebra rug tanned the rest dipped and packed then air freighted here to be mounted.
The work done there was horrid! Skulls boiled or soaked in some solution to the point of actually eating the bone away. The zebra rug still smells when it is humid outside.
The taxi I used here in the states never did any African animals before and IMHO did a splendid job on them for the price of mounting and shipping as finsihed mounts there.
It's a crap shoot so why take the gamble to begin with? Getting it done here give the added advantage of taking a animal or two in at a time to spread out the costs.

Life Form out of RSA did good work for me. They are very professional and responsive.

quote:

Originally posted by Gringo Cazador:
I had plains game done with Safari Tax. in Petersburg (sp) RSA, a couple of yrs back. I was very pleased, really liked the way they communicate. I felt the work was very good and I saved a lot of money. I feel the mounts are very well done.

I couldn't have said it any beter. Safari Tax. did mine just this past year. I will be considering shipping animals from other African countries to them in the future. Just as good as can be received in the States. I've also used a U.S. taxidermist who I'll never use again.

In the end, one needs to find a taxidermist who they trust with their trophies. Also, there is no correct or wrong answer with this one, just differences in opinions.

Good luck with your decision.

quote:

The expressions and poses that make your mount look real cannot be accomplished from photos.

Sorry, this is a myth.

A competent taxidermist, with a little research, a well sculpted manakin and some good reference photos can produce a museum/competetion quality mount that any hunter would be proud of. Seeing the animal in the wild may or may not be helpful at all. In many cases a bird is a bird, a cat is a cat etc.. it is how the taxidermist applies his skills/techniques along with his understanding of anatomy and expression that make the difference. It is the same way that an artist can paint a picture from a photo of a person.

There are good and bad taxidermists everywhere.

Just to be more acurate on the cost issue, I have Highveld's and my local taxidermist price list. Both taxidermist do excellent work on African game. The prices below are for shoulder mounts.

Highveld
Kudu 790
Warthog 525
Gemsbok 635
Buffalo 1065
Duiker 398
Total 3413

Local Taxidermst
Kudu 825
Warthog 600
Gemsbok 675
Buffalo 950
Duiker 350
Total 3400

So the cost is the same except for possible extra shipping on finished taxidermy as compared to unfinished capes and skulls. I do not about this as I have never done it. Also take into account that a couple of posters talked about the gov't trying to assess a tax on the value of finished taxidermy as "Art".

It has been some time since I have had the pleasure of making the choice. But, I have used Zach Zuccaro's Life Form when I did have occasion to have taxidermy work done on African animals and was very pleased. Back in those days the savings was considerable. He did a full mount lion for me as well as full mounts of lesser critters.

I have been in a lot of trophy rooms over the last 50, of my 69 yrs, and I have never seen a mount done in Africa that looked right to me! I have a friend that has a few that were done in Africa, mixed in with the rest that were done in the USA, and they stand out as substandard amoungst the rest of his trophies. All mine were done in the states, and are all pritty well done, save one of a muledeer, that was done by a novice while in training. I didn't have the heart to tell him it looks more like a bull frog, than a deer, with it's bugged out eyes!

I'm sure there are good taxidermists in Africa, but I simply have not seen the work of any I would think was indicative of that fact!

The price, overall, is going to be about the same, so, to me, it makes sense to have the work done close to home, where you can visit once in a while, and have any mistakes taken care of first hand!

I guess you have already found that you haven't gotten a good answer, but a diversity of OPINION! The above is mine!