Hi,

I´ve now been on four hunts in Africa and will be leaving for my fifth in March. The house is filling up with curios and "dead animal parts" (that´s what my wife calls them) and the cost of taxidermy is starting to annoy me.

But every time I shoot an animal I´d like a memento -and photos are only just just photos.

What do you guys do?

Build a bigger house...
I have come to a conclussion that I will spend as much as I can on taxidermy. Hunting comes first of course, but for me taking care of the trophies are an important part of the safari and I would never ever leave a trophy down there.
I have only been there twice, and have mounted most of the smaller ones in full- or shouldermounts (dikdik up to blesbok), while the bigger like kudu and oryx are european mounts. I have kept the capes, and will probably mount them when I get a bigger house and wallet.

And it`s very nice with all the curious (masks etc.) surrounding the african beauties..

I feel all animals you take are your trophies.

Mount them all!!!!

Cewe,

I had a similar thought after my first trip this year. My other half is not keen on the "dead animals" being all over the house bbut like you say I want a momento. I think the solution will be more European mounts. There was a tread on the Trophy room forum that showed some lovely european mounts and I think I'll probably go that way in the future for more of what I shoot.

I didn't realise you could keep the capes and shouldermount a trophy later on though, sop that is interesting.

Rgds,
FB

Personally, I would rather spend the "Tax. $$$" on more opportunities to hunt... In planning my third trip, and realizing of late just how much is/was spent on packing/shipping, plus the rising cost of airfare/fuel, a video/dvd seems to be a viable alternative...if it be an exceptional animal I take, then a skull mount/flat skin will have to suffice.

I too am doing more European mts. I have some Springbok done that way and am having my Buffalo fron this year done in that manner so as to save space as well as funds. That being said I would still do full mounts on the pygmy antelopes and things like a Vaal Rehbok.

I really feel that the trophy part is a large portion of the hunt. I know what you all mean about the costs, etc. but then be a bit more selective and hunt for a really exceptional animal. Just going over to shoot animals in my humble opinion isn't hunting, it killing

Having just paid to ship mounted trohies from Africa, you need to pay attention to volume and weight that you are sending back. I recommend skull mounts (and hides) and plenty of photos.

With the current shipping costs it is no longer cost effective to do taxidermy in Africa.

jim

I have not been a 'trophy' hunter and as a result don't really have anything but photos and memories of most of the hunts in my life. I live in a small townhouse with 8' ceilings and absolutel no wall space for mounts. I finally broke down and had a couple of Zebra rugs (wish I'd known about binding with leather) done and use one on floor in den and one on spare bed. Last year I did buy a trophy Elephant so I could get the tusks. These I have mounted in a kinda cradle mount (similar to way they display Samurai swords) on the coffee table in the den. I had caps made of copper with the edges of the caps with a sterling silverband. Look pretty good. Only other trophy is some salt and pepper shkers made from Impala horns. You can always have the leather tanned and made into guncases,breifcases,luggage, shoes (Courtneys will use your leather or Russell will also) jackets ( saw some VERY NICE ones made in Bulawayo that were trimmed with Kudu and some with Ostrich). Only limited by your imagination and dollars. Trophies don't have to be only mounted animals. My letter opener is Steenbok horned one and my daughters wallet is from my second Elephant. I was going to have some belts made from Hippo but forgot to bring the strips home.

To me it's not worth the cost of flying the stuff home unless it is something really unique.

And isn't the money better spent by tipping your PH than by paying SAA to fly a cardboard box across the Atlantic?

Thanks guys,

Some animals are fun to hunt -like wildebeest- but five wildebeest mounts is overdoing it -even if they are all good trophies. I´d like to do an another hunt for kudu but one per household is max.

I´m leaving space for buff and ele tusks, maybe one day...