Can folks who have had full-body steenbok (in particular) or other small, African antelope mounts done please post pics and descriptions of the work? I ask because my steenbok is the only full-body mount I'm having done when my dip & pack shipment arrives in a couple of weeks. I'm having a hard time visualizing the options without seeing some of the many different poses that are out there.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Louis,

Check out the link in this forum "how did my mom do". The poster put up a ton of pictures and there are quite a few small antelope in the photos. I don't have one mounted right now, but I like the table top mount, one that can be moved and doesn't go on the wall. I will try and post a pic of the one my boss has done like that if I get a chance to go take a look at it.

Greg

Take a look at Dennis Harris; The Artistry of Wildlife, Jerry Huffaker and Grafton Cromwell; Safari Art's. All 3 are members and outstanding artists. I'm only familiar with Jerry's big game but know Dennis and Grafton do a lot of pygmy antelope. You'll find all posting in the Taxidermy forum.
LDK

I've had Life Form Taxidermy do full body mounts on nearly all of my little antelope, such as, Steenbok, Livingstone's Suni, Sharpes Grysbok, Grey Duiker, Red Duiker and Klipspringer, and they do a great job. Check out their website for examples. They've also done the little Genet Cat and Civet Cat for me as well and have done a wonderful job.

You guys are awesome, thanks a lot for all of the info. I will definitely take a look around.

Just for reference, here's the steenbok I'm having done. You may have seen the first pic when I put my hunt report up back in March, but he's now officially on the way back to the states sometime in the next 48 hours according to my shipper. I'm sure many of you have seen or shot nicer ones, but I really am proud of this little guy - I just love his dark color:



A closeup of the head and horns:

Outstanding!

Great steenbok!

Not such a great photo, but here's mine:

Beautiful mount, Michael!

Beautiful skin and horns there Luis.

What great looking Steenbok's. I've never taken one and I regret I haven't focused more on them when I've had the chance.
I love the mini's, they are so difficult to hunt and make great displays. One of these days I'm going to book a mini only hunt, no big or DG, just mini's.

Thank you, Grafton.

quote:

Originally posted by Alaska Hunter:
What great looking Steenbok's. I've never taken one and I regret I haven't focused more on them when I've had the chance.
I love the mini's, they are so difficult to hunt and make great displays. One of these days I'm going to book a mini only hunt, no big or DG, just mini's.

Trust me, I almost made the mistake of passing on a chance to hunt this guy. I had no initial intention of hunting a steenbok - none - but kept hearing Marius, my PH, talking about them. It was apparent how much he loved and respected them. In his words, "they get hunted by everything, but somehow they manage." You could tell that he genuinely meant it. The thought of going after one started to grow on me.

About half way through my hunt, I told Marius that if we saw absolutely excellent steenbok, I would shoot it. Hell, it was only like a $200 trophy fee and we had already bagged the orignal animal list from my package deal. Then, after having a few nice ones dart off before I could get in a shot in the preceding days, I told him that I wanted to make the morning of my last hunting day a dedicated steenbok hunt. We searched long and hard. It was very clear that the harsh drought in the Eastern Cape was taking it's toll on the steenbok as Marius was upset over how few we were seeing. Just as frustrating was the fact that the ones we did see weren't very high quailty. Then this guy came along. It's ironic that the smallest animal of the trip - one that I didn't even plan to hunt - ended up being my favorite trophy.

I think you have a great plan for hunting the minis exclusiely: don't turn up the chance because the challenge is completely worth it.

Luis, you know how I feel about these little guys and it is nice to hear "new" hunters of them show their respect for a great game species. They may not be as dangerous as the big six but in my book they deserve just as much or even more respect. I mean if you don't screw up shooting a Buff it is no big deal. Oh I know what that statement will bring.

Here are my Steenbok and Dik-dik (right and left). They are not nearly as impressive as the others, but gives you an idea on mounts anyway.

Best regards, D. Nelson

Die Ou Jagter - yes, I have definitely developed a respect and fondness for the mini-antelopes of Africa and now have another purpose when I return to Africa. I hope to one day have a collection like yours. In fact, would you mind if I posted the pic that you sent me of your collection? It's far and away, the best example I've seen of a true shrine to the minis.

D. Nelson - that's just a great display, in general. If the chance is there, I'll be looking for a dik-dik myself.

OK

Thank you, Jerry! Another great look to consider.

For your pleasure, here is Die Ou Jagter's amazing mini antelope display:




The list of other minis I want to hunt grew astronimcally when I saw this thing. I think it's just beautiful.

That mount is really something special. I don't want to hijack this thread, but is it difficult to rearrange regular full mounts to such a mount? I have taken several of the small ones, and I have most of them in full mount on bases.. With a new trophy room under construction I have room for something like that.. Is it expensive to make such a mountain?

quote:

Originally posted by Anders:
That mount is really something special. I don't want to hijack this thread, but is it difficult to rearrange regular full mounts to such a mount? I have taken several of the small ones, and I have most of them in full mount on bases.. With a new trophy room under construction I have room for something like that.. Is it expensive to make such a mountain?

Anders -

I actually called my taxidermist with this very same question yesterday. In short, the answer is yes, it is hard to re-arrange regular full mounts to something like this. Unless the mount perfectly matches it's "role" in the setting (i.e. posed perfectly, angled correctly, etc) it's going to be extremely challenging. For the cost involved, if you're already heading back to Africa, it sounds like you're better off just getting another specimen of that same animal with this type of mount in mind, and with all of the other species you want mounted before ordering it up.

This is what I want to do???????????

Same Kind of Mounting

hey- I think I've seen those!!!

quote:

I actually called my taxidermist with this very same question yesterday. In short, the answer is yes, it is hard to re-arrange regular full mounts to something like this. Unless the mount perfectly matches it's "role" in the setting (i.e. posed perfectly, angled correctly, etc) it's going to be extremely challenging. For the cost involved, if you're already heading back to Africa, it sounds like you're better off just getting another specimen of that same animal with this type of mount in mind, and with all of the other species you want mounted before ordering it up.

I would have to disagree with this just a bit. The "mountain" could be made to fit the existing mounts rather well in my opinion. Most of the poses above are pretty standard. The only problem I see would be if ALL the little guys were mounted in very similar poses. You would want some variation in the turns and poses like the one above as it adds life and "movement" to the piece. As long as there is some variation in poses I think it would work pretty well.

Everyone has there own taste. I think I prefer individual mounts over a mass grouping of animals that may not occur in the same area. individual mounts of one or two of a kind are a more realistic presentation than an assortment. However the mountain above is a clever way to get all the little guys together!

I might suggest making the "mountain" base using a color tone that makes the individual animals "pop" a bit more. A little more contrast between the animals and the background would help the piece IMO. Still a great display though! Very nice collection. The drinking zebra is cool as well.

Luis, whatever you decide, make sure your taxidermist gets those photos above. You have some good habitat photos there. Your taxidermist should be able to re-create that ground cover just like the place you shot him.

Point well-taken, Grafton. I could see that if you had a variety of poses in individual animals, the taxidermist could (especially for the kind of cash he's getting on a larger mount) make the background work with the poses. I think my guy was thinking more along the lines of physically "re-posing" the animals, something I could see as being very difficult or impossible without wrecking the hide.

As you have suggested, I am already prepped to email these pics to the taxidermist to get that habitat right. I still remember the bush my steendbok was standing behind clear as day and I really hope he can replicate the look of the foliage.

Not to defend my piece but it would be hard to do a single "mount" and represent the correct habatat for each. I chose the sandy colored rock as that is true to the Klippy, Dik-Dik and Steenbok. The Duikers have the grass as that closly relates to the terrain I took them in (could not use green and be true to Africa). The Oribi was taken in a open area, as was the Cape Grysbok. The Red Duiker will go by the Blue Duiker with grass as cover. The Sharpes Grysbok will go beside the Dik-Dik as he was shot in an open area. The Suni (when I get him) will go low beside the Oribi and have grass in front of him.

The grasses are from Africa (Zululand) and 40% of the final "mount" will have been taken in Zululand.

The other thing I like about this mount is it saves space.

You will see the skulls of the little guys at the base of the Zebra to the left except the Common Duiker skull which is on the Impala mount. My taxidermist made molds of the skulls and then cast replicas of the skull plate and horn core to use in the full body mounts thus two representations of the trophy.

I am glad you enjoyed it.

Thats a very nice collection of little guys
Luis, That is an awsome Steenbok.How ever you decide to do the mount be sure and post pics of the final piece.

quote:

Originally posted by Die Ou Jagter:
Not to defend my piece but it would be hard to do a single "mount" and represent the correct habatat for each. I chose the sandy colored rock as that is true to the Klippy, Dik-Dik and Steenbok. The Duikers have the grass as that closly relates to the terrain I took them in (could not use green and be true to Africa). The Oribi was taken in a open area, as was the Cape Grysbok. The Red Duiker will go by the Blue Duiker with grass as cover. The Sharpes Grysbok will go beside the Dik-Dik as he was shot in an open area. The Suni (when I get him) will go low beside the Oribi and have grass in front of him.

The grasses are from Africa (Zululand) and 40% of the final "mount" will have been taken in Zululand.

The other thing I like about this mount is it saves space.

You will see the skulls of the little guys at the base of the Zebra to the left except the Common Duiker skull which is on the Impala mount. My taxidermist made molds of the skulls and then cast replicas of the skull plate and horn core to use in the full body mounts thus two representations of the trophy.

I am glad you enjoyed it.

I can't see how anybody could knock that mount. Your choices were geat on all fronts, especially the rock coloration. I can't speak to the grass types you used, but I'm sure you got exactly what you were after and a perfect match for the environment. What you have there is truly the nicest mount of it's sort that I've seen.

quote:

Originally posted by matt u:
Thats a very nice collection of little guys
Luis, That is an awsome Steenbok.How ever you decide to do the mount be sure and post pics of the final piece.

Thanks a lot. I am really excited to get him mounted and will definitely get pics up as soon as he's posted. The only downer right now is that I have not received word of the shipment just yet. At any rate, he'll be in-country before the end of the month and that keeps me pumped.

Hello Luis

Here are some of my small antelopes, hope they give you some good ideas.














Regards
Aziz

Absolutely fantastic displays and even better animals, Aziz! Thank you very much for posting those poses. The steenbok is in-country and now it's jut a waiting game with the USDA before my taxidermist can take control of trophies. I'm still mulling over all of these choices, but the time to decide is coming faster than I expected.

Here's another idea lifted from the Julian and Son's website.

I wish I had a place big enough for one of these scenic displays. Many of them are downright amazing. I like how they worked that one in with some wall mounts.

The baboon on top of the bar looks great-so does the hyena.