Not that I have an interest in hunting them, but after our recent trip to Namibia where we saw dozens of giraffes, I wondered what people did to display them as a trophy...other than a shoulder mount. Just curious....

I've heard that even getting the hide tanned whole is a near impossibility.

I suppose instead of having a rug in the trophy room, you could have the hide tanned and make stair runners!

I dont have the room for a shoulder mount. Low ceilings in a 40 year old house. So, I kept the skull, had the kneck made into a rug, and am using the rest of the backskin for gun cases and trim on furniture. also the scrotum makes a great candy dish or possibles bag.

If you have high enough ceilings I would opt for the shoulder mount.

Took the liberty of adding a link to another topic: http://forums.accuratereloadin...1821043/m/6471001101

Another option is the shoulder mount right on the floor.

The backskin I would use for cartridge pouches, gun cases and stuff.. Maybe some pillows as well.

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunterab:
I wondered what people did to display them as a trophy...other than a shoulder mount. Just curious....

Alan Boyer displays his full body mount giraffe in the front of his families' civil war era hardware store in Slatington, PA. It's quite the conversation starter when looking him in the eye while shopping in the mezzanine gun department.

One of my clients really used the whole giraffe.

He is currently having a neck mount done. The back skin is being/will be used as a rug under his billards table, and his daughter is using the legs to make new legs for the billards table. The bleached skull under a glass-covered coffee table.

Can't wait to see it when it's all done.

I have a full giraffe skin, a dark bull, that is really a conversation starter- it was in the entry way of our last house and looked great

IMO a shoulder mount giraffe is awesome looking and usually draws the most attention, so if you have the room to do one I recommend it. Also they are so big that the "scraps" and back hide can be used to make pillows or something like that.

I know a hunter with a full body mount giraffe. It's tall, to say the least.

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunterab:
I wondered what people did to display them as a trophy...other than a shoulder mount. Just curious....

Alan Boyer displays his full body mount giraffe in the front of his families' civil war era hardware store in Slatington, PA. It's quite the conversation starter when looking him in the eye while shopping in the mezzanine gun department.

I tell people all the time you can see all the animals at Cabela's but if you wanna see the Giraffe you gotta go to Boyer's

The real hoot is getting people inside the store standing UNDER it and asking "So where's the Giraffe?"

AD

I don't care for Giraffe shoulder mounts. And very few houses have enough room to do them or lifesize properly.

Wall to wall carpeting, anyone?

To me the skull is the best trophy, and using the hide for gun cases and possible furniture is the best use of it.

We made a rug and have a bunch of hide leftover for a gun case or two.

Well I find a giraffe shoulder mount to be one of the most impressive mounts you can have (should you have the available room!)

I took an old black bull in '06 that I caped out to do a pedestal mount. Have it tanned and rolled up in the freezer just waiting till I get time to mount it. In the meantime, the Euro skull of that bull is sitting in the living room next to the TV..

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:
Well I find a giraffe shoulder mount to be one of the most impressive mounts you can have (should you have the available room!)

I took an old black bull in '06 that I caped out to do a pedistal mount. Have it tanned and rolled up in the freezer just waiting till I get time to mount it. In the meantime, the Euro skull of that bull is sitting in the living room next to the TV!!

You must have one helluva big freezer!

The cape is tanned and is no bigger than a small suitcase when folded up properly.. One of these days I'll get around to mounting him!!

I have mine in a shoulder (minus the shoulder part) mount i ei long neck mt. The backskin is hung on the wall behind my desk as a back ground (wallpaper) for my Kudu, Eland, Bushbuck and Nyala shoulder mt and am making some pillows from the rest. The skull is on the step below the neck mount.

WE can make the pillowws. I have a post on Here.

I almost forgot. I also traded the leg bones to a custom knife maker for 3 knives.

Screw a trophy make a twelve foot piece of biltong

I'm still waiting for someone to share a custom giraffe hide coat! It'd be a winter garment, obviously...

KG

P.S. Hey, it could work; I had my moose hide made into a jacket.

Pedestal mount are the only way to go. Mount it on a low base that can be wheeled around with the neck curved with some plants -real or not -like it is eating the plants -looking down at you with a relaxed look. That way it will not take up too much room--I like action in all mounts--use your imagination..Have fun....

www.african-montana-taxidermy.com

oakman that sounds so cool...do you know of a photo of such a mount...I checked out your awesome gallery...thanks in advance

This is one of the better Giraffe mounts that I have seen.

Mike

Best giraffe mount Ive ever seen in person was done by Roy Holdridge.. It's his own bull.. Absolutely beautiful mount.. and he put alot of extra work into it.
I am going to do my bull in a very similar pose as this one..

I would shoot another Giraffe in a heartbeat. Had mine made into a rug. It isn't as big as you might think, once it is trimmed.

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
I'm still waiting for someone to share a custom giraffe hide coat! It'd be a winter garment, obviously...

Hey, I would actually consider this! Maybe go really over the top and make a calf length "duster" out of it. No one could ever accuse me of being understated! Of course, I also want an elephant hide pool table cover and elephant hide seamless leather bedspread.

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
I'm still waiting for someone to share a custom giraffe hide coat! It'd be a winter garment, obviously...

"Shaq O'neil" has one. A real Zoot Suit for sure!

I went with a bleached skull, and the hide tanned for furniture upholstry.The neck is going to be a riflecase. Someone here had once suggested a giraffe skin loincloth.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:
Someone here had once suggested a giraffe skin loincloth.

Tried it, can't recommend it.

It chafes.

My office building has a 35 foot lobby, I wanted to shoot one and full body it until I found out it cost 25 grand and the hide is real hard to prepare without some hair slipping. Mostly the money thought.

Yeah Jeff, those giraffe are notorious for slipping.. Problem is, the hide is so thick and the salt can't penetrate the full thickness.. I've seen MANY of our customer's come back from the tannery and were a total loss.. and this after paying a small fortune to ship the damned thing over here then pay the tannery!

What I did with mine when I shot it was get right in there with the skinners and make sure it was skinned right.. Once we had it skinned, I "scored" the entire cape with a sharp knife.. By this I mean that I cut about halfway through the thickness of the skin, but not deep enough to go through.. and did this on the entire cape in a checkerboard pattern.. Once scored, we mixed a 55 gallon drum up with some SALTY brine water...and dunked the cape in there for about 3 hrs to let that salt water permeate the cape, through and through.. Then took it out, drained it completely, THEN salted it as normally done.
My cape came back from the tannery nary a hair missing. The guys over at the tannery even said it was the best, well prepared giraffe bull cape they'd ever seen..
Lot of work, but it greatly increases your cahnces of a great showpiece, instead of a worthless piece of "leather"..

Now a L/S would be a LOT more work!

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:
Someone here had once suggested a giraffe skin loincloth.

Tried it, can't recommend it.

It chafes.

Switch it inside out, silly.

Hi Guys:

I shot a huge Black Bull Giraffe in 2004 in Zim. I have a shoulder pedistal mount with tress and rocks, I think it goes 14 ft high. It is the best mount in my 25 gallery colllection.

I have the rest of the hide tanned, covers a pretty good size area. I have the dried skull sitting on a little wooden table in my game room. I also have the legs and hooves, was going to make some kind of table., but never got around to it yet.

I know some big game hunters pooh pooh them, but they are really a wonderful mount.

PAHunter..

My favorite was full body mount. The guy had a 3 floor trophy addition. It was in the middle & went 2 1/2 floors.

Here's the best part. He had a mounted so one "testical" in the scrotum was scotch and the other "testical" was vodka. You had to grab & pull on the penis and squeeze the correct testical to get your prefered poison.

Agree with Scottyboy 100%. I have seen this very mount in person and is absolutely breath taking!! The photo does not do it justice.

There were several good looking Giraffe mounts at the SCI show in Reno this year.

My favorite was full body mount. The guy had a 3 floor trophy addition. It was in the middle & went 2 1/2 floors.

Ive seen a similar giraffe mount in Michigan.Its in the entrance lobby with some scrub.On its right hand side is the spiral staircase that surrounds it! So you start at its feet looking up as you go up and around to the middle you are the same hight as its backside and you get to its back looking up at the neck and down at the feet and finally when you reacch the top your looking at its head. very cool
dave

I'll tell you what I have done with mine. Usually, the best way is to have them cut into 5 different panels. Once you have panels, you can do a number of things. I use the neck skin that starts narrow toward the head and ends wide toward the shoulder, as a flat skin. The other 4 panels are used for a table, ie., the legs are used for table legs and the panel is used to cover the top with a piece of glass. There is also a leftover piece as a secondary level of the table underneath that is used and cut into the shape of africa. It makes a nice piece. I have another panel cut into a large african shaped floor rug. Finally, one panel can be used for an ottoman. So...you have ottoman, table, african map rug, and flat skin. Lots of skin to use, and they are absolutely beautiful on wood floors. Hope this helps.

And I forgot to mention the most important...giraffe scrotom pencil cup. I use mine as a nut bowl.

I vote for a pedestal mount--eating the plants in the habitat all rapped around a fancy wood base......

www.african-montana-taxidermy.com