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First African Trophy is complete
27 August 2010, 05:39
Luis L.First African Trophy is complete
I went to RSA (my very first safari) back in March of this year. My dip and pack shipment arrived in July. The first trophy I chose to have completed from this shipment was the kudu. It is now complete - reference shot added:
The trophy:
I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. You can see on the flank and muzzle of this mount that this boy was fighter - lots of scarring. It was a nice assurance that I got the right mount back because I remember just how cut up this old boy was.
The sad thing is that I have not even seen this mount in person yet: I'm deployed overseas right now and my taxidermist (Steve Evers of Wildlfe Creations in Omaha, NE) was cool enough to email me some shots of it hanging in his studio. I was actually debating doing my smallest mount (a beautiful, SCI Gold level steenbok) first, but since I'm not there to pick the poses and habitat in person, I opted to wait until I return to order that. Instead, I just gave the remianider of the deposit t have my gemsbok mounted. Hopefully, I'll be getting home just as it's completed.
27 August 2010, 09:29
Equinsu OchaReference, reference, reference.
27 August 2010, 09:40
Luis L.Ah, yes -
Thanks for the reminder, Scottyboy. The reference shot has been added up top.
01 September 2010, 07:12
Osage Taxidermyluis i meet you one time at the show in omaha look me up osagetaxidermy.com
Osage Taxidermy
Hastings Ne
402 984 0855
osagetaxidermy.com
01 September 2010, 19:04
AndersLooks great!
Great moment when one finally get to hang up the trophies from a hunt!
02 September 2010, 02:37
JTEXVery nice.
.
02 September 2010, 16:24
Luis L.Thanks for the compliments on the trophy. It really is killing me seeing this guy hanging up without any way to see it in person. I'm still at least a week and change away from getting back and worse, the guy who mounted it will be gone on vacation for a few more days into my return.
quote:
Originally posted by Osage Taxidermy:
luis i meet you one time at the show in omaha look me up osagetaxidermy.com
You were at the booth with the video of that crazy (some might say explosive) shot on the jackal, correct? The muddy dagga boy pedestal mount? Is my memory stating to go or am I at least close?
08 September 2010, 00:31
BISCUTFantastic! That came out very well. Excelelnt trophy.
08 September 2010, 02:49
Luis L.Thanks, Biscuit. It will be a great memory to have this old boy hanging on the wall.
One thing that I will always lament is the fact that you simply cannot preserve that beautiful, natural horn color from when the animal is still alive. Maybe I'm just ignorant of what's out there, but I've never seen a kudu trophy that kept that gorgeous, tawny brown color in the horns. They all darken up after the boil n' oiling.
13 September 2010, 05:50
rhrommThose horns are so much darker mounted, that is strange.
13 September 2010, 07:19
Luis L.rhomm -
Yeah, it's a pity that the color changes so dramatically. I saw several kudu mounts before I left for Africa and asked a lot of questions about taxidermy, in general. I was warned well in advance, by several folks, that there was simply no way to keep that original coloration. Looking at the horns fresh out of the dip and pack crate, it appears that something happens once they are boiled or otherwise prepped that darkens them up drastically.
16 September 2010, 20:06
Outdoor WriterThe darkening occurs mostly due to fats and brain tissue mixed with the water in the cooking pot.
I had a taxidermist in NZ ruin the horns of my Arapawa ram I killed there. When the shipment arrived, the horns were almost jet black and had many voids and cracks in them. I sent before and after photos, and he refunded the charges for the trophy prep.
The horns of my blue and black wildebeests suffered a similar fate.
This is the field photo of the ram below. As evident, the horns were quite light colored.
Tony Mandile - Author "How To Hunt Coues Deer"
16 September 2010, 20:25
Luis L.Great info, Outdoor Writer. That confirmed my suspicions about the boiling process being the culprit. Is there any way to avoid the darkening or is the fact that the whole skull must be boiled mean the darkening is just inevitable?
17 September 2010, 05:36
L. David KeithLuis, there are ways to avoid losing color in horns but that is lost when they arrive in the States. The Fed's want all skull/horns reboiled upon arrival at a licensed facility (Taxidermist or Tannery). It's a losing battle. However, a master Taxidermist should know this and re-color horns to a natural condition. That's why it's imperitive to take good photo's of your trophies. Study them BEFORE you have your mounts done. Show the Taxidermist what color a Kudu's horns are. 95% of the Kudu I've seen mounted are still black. That is unnatural. As soon as my home is remodeled from this flood we had in May, I'll post some pics of what a Kudu should look like...and what they shouldn't look like.
Cheers,
David
Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris
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Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007
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http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added
http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#926103994110 days in the Stormberg Mountains
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322Back 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."
17 September 2010, 06:46
Luis L.That would be great to see - I can't wait to see what's possible given proper time and expertise.
23 September 2010, 08:14
MileHighShooterStill looks pretty fantastic Luis! Not sure how I missed this on the other forum
If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter!
26 September 2010, 06:29
Osage Taxidermyyep that is me Luis
Osage Taxidermy
Hastings Ne
402 984 0855
osagetaxidermy.com
07 October 2010, 17:23
jro45Those kodo look real nice
19 October 2010, 17:48
Brian ClarkGreat kudu, it's good to know about the horns during the boiling process.
24 October 2010, 10:04
billinthewildPerhaps methods have changed. My kudu was mounted in South Africa in 1988. I just went out to look at the mount again. The horns retain the original lustrous brown color. (Life Form taxidermy)
"When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all."
Theodore Roosevelt
10 December 2010, 19:43
KMG Hunting SafarisLuis, Congratulations on a magnificent bull. I have to ask , did you take this bull in the Eastern Cape?
Very nicely done!
11 December 2010, 00:40
BNagelquote:
Originally posted by billinthewild:
Perhaps methods have changed. My kudu was mounted in South Africa in 1988. I just went out to look at the mount again. The horns retain the original lustrous brown color. (Life Form taxidermy)
You lucked out -- macerated vs. shoe polish / scorched. My taxi boils 'em immersed cf. the flaming bathtub approach in Africa. Had to get a brass brush after my second set and put gunstock stain over that, then Johnson Floor Wax to get my shield mount done.
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