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I am intersted to find out from taxidermists as well as hunters who have hunted in Africa, what you feel about the trophy care from past experiances? I am from there and has been my life long battle to emphasize how important it is. would love to hear from you. | ||
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We do hundreds of African pieces every year Steve, and the biggest problem I see is grease burn or drying the skins in the sun. Skinning holes and such usually aren't much of a problem but as you know grease burned skins cannot be tanned properly for a high quality mount. Next most common problem would be over boiling of horns and skulls. Sometimes they are boiled so long they are like powder and won't even hold a screw. Jerry Huffaker State, National and World Champion Taxidermist | |||
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thanks for your feedback Jerry. I have just spent several weeks in SA helping them sort out their operation and the sun drying was one of their practices. I see little of that in Zim with the odd occasion but where my big concern lies is in the 1.) reusing of salt 2.) the wrong salt 3.) poor bug treatment. with the over boiling I believe it has a lot to do with them bleaching too long then not neutralizing the skull. What do you think? Do you tan your own hides or do you source it out? | |||
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What you both said are problems. Re-using salt is a real issue. For what hunters pay in trophy fees and daily rates, one would expect their prized trophies not to be salted with old, used salt. Salt is cheap. Another problem you mentioned Steve is the wrong salt. I have seen rock salt placed on capes and that will not do for proper penetration and getting into tight areas (ears, eyes, nose, lips etc). If an outfitter allows such practices, he should not be in the outfitting business! Now the major problem of boiling horns off skulls; over boiling horns not only destroys the natural color of horns (Kudu horns are NOT black!!!!!) Controlled boiling of skulls is fine as long as they are not kept boiling for too long. However, when ever possible, horns should be removed via soaking in water (with a bactericide) until the connective tissue is emaciated, allowing removal. There are other methods that are not as destructive as boiling, but when boiling is the only choice, at least try and remove the horns before they split and crack apart. Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333 Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com NRA Benefactor DSC Professional Member SCI Member RMEF Life Member NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor NAHC Life Member Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt: http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262 Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142 Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007 http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more: http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409 Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941 10 days in the Stormberg Mountains http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322 Back 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." | |||
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Sun drying is horrible, 80 percent of the skins we get from Mozambique are greased burned some of them to the point they can't be tanned. It literally cooks the skin. Jerry Huffaker State, National and World Champion Taxidermist | |||
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Yes agreed. These are real issues and something that I have emphasized for many years. Some say you may reuse the salt where I say no and all that happens is that they then chose to use a different taxidermist who does not care much about the quality of trophies he receives. I believe it also has a lot to do with commissions, but none the less. The client suffers. What about bug damage? Any bad experiences? | |||
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One of my clients was hosed really well by a guy in the Eastern Cape. They ignored my advice and went with a high pressure sales pitch that not only cost them a lot more money, but when the trophies arrived, the skulls had a foul odor, eggs and live insects were crawling all over them. Fortunately, their taxidermist burned all the plastic wrap and wood and immediately boiled each skull/horns. There are some real crooks in the dip & pack scheme. Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333 Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com NRA Benefactor DSC Professional Member SCI Member RMEF Life Member NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor NAHC Life Member Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt: http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262 Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142 Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007 http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more: http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409 Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941 10 days in the Stormberg Mountains http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322 Back 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." | |||
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Yes agreed. The same goes for in Zimbabwe. There are no regulations that stopping anyone from doing their own Dip and Pack. The problem lies here. My only advice to hunters hunting in Zimbabwe or any other African country is to ensure that their outfitter is compliant with proper trophy care procedures! If one is not sure on what is ideal then get an idea through your local Taxidermist or feel free to contact myself stevecwa14@gmail.com if hunting in Zimbabwe and SA for some guidance. I do offer a personalized service out of Zim in this regard. This way we can make sure your taxidermist gets the best possible results. | |||
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It is another serious issue that usually traces back to the PH. I hunted with CMS in Sim in 2008, and they made sure my Buff was tended to properly. Twice to RSA with African Barefoot Safaris, and I had the same great care by Reon von Tonden and his wife. I had my taxidermy work all done there, and Trophex did excellent work. I got Reon to take my money for the work before I left RSA, and hold it until the work was all done and ready to crate. He drove over, and inspected each mount and hide personally. Then he paid them. IMHO, if you have a good PH, you are best off leaving it in his hands. He wants you back, and as a good reference. So, he will take care of you the best. Rich | |||
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My buffalo skull from 2014 safari was over boiled. This was in SA. The boss crumbles easily. My taxidermist said he can replace the boss with plaster or something like that. Its not done yet so I don't know the outcome. Needless to say, after the cost of a buffalo hunt, I am not real happy with a damaged skull/horns. On the same hunt, my friend shot a large sable. When the skull/horns arrived in the USA, one horn was from someone elses sable and considerably shorter. The correct horn is probably lost forever. Not sure how that will get resolved. NRA Patron member | |||
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Here is my take on it. Hunting trophies are only the priority of the hunter, I never got a single trophy from my safari in 2005. I have photos. That is it. I paid, but nothing ever showed up. I was swindled by several people on the deal and it is over. I am to the point where I don't care anymore, it was a hard learned lesson. You must prepare to not get anything back. It is not uncommon for this to happen. | |||
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In response the the breaking down of the Buffalo Boss. If these are not fully matured then they will shrink and become brittle. It is normal and yes can be easily repaired to be made to look natural. Not a cause of over boiling but more because of its natural structure. As i have always told first time hunters of hunters that have been burnt in the past. Is to get in touch with a local taxidermist from the country you intend on hunting and get some insight on who is worth hunting with. We as taxidermist in Africa understand each operators strong and weak points as we process their trophies and documentation. We are able to give you fairly accurate unbiased feed back on who to use and who not. Zimbabwe like other countries have bad opperators but also have a tremendous amount of good guys. In saying this please feel free to contact me if you plan to hunt in Zim in the future and are unsure. stevecwa14@gmail.com | |||
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Steve, I know you don't remember me but you were handling my son's and my trophies from the BVC in 2006. It was my son's first kudu as well as several other trophies any 13 year old would be proud of. Probably his proudest was a giant bushpig he took on the last day. ALL the skins were ruined and his bushpig teeth lost. The ruined skins were blamed on the BVC using pan salt from Botswana which rendered the skins useless. I don't blame you although his bushpig teeth were lost by someone. The problem is I paid dip and pack and of course trophy fees and all we have are the horns and skulls. Problems like these are the curse of African hunting and I have clients that no longer hunt Africa. Spending small fortunes only to have everything lost or paying ransom fees to get the trophies home is an ugly scar on hunting Africa and it appears to not be getting better. | |||
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