Has anyone else who's hunted RSA had an experience with Roy Hayes Taxidermy?

Many (well, a few) years ago when I hunted RSA with two of my sons, the landowner/outfitter strongly recommended I use Roy's operation.

So, we took a day from the safari and journeyed to Tarkastad to his studio--very impressive, I might add.

I, not knowing any better, followed that advice and had my first issue of African mounts done in South Africa and shipped home.

The taxidermy work is quite fine--I have no issue with that.

There were two matters that DID bother me.

First, Hayes quoted me a shipping price through his agent that turned out to be 3 times what he "estimated."

Second, he tried to encourage me to defray part of the cost of his work by leaving him my Winchester Model 70 375 H&H, saying the SAPS "would never check my import permits."

I declined his kind offer.

In fact, SAPS did check my paperwork very closely, and had I bought into his "suggestion," I might have been in real trouble--with two teenage boys along for the ride.

When I got home, Flora and Fauna had my mounts brought in through New York, despite my instructions to the contrary, costing me even more to have them trucked down to Atlanta.

Bottom line: my tropies cost me as much--or more--to have done in RSA than if I had had them done here in Georgia by my good friend and excellent taxidermist, Darrell McMicken.

(As an aside, Darrell did all the work on my middle son's trophies from Zimbabwe a few years later. Absolutely outstanding mounts.)

Anyone else have a similar experience?

I have no experience with the RSA taxidetrmist, but I'm glad you posted this. It's nice to have a few more of the tricks certain folks use to jack up their revenue in plain sight. A little education can prevent a little of pain down the line.

quote:

Originally posted by Luis L.:
I have no experience with the RSA taxidetrmist, but I'm glad you posted this. It's nice to have a few more of the tricks certain folks use to jack up their revenue in plain sight. A little education can prevent a little of pain down the line.

I think it is more the shipping companies ripping you off. which they also do with dip and pack.

In all fairness to Roy and others in RSA, the event I described happened quite a few years ago, before 9/11 and the advent of draconian gun laws in RSA--I doubt anybody today would "suggest" leaving a gun in SA.

At the time, my PH pulled me off to the side and strongly recommended I NOT take Hayes up on his "offer."

And yes, I think the shipping companies are certainly a place where our expenses get inflated--we are sort of at their mercy, and they know it.

I can relate similar incidents. As a Taxidermist I have had a couple of clients who decided to leave trophy animals with a Taxidermist in the place the hunt took place with similar results.

The one that most stands out to me took place right in our own country of the United States. I mounted a large Elk for a client, and he was very happy with it. The following year he went back to the same Western state to hunt another Elk, bagged one, and left it with a local Taxidermist in said state. Why? He was almost $100 cheaper than me! Oh boy!

Well, as it turned out, it cost my client almost $150.00 to have the mount shipped back to him, and the quality was "sub-par" ... my clients words. So, in the end, he spent more in total for the second Elk mount, and was not at all happy with the quality of the work. A year later, he pulled the mount from his wall, and removed the antlers.

The other case in point was a client that hunted Africa, and did the same thing, with the same results, only the shipping was even more, naturally, and the quality was below sub-par ... my words ... my client was in agreement! I never asked who the Taxidermist was, in either case.

A year later I began a new relationship with my client that hunted Africa, in that one or two pieces at a time were remounted. Seams were popping as the skins damn near fell apart on the mounts! Cracks developed around the eyes, nose and general facial areas, ears were drumming, and I don't know what tan was used - if any - but those skins all had a greasy, oily, and very rank odor in them.

Lessons learned!

John.

1. get everything in writing.
2. get everything in writing
3. unless you get great references, try to get it down as close to home as possible.
4. if you aren't happy with the entire deal, post it here.

Rich
DRSS