[Excerpted from email sent to Karoo Taxidermy who handled dip & pac for second half of last year's trip]

I just received back from my taxidermist the trophy items needing washed up from the carbodust they were shipped in. Not only was I dismayed when I saw the shipping "crate", a cardboard box (!!!!) my combined shipment via Mike Rex arrived in, I now understand why the mountain of white powder disguising the work done for me and Blaauwkrantz Safaris. Shoddy doesn't begin to describe what I've found underneath. Despite specific instructions to preserve the original color of my kudu horns, they are boiled black. Furthermore, the mountain reedbuck skull and horns are drilled and broken at the bases. The pedicels are mostly gone. The shield mount looks good AFTER I glued the right hand snapped-off horn back with Gorilla glue (urethane). The pictures attached may begin to show the poor craftsmanship.

There are burnt spots on the bases of both kudu horns, to go along with the cracked horns, drilled out and labelled tips. Once a shiny smooth blond, the horns will never look as when I took the trophy. I await disastrous further news when the skins are finished at the tanners. His manifest to my taxidermist show holes in the mountain reedbuck cape I had hoped to shoulder mount (if the horns can be made to fit the skullcap, which they do not currently do!)








Arthur, please reconsider using Karoo Taxidermy for dip & pac. Trophy preparation, evidenced by the Taxidermy Africa trophies shipped to me from the safari I enjoyed with you in 2005, was far superior in the past. The waterbuck trophy prepared by Pieter's dip & pac shows a marked difference. My taxidermist, providing the cape tans well, can color the horns correctly for Pamela's waterbuck shoulder mount. I seriously doubt I'll want the mountain reedbuck shoulder mount for me. (On the other hand, her shield mount looks quite nice alongside all those from Roland's.)

Despite all precautions and attempts to avoid disaster, "Africa wins again" sometimes. Thank God the safari was infinitly better than the trophy-to-taxidermy drama became.

FYI

BNagel. Sorry to hear about your problems. However, if it makes you feel better, your trophies condition is the norm not the exception. Many hunters who never see their trophies before they have been finished never know how bad they looked when they come out of the crate.

Horns drilled in tips for tags, large holes drilled in the horns to pour insecticide in, broked horns, broken skulls, stained skulls, bleached out, over-boiled, over-heated, painted black, dried out horns, grease soaked horns, the list goes on. All of these things are shocking to most hunters who see them in this condition but it is All the norm for the taxidermist.

Also may not be all the fault of the dip and packer. Most of those skulls/horns are boiled at the camp by the PH's staff. It is too much heat that kills them IMO. Some species are more likely to be cracked and damaged than others. Wildebeest horns often crack alot., Impala discolor but usually do not chip, crack etc..

And all the above is just the skulls/horns. The skins are often worse. But, most things come out ok in the end. Taxidermists who do African game must enjoy a challenge!

There is a lot your taxidermist can do to repair and restore your trophies. However you are correct in saying the horns will never look like they did. Most of your issues can be repaired in just a few minutes (holes in horns, broken horns, broken cores, etc..) The color and luster can be difficult to restore but they can be "fixed" to look a lot more natural than
they do when they come out of the crate.

For what it is worth, some of the finest looking horns are on the old trophies from Kenya, Tanzania etc.. Have seen a lot that were probably never boiled to clean at all, just salted and soaked off the cores.

Boiling and simmering are two different things. A hot metal pot filled with skulls and horns over a blazing flame is not always a good recipe!

P.S. Soak your reedbuck horns in hot water for a while and they should soften up a bit, allowing you to slip them back onto the horn cores. Also I think I saw a tanned reedbuck cape for sale on Taxidermy.net recently for $200 if yours does not work out.

good luck.

BN, What Grafton said is right on target. Most problems begin at the Outfitters/PH's own ranch or camp. Unless supervised or intently taught, "safari hand's" have no idea of how to properly prepare skulls and remove horns. You are correct: Kudu DO NOT have BLACK horns! All that I have ever seen were various shades of gray, with mineral stains. Highly polished bulls (especially during rut) will have dark ridges and the upper section of the last curl will be darker, usually charcoal. And any dark horned African animal can have "blond" tips or wear spots from rubbing. My big Blue Wildebeest had 4 separate spots (2 on each horn) that he liked to rub; thus, they were blond areas. Skilled Taxidermists can redo your Kudu horns to an accurate color. Show them pictures of what you want. Your Mt Reedbuck lost his soft tissue (called pulp) upon boiling. This would dry up, shrivel and possibly crack if left to air dry, and it is normal to be missing. Again, a good Taxidermist can rebuild this. It can add up to one inch on a trophy Mt Reedbuck. If you need a Mt. Reedbuck cape, let me know. I think the one Grafton refers to is a Bohor Reedbuck that Wendell Reich has. Email me and I'll give you a call. I'm working on solutions to these problems.
Good hunting,
David

Thanks for the encouragement and illumination, sirs.

The original condition is a far cry from the "trophy". I'll await the tannery and hope for better results there.





BNagel

Bnagel,
Welcome to our world, when we get this kind of gargage we are then supposed to make it into a work of art. Repairing damaged capes, horns and skulls is one reason African pricing is higher.
I wouldn't panic though, I don't see anything that can't be repaired.

Thanks, Jerry.

The kudu I have on my wall is my own cape plus a pair of horns pretty close to my 2005 bull. They are "blonde" with abit of horn dye, then Johnson's Wax for shine. Somebody knows not to boil 'em black -- got the horns from another local taxidermist who'd swapped for them and never got to his project.

Y'all are pros!

Barry

The tanning is back from South Texas Fur Dressers and...



that part looks excellent!

Barry (not THAT one tho!)

Just a word concerning Reedbuck. All of them have pulp at their bases. This can amount to an inch on an average adult Mt. Reedbuck. This should be understood by your Taxidermist and those with extensive African experience know this. Usually, it is rebuilt with epoxy or another resin family. During this process, it should match up with your cape, repair the cracked/broken areas of the bases and fill the drill holes. Due to having to remove the horns of most African PG, boiling is done most everywhere. My guys in Zim actually allow the skulls to soak in a antibacterial solution a couple of days and the horns pull right off. They do not boil horns. All of my Kudu have grey horns. Many Impala have mineral stained horns that are usually a reddish brown, light brown or ash grey. I'll post some recent mounts ASAP. Good luck with your mounts.
David

Thanx David

Bruce has done mt. reedbuck as well before.
Y'all are so talented. I used a bit of Magic Sculp to fill in a few holes on what he won't be using -- will use some walnut stain left over from gunstock refinishing afterward.

Barry