The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Taxidermy trophaendiensteGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| trophaendienste | Login/Join |
| One of Us |
I'm booked for my very first african Safaris this coming March. I'll be hunting PG out of the Gras Ranch in Namibia. My PH, Errol Lambrecht has recommended the services of Trophaendienste for my mounts. Does anyone have any experiences with them? FWIW, I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Bobby B. | ||
|
One of Us |
Bobby, you have two of the finest taxidermists in the world right there within spitting distance. Ken Walker and Brian Dobson don't have ANYONE who can consistently produce better work and it would save you money in shipping fees just to have the hide sent back to you. Whatever you do, don't buy off on that crap the PH's feed you about, "Taxidermists here know how to mount our game better than your guys do." I wonder if that explains why they have whitetails, elk, and pronghorn mounted in THEIR studios. RETIRED Taxidermist | |||
|
| One of Us |
George, Last time I spoke with Dobson, he was back to being a one man show, all his help had quit and he was no longer accepting more work. I'll call him again. Bobby B. | |||
|
| One of Us |
I just heard the same thing Bobby. That's a shame. RETIRED Taxidermist | |||
|
| One of Us |
Bobby, I have had a couple of trophies done by Trophaendienste and there work is quite good and delivery time as well. MD | |||
|
| One of Us |
Just got off the phone with Dobson, his price for a Kudu shoulder mount is $1800.00cdn and the pedestal mount is a bit more plus the cost of the pedestal itself. Trophaendienste charges $935.00us for a pedestal mount plus the cost of the pedestal. It appears as though Dobson's prices are virtually double. However, price is but one component of the decision process. Bobby B. | |||
|
One of Us |
Bobby, say you have your mounts done over there and the when you get them the work is not the quality you expected or something is broken in transport. Are you going to send them back? Fix them yourself? To me it would be worth a lot to be able to talk directly to the taxidermist acually mounting your trophies and even be able to visit his studio before and after the work is completed. Consistantly high quality African taxidermy is very time consuming and very demanding. If good enough or just OK, or MAYBE, maybe not great work is acceptable to you, save the money. If it is not, then have an experienced high quality taxidermist with a good reputation in your country do the work. I believe it will be worth every dime more to you over the years. | |||
|
| one of us |
I have toured the shop twice and elected to use a taxidermist in the US. I did use them for dip and pack this time. Their mount quality is hit and miss- some stuff is really nice and some is not good. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Thanks guys, Sculptor, believe me, I hear you loud and clear. As I stated earlier, price is only one part of the equiation. Of course I want excellent quality mounts, but who doesn't? Cheaper is rarely better but paying more is no guarantee of excellence either. What's a guy to do? Especially a first timer such as myself. I would never expect something for nothing but I also have experienced paying for more than i've received. Bobby B. | |||
|
| one of us |
I am going to be experiencing African Taxidermy very shortly myself. At one point when I first started out I had everything I shot mounted. I even took correspondence classes to learn to do it myself and got pretty good BUT there is nothing to compare with a professional nearby where you can stop in a see progress- or not- and talk about the expression and the twist of the mount or the raising of the eyelid just enough to change that sleepy look we often see into the "where's my Money" look of Ruarks' Buffalo. I have made a verbal agreement with Crabtree in Sacramento California to do my work for me. He will start off with a couple of Euro mounts- We will trade out the capes towards the bill on those, and then a pedestal mount on my gemsbok. I have twenty some animals, coming in and he has agreed to store the balance of the tanned hides for up to a couple years until I decide on how to treat the rest. It will also allow me to "work" with him for a little while to see how things work out. I guess I am saying as a first timer also, I really prefer to continue the safari into the process of mounts and doing that near home is a far better solution for me. Frank | |||
|
One of Us |
I have had taxidermy done in South Africa and in France. So, while this doesn't directly reply to a Namibia taxidermy question, the question of doing it near to home rather than far away is a legitimate question. In my case it is cheaper to have skins and skulls sent here (shipping, duty and VAT) when shoulder or pedestal mounts are called for. For a euro shield I have had excellent results in Africa and would probably have it done there since the overall cost is much less. For a pedestal mount on plains game I would have it done here. It won't be that much more expensive overall and I can follow the work, even change my mind at different stages of the process. _________________________________ AR, where the hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history become the nattering nabobs of negativisim. | |||
|
| one of us |
I have been to Namibia three times and trophaendienste did my skin trophies each time. They were very well done. I have never had shoulder mounts done there, therefore can not comment. However, On my second trip, we shot 4 Hartmans Zebra and only three rugs were sent home in the crate. When I told them of the error, they told me they would replace the rug. On my next trip, they processed one cape and made it into a rug and never charged me for It. You would never get that in the USA. square shooter | |||
|
| One of Us |
Never? I for one stand behind my work 100% and 99.9% of all the taxidermists I know here in the states including me would of treated you the same way. It's called good business and thinking long term; a very common thing. | |||
|
one of us |
So you would never get that anywhere from any taxidermist in the whole USA, Bull. Jerry Huffaker State, National and World Champion Taxidermist | |||
|
| One of Us |
I have dealt with seven different taxidermists in the US. All but one did an outstanding job. The one that hosed me took a project that they were not qualified to handle after convincing me they could. They chose to make excuses and not abide by what they said they could do, then held the product hostage until I paid a price that was not as stated. When I got it back, I had to take it to another taxidermist to re-do and undo the mess. This taxidermist is somewhat well known, which suprised me. I have referred several customers away from the fraud. I learned a lesson and will do more checking on references and skill sets before selecting a new one. I would not lump all taxidermists in the same pot as the skills are vastly different across the business. | |||
|
One of Us |
There are good and bad taxidermist all over the world. I think you can save some money in Africa, but if you can't get good quality it isn't worth it. I would rather spend money on more hunting than spend it on trophies. The return on taxidermy fades over time. Have one or two of your greater animals mounted and save the rest for another hunt. Have the skulls cleaned, and if you like it have them put on little wooden plaques or sheilds. | |||
|
One of Us |
Not putting anyone down but you are buying the taxidermist talnet, not buy a model of a car that several people have and are all dealing with the same price. Check their work and references. Just my opinion, with the USA economy on the rocks try a american taxidermist if you can. And great taxidermy work NEVER fades with time, it just gets better...  Capp's Taxidermy Studio www.african-montana-taxidermy.com life member of SCI life member of NRA NTA Master Scorer SCI Scorer for Rowland Ward www.african-montana-taxidermy.com | |||
|
| One of Us |
Talnet? Towlnet? ..... Talent? I can't spell either, but the case is usually a fat finger on the keyboard. I am big on taxidermy, I just think money is better spent on hunting. Especially on the first safari, your better off not mounting anything. That way when you end up rebooking, or heading to another Southern African destination you have the dough to do it. | |||
|
One of Us |
I just received some of the worse crap I could have never imagined from South Africa, and the shipping bill was $5,200.00 Now I've seen both sides of the coin from RSA. My Lion was done at Life-form in Mpumalanga and I will recommend them to anyone on big cats. However, the best I've seen from around the world remains from here in North America. Those that want to read through the forums will find many issues to dealing with African Taxidermists, and if you have problems...oh well. Here at least you have some chance of solving an issue. My 17.5 inch Blesbok is now a skull mount (epoxied to the horn cores) while my trophy cape was mounted with 15 inch horns from a ram I shot for a flat skin. Some are good to fair, many are...well, they need a new line of work. Over charging for dip/pack/crating is the norm, but your savings go down the drain when you pay the excessive shipping on finished mounts. Myself, I'll send my trophies home raw and have them done here. LDK 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." | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia