Taxidermist costs
 

Hello, I am new to the forum. I have been reading your posts and find the discussion very enlightening. I am going to Namibia in June and would welcome some insight into what quality taxidermy work would I expect in Namibia and some idea of the costs for plains game mounts. The taxidermists in my area want $950 plus 8 1/4 % sales tax added for a Greater Kudu shoulder mount. I am curious what the costs in Namibia with shipping would run for this same mount. I am sure there are costs I am not aware of. I will be there for 10 days hunting with 5 trophys paid for. Any help would be appreciated.

Welcome to huntchat!
 

Having been a Taxidermist myself (retired from the profession in 1985), I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm leaving in July for South Africa (13 plains game) and I have thoroughly investigated the Taxidermy issue. Generally, we get what we pay for. I have witnessed men spend $15-$20 thousand on African hunts only to return home (US) and look for the cheapest Taxidermy work they could find. Some chose "Taxidermists" that had never seen pictures of African game let alone mounted any. Those men lived to suffer the consequences; getting back horrible mounts that in some cases were placed in the garage and later infested with insects. You get what you pay for. Some halted all work after the first or second mount, losing deposits and having to take their game to professionals. Although Africa has some good Taxidermists, sometimes "stuff happens." A friend of mine left his game in Africa over 18 months ago and is still awaiting his mounts. Another received his "high ranking" Cape Buff mount only to have had the horns replaced with an immature set of horns. Calls to his outfitter and PH resulted in hard feelings and canceled return trips. He trashed the mount. His pics told the truth; he had taken a truly outstanding Buffalo. Other friends had excellent results, getting their heads home with no problems. You can save some money on having your mounts done in Africa, but shipping costs can run high. The cost of shipping the mounted trophies was more than they expected...ouch! They would have come out about the same if they had their work done in the States. My recommendation is this: no matter who does your work, closely investigate their reputation and quality. Check with the Namibian Professional Hunters Association for a list of professional Taxidermists, then ask them for US referrals. Myself, I use Foster Butt in Madison, TN. Foster owns Wildlife Mounting Service and has been in business for many years. He's one of the best on US and foreign big game. Jim Zumbo uses Foster, as many other professional hunter men and women. Foster just finished an Elephant head mount and it is a great piece of work. When it comes to horned animals, (all of them) they are subject to insect infestation...there are no exceptions. Dermestids love keratin protein, the base substance horn is made of. So make sure your Taxidermist understands each cape and horn(s) must be protected. Edolan U was banned by the EPA some years ago, so what we have in America currently works, but must be reapplied by you at least once per year to avoid insect damage. It has several names, but PROTEX Mount Care is what I use. It is inexpensive (around $20 a pint) and can be applied with any hand sprayer. Should be available from your local Taxidermist. You can email me if you have other questions, I'll be glad to try and help. Email me at: dixiedetectors@aol.com/ Good hunting, grayghost

Thanks for your reply. I greatly appreciate your sage advice. I will search around for price lists in Namibia. Has anyone had a Kudu or Gemsbok mounted recently in Africa? I saw a video on how they treat the hides, skulls, and horns in South Africa for export. I was impressed. The hides and dried skulls are shipped to U.S. destinations and that has a certain cost to it. I wonder how much more of a cost it would for a finished mount to ship. I am sure it would take up more space than just the hides and skull. Perhaps combining shipping with several people would be possible. Unfortunately I am not a wealthy person. I feel very fortunate to be taking this once in a lifetime trip. Costs still are a limiting factor for me. Comments welcomed.

I know there are a number of big taxidermists in South Africa, but I do not know about Namibia. When I hunted in Namibia I just had my trophies shipped home and had them mounted locally.

As was mentioned there are good ones and bad ones and that applies to both the US and in South Africa.

Try searching the net for taxidermists in South Africa and Namibia, then e-mail them for the costs of mounting and crating and shipping.

Skyline, thanks for the response. I will see what the internet has to offer.

I had my trophies done in Zimbabwe. The cost per mount was less per trophy but the shipping put it on par with the North American cost.

With the fuel prices going up it may be a bigger bill than your anticipated.

A good taxidermist is worth thier cost after all they are artists.

Pomoxis................you are right, a good taxidermist is an artist!

It is a shame tha sooooo many trophies every year are wrecked by backyard taxidermists. Cheap ain't necessarily a good deal.

bsterns.........aim for quality work my friend. Poor mounts will annoy you for the rest of your life.

I am waiting for a friend to e-mail me from Namibia with some taxidermist info.........will post it when i get it.

Good points guys
 

Rising fuel costs have already effected airline tickets. We purchased ours before April 1st, as ticket prices were scheduled to increase at that time. This will also effect shipping capes/skulls home as well as mounted trophy's. I called one of my friends who had his mounts done two years ago in SA. Mount quality was good; but he paid more than estimated to receive them (shipping to TN). bsterns; yes, you can save money if you crate your capes/skulls with another hunter. And no matter what your told in Africa, the US Customs does not currently require each hunters trophy's to be shipped separately. You will have an itemized paper for each hunters trophy's. Each cape and skull will be tagged. Unless you take a CITES animal or primate (Baboon), you will not need any special paperwork. You should however contact a US import company. I use John Mehan of Fauna & Flora in Jamaica, NY 11434. Phone (718) 977-7700. John is very experienced with African game imports and he once saved a friend of mine $4,000 on his shipment (he was being WAY overcharged). John will send you all the paper work you will need to give your PH and if your using a US Taxidermist, all the papers/shipping tags you will need to give him/her. My Taxidermist has a US Import license and our trophy's will leave SA and go direct to Fauna & Flora in NY. Once they leave NY, they will go directly to my Taxidermist here locally. Once in Fosters shop, he will call the local US F&W. An agent will then come to his shop; open the crate and inspect the contents. Due to current US import regulations, our trophy's will then be re-disinfected (capes/skins) and all skulls re-boiled. Our country is adamant about stopping any importation of hoof and mouth disease, anthrax, etc., and rightly so! These are dangerous. If I may suggest; if you decide to have your trophy's mounted in the US, most Taxidermists will work with you on scheduling your mounts. Instead of having all of them mounted at one time, consider having them (capes) tanned, then mounted one at a time. This will help you better budget your mounts, and having them tanned will prevent any problems associated with keeping them lying around in flint (dried/salted) condition. You'll be able to divide your payments into initial deposit, tanning and finished mounts as agreed upon. Hope you have a great trip. Good hunting, grayghost

Grayghost, thanks again. You have given me a lot of information to think about. I am going with two other guys that have been before and have experienced all this. I will work with them to find out all I can about bringing back the trophies. I believe our mounts or skins will come through the port of Houston. This is all new to me and abit overwhelming. Exciting though. I am bringing a 338-06 and a 280 Remington. One of our group is going after cape buffalo but I don't have the rifle or the money to go after that much animal. I look forward to it all. I would like to tag along and back up someone on the dangerous game if given the opportunity but I doubt if that is very likely to happen.

Correction, I said the port of Houston and I should have said the Houston International airport. A local taxidermist told me his representative would meet the airplane and pick up the shipment. I imagine I will end up using him since he has done several mounts of whitetails for me over the years. When I first started checking taxidermist prices I thought I was looking at $650 to $750. The $950 quote shocked me. I guess if you have to ask the price then you can't afford it. My better half has a lot to do with my anxiety over prices. When she agreed to my going she, like me, was not aware of the total costs. I keep having to break it to her gently over time.

If an extra $200 make a difference your should consider the skull mount. There was no way I had the space for a shoulder mount eland but a scull mount under my sable balences out the cape buffalo skull below my kudu.

Plan on what space your trophies will occupy because the cost of a remodel is way more than $200.

Pomoxis, I am considering European mounts. I have a Merino Ram skull mount that I did myself that is very nice. That was a lot of work for an amatuer but it turned out very good. I want a Kudu or Gemsbok shoulder mount and maybe European mounts for other smaller horned animals when I can afford it. The difference in costs is several hundred dollars. Doing one at a time was a good idea. I have a high ceiling trophy room that would accept one and possibly two long horned mounts. Since I retired I am on a budget so a thousand bucks here and a thousand bucks there starts to add up to real money.

I got back from Namibia on the 14th. I've hunted there each year for the last five years. I have all my taxidermy done by Reiser. They are very well known in Namibia and do good work. Last year kudu or waterbuck shoulder mounts were $650.00. European mounts ran about $150.00. Shipping costs were very high due to the rise in fuel costs. I'm waiting for last years trophies to be shipped, when I get them I'll post the costs, that should give you an idea of what to expect.

Who are you hunting with? Namibia has experienced a tremendous amount of rain and everything is still green with pockets of water in the bush. We had a tough time finding animals as they could drink and eat anywhere they wanted. You should have easier in June.
John

John, the PH is Johan Lombaard with Undiscovered Africa Safaris. Those prices sound more reasonable. I will look into Reiser. Where is he located?

I just found Reiser's last years price list, but I'm at work right now so I'll send their address to you tommorrow. They're located in Windhoek. Where are you hunting with Lombaard? And what are the animals you will hunting on the package?
John

bsterns
 

Here's something else to consider; Ship all of your capes and horns home. Have euro skull mounts done on the game you do not want to shoulder mount. Then, sell the capes you aren't mounting. US Taxidermists are always looking for good African capes and skins. You can sell them as flint (dried condition they arrive in) or have them tanned. You can add the cost of tanning each cape to the price. As long as you have documentation that they are your personal trophys, I believe it is legal in all States to sell them to a Taxidermist. You might also use them as trade in value to your Taxidermist towards your mounts. This would help offset the cost of your trip. I'm taking the .280 as well. My personal favorite bullet on tough game is the Speer Grand Slam. Since Speer no longer loads their Nitrex cartridge, and Federal dropped it in their Classic load, I'm having to reload all of my cases. I've used the 160gr GS on Elk, Deer and Bear and it performs without any failure. I have full confidence in that load on any plains game. I am also taking my .223 loaded with 60gr Nosler partitions for Duiker, Springbok and Impala. May be too light for some hunters, but my rifle shoots very accurately and bullet placement will be the key as in all hunting. I will not use it at any game over 200 yards. It has served me well on exotics and western deer and antelope (where it was a legal caliber). Since your going with friends, you should be able to combine your trophys and save on shipping. Good hunting, grayghost

John, the package I chose is for 5 animals. Three are fixed; (1)kudu, (2)gemsbok, and (3)springbuck. Then (4)either an impala or blesbuck, and (5) either a steenbuck or duiker. I may add an eland and/or zebra or subsitute if allowed. There are two locations. Some of the animals are hunted at one site and different animals at the other site. One camp is north and I am not sure where the other one is.

Bob

Bob,
The email address of Reiser is: reiser@iway.na. You can ask them for a current price list.
I like your package, it allows some flexibility. The kudu, gemsbok and springbok would be my choice too. If you get a chance at Hartmann's (mountain) zebra I'd go for it. Eland are tough to stalk, but make great trophies.
Hopefully the country will be drier and the animals will be more concentrated at waterholes.
The good thing about zebra trophies is you can just have flat skin done. The price and shipping costs are low, later you could have rug made or hang the skin from a beam; etc.
John

Grayghost, the selling of hides sounds good. I am sure I will not have them all mounted. That is a good idea.

I have loaded 139 gr. Hornady Interlock BTSP bullets for the smaller game up to kudu with the 280. I was reading the latest issue of Guns and Ammo magazine and Craig Boddington had an interesting article on what caliber guns to take to Africa. He said he has taken as light as .22 Hornet for the real small stuff.He said that on his most recent African hunt in Namibia he took 2 rifles, a light one and a heavy one. The light one was a 7X57 with 139gr. Hornady Interbond bullets with which he took kudu and hartebeest. He used the heavier 338 win mag. on zebra and widlebeest which he considered much tougher. He felt that the lighter gun should be stout enough to take the bigger plainsgame in a pinch since sometimes you stalk one species and end up with a different species and some shots required longer distances than the heavier bullets would normally be used for due to the rainbow trajectory. That article made up my mind to take the 280 with my 338-06. I loaded 200gr. Hornady interlock SP and 250gr. CT goldbond molys for the 338-06. The velocities are 2500 fps and 2900 fps respectively.

Bob

John, I will email Reiser, thanks. I meant to ask you what did you bag on your recent hunt.

Bob

Correction grayghost, I gave the velocities in backward order. The 200gr. is 2900 fps and the 250gr. is 2500 fps. I really like the 338-06. The 200gr-250gr. bullets loaded to maximum have a very tolerable recoil and packs a pretty big punch.

Just got my passport back from renewal today. That was a relief. I got my custom forms taken care of for the two rifles and now await the big trip. I am flying from Corpus Christi to Atlanta on American then recheck everything in Atlanta to Delta and on to
Frankfurt. Baggage will pass through to Capetown on Lufthansa and I will recheck everything (for the third time) in Capetown for South African airways to Windhoek. Luckily the two long legs of the trip are at night. The other two fellows going in our group go straight to Johannesburg from Atlanta. I could not make that connection so I will go it alone via Frankfurt. When did you say you were leaving for Africa?
Bob

Bob,
I took a 30+" waterbuck, an ancient Burchell's zebra stallion, a warthog with huge tusks, the left one was broken, but he still looks great. Fred the PH wanted a non-trophy oryx for meat and bagged one with a broken horn.
As far as rifles go, I've only brought one one each trip. The first two trips I used a .300 Weatherby Mk V loaded with 200 grain Nosler partions hand loded to 2820 fps. The next two hunts I used a .300 Win Mag. M70 Stainless classic loaded with 220 grain bonded core bullets of my own make. They were loded to 2660 fps. This last trip I used a new Remington M700 in .30/06 with a 220 grain bullet like the others, but not bonded. These had a MV of 2360 fps.
I took animals ranging fron springbok to eland with mostly one shot - four required two shots. The 30/06 seemed to perform as good as the magnums.
I've watched guys register two rifles in Windhoek and it is not too difficult. You can down load the form at www.napha.com.na. The real pain in your itinerary is going to be Cape Town. The new gun laws for RSA are Draconian. I did the Cape Town thing just once and will avoid it if possible forever. There is a flight from Frankfurt am Main to Windhoek, did you try to book it?
John

John, I tried every connection I could come up with and ended up with this one. If I ever do it again I will know better. I am not sure why I have to recheck the guns and fill out the temporary import/export forms in Capetown when the other two fellows in my group that booked earlier do not have to. They just wait "in transit area". They are going through Johannesburg. It must be how the flight was booked. Also it seems South African airways have quit honoring or sharing Delta tickets. The other two were recently notified that they would have to return a day earlier than booked in order to use the Delta tickets they had. They were flying a direct round trip from Atlanta on South African Airlines booked through delta.

RE the guns, I might just take the one gun. Sounds like just more to bother with by taking two.

Bob

Bob,
The problem with transfering through Cape Town is lack of a secure baggage storage area. Johannesburg has this and you just transfer yourself. Cape Town was supposed to get a secure area three years ago.
When I was there someone from the police took the firearm cases from the baggage carousel to the SAPS office. There we did the forms and inspection. Then I was issued a permit good for 24 hours. I think the form are vastly more complicated. There is a service you can hire to assist you. I think the forms can be downloaded.
You return the form and they handle the transfer of your firearms to the plane to Windhoek. You have to rebook all your luggage and sit with it for a few hours. It's a real pain.
John

For those trophies where you will have the European mounts done, check and see if you can take them home with you. If you can, then pack a long duffle for them. That is what I will be doing in August, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

Dom, that is an interesting point. I wonder how that is possible. Doesn't it take a long time to treat the skins and skulls for export? Even after I boiled a ram skull it would have been too smelly to pack in a duffle bag for even one day. I put it in my office shortly after I thought I was finished and I had to take it outside for a week or two. Even then I ended up reboiling and rebleaching and disinfecting the horns again. I am not sure I am rid of the smell today. It is still sitting outside in the sun. Anyway let me know the procedure you are talking about. It sounds good if it is possible to do.

Bob

Reiger
 

Skyline, never heard back from Reiger. Sent him two emails.

Bob, I'm surprized you didn't get a reply from Reiser. I will email them today to see about shipping of last year's trophies.
John

John, I did get a response from Reiser. I mentioned it in the thread about insects in Namibia. I thought the fees were reasonable. I am waiting to see what recommendations my PH has. I am sure he works with one. I appreciate your help. Just two weeks from today.

Bob,
I haven't heard from Reiser yet, maybe today they'll contact me. I'm wondering when they plan to ship last years trophies. Good luck on your hunt. I suspect you may become addicted.
John

Taxidremist costs
 

Prior to hunting in RSA, I check into having my animals mounted in the U.S. or having them done in RSA. My local taxidermist who has hunting all over Africa for 40 years advised me to have them mounted in RSA. He does great work, but like he said, if you were from RSA hunting in the U.S., have a taxidermist in that country (RSA) mount an American animal? It cost him a lot of money for this advice! It cost me $450 to have my Kudu mounted. For all my trophies the cost was $2600 for 10 animals. Shipping via sea, delivered to my home was $2350. This was shipping cost was split with my father in law who had 8 trophies crated with mine. My PH took me to a local taxidermist's shop prior to the hunt to see what the animals "really" looked like, where to aim at different angles, and to see this man's artistry.

As for your choice of calibers, my PH said to use the rifle I could shoot the best with a heavy bullet. I used a .375 H&H for everything (plains game) with a 300 grain Swift A-Frame. My nephew used a 7MM Remington Magnum with Speer Grand Slams. We never recovered any of my bullets and only one of Ryan's and it was from a Zebra.

Make or buy a set of shooting sticks, tripod is the best, and practice, practice, and practice. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Steve, thanks. That was tremendous information. I hope I can get by as frugally as you with the taxidermist. I am using a 338-06 with 250gr. sierra boattails that are very accurate in that gun. I also will bring a 280 Remington using 162 hornady boattails, equally accurate. I have not practiced with the shooting stix yet. I don't know if I have time to order them. I leave in less than 2 weeks.

Hey Bob,

Had my six trophies mounted in RSA as well. i used Taxidermy Africa and was very pleased with both the product and service.

Look on ebay for sticks. I ordered some a few months ago and had them in just a few days.

Good luck on your hunt. I'm sure you will be planning your return before you every get off the plane in the US.

Brad

Bob:
Should be no problem to move any extra capes you ship home. Do not have them tanned in SA; ship them raw/salted (flint). They will have to go to a Taxidermist who is licensed with the US F&W due to import regs and will need to be re-disinfected, but this is no big deal. You'll have an average of 6-8 months for delivery on raw skins/skulls (save up more $$$) or as much as a year or more if their mounted in SA. Any capes you do not mount will sell. No red tape unless you take a CITES animal or Primate (you mentioned neither). SA Airlines flies out of Dallas, next trip give me an email and I'll pass along a company in TX that has served us well. We're flying out of Atlanta to Dulles (DC) but only because after we booked a direct flight (Johannesburg) SAA dropped their direct Atlanta route. They paid for our DC flight, no cost to us. I leave in mid July. 10 day hunt; 13 animals. May sub a few due to my desire to only take mature trophy's. I'm not interested in anything with milk on its lips or a "representative" of the species. All of my game will be shipped here (TN) and turned over to Foster Butt (Wildlife Taxidermy). I left an Antelope and Whitetail with Foster this past fall and both are hanging on my wall already. Return time was less than six months, and quality is on par with the big names in the US. Having been a professional Taxidermist myself for 17 years, I consider carefully who does my mounts today. We're also using an expediter since this is my first trip to SA. Forms are there and we will be met at the airport and escorted through all the red tape. Fee was well worth it and not expensive. Let us hear all about your trip when you get back. Stay safe and good hunting, grayghost

Bob,
I just got the shipping bill for my trophies that I took last year. The shipment contains two shoulder mounts ( springbok and blesbok ), two oryx and two kudus each mounted on plaques, and two skins. The total came to $1227.25 That gets them to the customs broker in New York ( Fauna & Flora ). There will be a few hundred more for customs clearance and forwarding to Maine.
Hope this helps.
John

Grayghost, that is good advise. I will let you know the outcome of the trip. Just one week from tomorrow. I am supposed to take gemsbok, kudu, eland, impala, and warthog. I could substitute blesbuck, springbuck, steenbuck, or duiker for the Eland if desired for the same money amount of the package. I could add more to the list for more moolah.
John Duarte, that bill sounds very reasonable for all that much game. On the plaques are they mounted with just the top of the skull plate or the whole skull and are the skins just salted or tanned? Which skins did you keep? That price sounds good. I will have to check Reiser out for sure.

Bob,
The skulls are whole except for the lower jaw. I kept a kudu skin and one from the blesbok. They are tanned and I drape them on chairs or hang them on beams.
I'd be curious as how you do with kudu. There is a rabies outbreak among kudu and I wonder how it has affected them. We hunted near Wilhelmstahl where rabies has been reported in the kudu population. I didn't see any problems with numbers. Anyway let us know how you do. Have a great hunt.
John

Skull Mount
 

The skull mount John refers to is called a European skull mount. It can vary from using the entire top section of the skull (upper teeth included) or having the top portion sawed in half (removes the upper jaw and teeth). This allows the skull to attach flat to the plaque. Best of luck on your hunt Bob. I'm interested to hear how your ammo performed. Good hunting, grayghost

Grayghost, my ammo performed great with my 280 rem.. I shot most with 162gr. Hornady BTSP. I shot one springbuck at 360 meters moving. I also shot a kudu offhand running. All game never got more than 35 yards or more after I shot them. I shot a macehog(sp?) which is a little weasle type of creature that is very small. It hit him behind the front shoulder. His front leg was hanging by 1/4" of skin and the thorax was completely gone. His guts were hanging out of the hole where his lungs once occupied. He ran 25 yds before collapsing. I thought I had missed. He ran off and I thought he had gone down a hole but he just had fallen. Several hours later someone found him and said I didn't miss after all. I could not believe that he ran so far. He is tougher than any of the big game I shot. I had lung shots on most of the game and the kudu and gemsbox ran the fartherest after being shot, no more than 35 yards. They were quartering away and the lung shots were also heart shots or clost to it. The black wildebeast dropped like a rock with a shoulder/neck shot.

Sounds like you had a great trip Bob! I'm glad to hear your .280 performed so well. I'm going to be using Federal ammo loaded with 160 gr Nosler Accubonds with my .280 and hope to do as well as you did. For mid to small antelope I'm using my .223 with 60 gr Nosler Partitions. Should be the ticket. I leave Monday but I've been too busy to get excited yet. I'm sure that will change when we land on the dark continent :) Good hunting, grayghost