Taxidermist costs

[bsterns]

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.

[grayghost]

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

[bsterns]

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.

[Skyline]

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.

[bsterns]

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

[pomoxis]

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.

[Skyline]

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.

[grayghost]

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

[bsterns]

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.

[bsterns]

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.

[pomoxis]

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.

[bsterns]

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.

[John Duarte]

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

[bsterns]

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

[John Duarte]

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