Birds to hunt in Limpopo

[Hunt anything]

Standing definitely ship better than flying/pitching/flushing. Anything with wings spread is rough to ship. The fellow on here with the spur wing had a flying/banking mount, if I recall correctly.

I am definitely a snob when it comes to fowl mounts. Below is my gadwall. I am lucky that I can get birds to him typically in 24-36 hours. He meets me, does the paperwork, and we're off to the races. He typically gets my mounts done in under 6 months which is very fast. View attachment 628027

Beautiful! I haven’t had any birds mounted in 8 or 10 years, I’m running out of new species to mount. This past year I shot a Western Canada goose in New Mexico and was contemplating mounting it and when I contacted my dedicated waterfowl taxidermist he said it was a 18-24 month turn around time and the cost was at least double of what I had paid in the past.

 

[HookMeUpII]

Beautiful! I haven’t had any birds mounted in 8 or 10 years, I’m running out of new species to mount. This past year I shot a Western Canada goose in New Mexico and was contemplating mounting it and when I contacted my dedicated waterfowl taxidermist he said it was a 18-24 month turn around time and the cost was at least double of what I had paid in the past.

That's actually a specimen and a half right there. Nice looking bird for sure. You don't see many that look like that after smacking the ground, which is half the problem itself.

I had a dog retrieve my Gaddy. I was lucky it was in as good of shape as it was.

I don't know how feasible it is to ship them, preserved, but if you shoot me a PM I'll link you up with my guy. He works for one of the largest exotic game taxidermists in the world. At the time, he was telling me they had a Lord Derby Eland in for a shoulder pedestal mount. He specializes in birds but has a hand in everything. He's done NA turkey slams for people, rare sea ducks, regular ducks, etc.

Ever consider going the decoy route? This is what I am having done to display my 10 year old black duck band:

I already have a black duck and mounts tend to fade with time. I decided I want some work that when I die can go to my kids.

My buddy had Shawn Sutton carve a stud Pinnie he killed in NJ. I was semi-against it until I saw his.

If you need a carver, I have at least 3 guys I've spoken to who typically have high-end stuff go to auction.

I was quoted $550 on that black duck, by the way. Which I found reasonable.

 

[Hunt anything]

@HookMeUpII Those are some nice carvings! When Corey quoted me his price and my wife bought us a trip to South Africa next year I decided to eat that goose and pinch pennies for trophy fees.
I’ve shipped frozen birds next day air many times and haven’t had a problem yet.

The reason I started looking for taxidermist other than the local guys was after a Maine sea duck hunt I had common eider, old squaw and white winged scoter mounted by the local and I told him to keep all but the pair of old squaw. I was glad I kept some extras in the freezer. Seemed every feather was out of place and the anatomical features more resembled long necked chickens than ducks. Corey has done in the neighborhood of 30 mounts for me but if I ever get a new species I may get your guys information and check him out.

 

[Hunt anything]

Here’s a greater snow goose from up in your neck of the woods as an example of Coreys work.

 

[HookMeUpII]

Here’s a greater snow goose from up in your neck of the woods as an example of Coreys work.

I have spent many days and lugged 1000's of decoys chasing those "white devils." Greater snow goose hunting is masochistic work in several aspects. Love the iron/rust on the face. That adds some real character to the bird. They are an absolutely stunning mount. He definitely does nice work.

A good greater, IMO, is probably one of the finer trophies in the fowling world. I have my eyes every year on shooting a stud blue phase. We see them mixed in because they stand out like a sore thumb. They always seem to be just a little smarter, for whatever reason.

Definitely reach out if you'd like my guy. Being you shipped birds before with success, he's definitely worth looking into. He did a pair of Old Squaw in an ocean habitat for a buddy that came out spectacular. He is, unfortunately, getting a ton of work here in NJ now because his work is so popular and he has a quick turnaround.