Deep Thoughts on trophy shipping

[fourfive8]

You are not crazy. The smug elites will feel pretty lonely in political fights when broad based, grass roots support is lost as that historic base support is incrementally forced out financially. Some of this is beyond basic economic law of supply-demand. It truly is obscene and sad at the same time.

 

[Gemsbok45]

I used to to a Bufflo/Leopard hunt plus plains game. I ran into the tracks of a leopard of a lifetime. Hunted him three times. Never came to the bait. In between the outfitter and I became friends. I just left my trophies over there until I had a crate of all the things I really wanted to bring home. Don’t know if that’s legal today but I would ask. I have a couple sets of moose horns the kids say they want. If they want the lake home in Maine the trophies come with. Remove and Bad Karma will follow you!!

 

[everett]

After talking to a couple of others from the site, I just wanted to clarify a few things, then I’ll go back to keeping my mouth shut.
First, the thesis of my post was that issues with shipping are hurting the Africa trophy hunting industry at least to some degree. (Even if it’s just my once a year trip.)
Second, the purpose of my post was to encourage someone to swoop in and fix all the “problems” that I want fixed. (To make it easier/cheaper for me to go to Africa.)
Third, I was just using this forum as a means of venting before I wrote a big check. (That was honestly a bargain for the whole experience.)

 

[everett]

And I’m blessed to be able to write that check and have that experience.

 

[oahufish]

I just got my stuff back from 2021 Safari , and after the shipping and the mounts I’m ashamed to say it will be north of $20k. Scared the absolute crap out of me, and makes me question why. Don’t get me wrong, I love to look at the mounts, but pictures go a long way with 20k

It was a Safari with my wife and two kids and I committed to it long before COVID, but didn’t think prices had gone up as much as they ended up going up. In 2017 everything was around 8-9k and it was about the same sized crates and number of mounts .

I believe I have 4-5 more african animals I feel like I really want to mount, and that’s it on big taxidermy safaris for the rest of my life. 1 deer or stag or sheep or whatever isn’t bad, and hell you can pay for the hunt with the taxi.

Wow, you’re scaring me! What all did you have mounted and shipped back?

I’ve right now waiting on 3 wall pedestals, 4 Euros and 5 skins, and I need to get them all back to Hawai’i. I hope it’s nowhere near $20k!

 

[oahufish]

First, let me say that I might have a very different view of this if I had more money. And I realize many people that visit this site have a lot more money than I do, so I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. But I believe the process of shipping trophies to the US from Africa has a negative impact on trophy hunting in Africa. It has become too frustrating and expensive for me. I have only hunted in Africa 5 times, so I am not a leading expert on this, but it’s only taken 4 times for it to have a negative impact on me.

2 days ago I received my crate from a trip to South Africa in May of 2021. Today I received a final statement for the cost. We waited months to get them on a plane. Finally they suggested we put them on a ship. Then we waited months to get them on a ship. I was actually thrilled when I saw the price for ocean shipping. Then we waited weeks while they sat in Houston. Then I got the final bill for getting them from the port to my house. There went my savings. $900 of the bill was for customs exam and warehouse fees. And they were shipped from Houston without even consulting me about cost, so there’s nothing I can really do about it now. (Can I?) And I used a well-known customs broker. That’s 15 months and $3000 for 6 plains game skull mounts of which 2 were management animals. (And that doesn’t count the $1500 for taxidermy fees, crating, etc.) And truthfully, I know it could have been a lot higher than $3000, but that is still too much, especially when added to the frustration of being at the mercy of all the entities in the shipping process and the feeling that you have no control in the matter.

2021 was an incredible trip that I would love to do every year, but my frustration over shipping has lead me to plan 2 years of cull hunts before my next trophy hunt. I get most of the Africa experience without the cost and frustration of shipping. I didn’t bring trophies back from this year’s hunt and will not bring anything back next year. I still plan to go to Africa every year, but I no longer plan to trophy hunt every trip. Cull hunt 2 and trophy hunt every third year. Maybe most do not feel as I do, but it seems if let’s say 10% of hunters do, that’s a lot of trophy hunting Africa is missing out on. Hunters doing fewer trophy hunts, and those of us with limited budgets taking fewer trophies to cover the costs of shipping.


What’s the answer? I talked to my ph/outfitter about this on my 2021 hunt. He said if it were him, he’d just come for the experience and take good pictures and leave the trophies in Africa. I don’t think I’m quite to that point yet.

Am I just crazy and looking at this entirely wrong?

I’ve also decided to go the sea cargo route for all my items from Eastern Cape hunt this past April. Taxidermist quoted me a very good rate for shipping to port of Houston.
Do you have any recommendations on how to make the process go smoother and more cost effective? Once they arrive in Houston, I still need to get them back to Oahu, and have no idea how that whole process works.

 

[BLJC30]

Time frame.

Do you plan on staying a couple extra weeks to get the euro mounts done? Or trying to find someplace that you can do them yourself?

I do euros on Whitetail and can have them done in 2-3 days including the drying time.

I was thinking that it would be cheaper to stay another couple of days and fly them home with you. But I’m sure they have treatment stipulations that would keep you from doing that.

 

[JimP]

I do euros on Whitetail and can have them done in 2-3 days including the drying time.

I was thinking that it would be cheaper to stay another couple of days and fly them home with you. But I’m sure they have treatment stipulations that would keep you from doing that.

I'm sure that you like me have the equipment at home to do a euro. Would the outfitter have what you need at the lodge?

From what I have seen the folks doing the euros in Africa do a combination of boiling and beetles along with the whitening agent.

You could make arrangements with a shop over there to do a rush but I'm not sure that they would have the whole process done in just a couple of days, but once done I see no problem with you bringing the skulls home in baggage except that you would also have to deal with the USDA upon arrival home.

 

[Ridgewalker]

What’s the answer? I talked to my ph/outfitter about this on my 2021 hunt. He said if it were him, he’d just come for the experience and take good pictures and leave the trophies in Africa.

+1
My little space is full after only 4 trips. If I am ever able to return, I will only bring photos and memories back…with probable exceptions of the cats, ie serval, leopard, etc. When I did my lion/lioness hunt I could only bring photos and memories back. Hasn’t bothered me in the least!

 

[everett]

Someone posted something here about shipping by boat. That’s what really spurred me to post here. This was my first time to do it, and it was only because we initially couldn’t get crates on a plane. The price sounded great upfront. But…. There was extra almost $1000 in fees at the port in Houston for handling and extra fees for inspection because it came by boat. These were all fees I was not expecting, and I would not have had if sent by air. And that were not a part of my quote when I agreed to send by boat. So keep that in mind if sending by boat.

 

[Tra3]

I would rather give money to the PH and his organization than spend it on taxidermy and shipping. It is perfectly fine to take a nice animal and not have to have it in the house. I support the idea of more hunting and less taxidermy.

The first trip, sure, it is exciting to bring stuff home. After that, consider putting the money where it makes the most impact for conservation.

 

[TERMINATOR]

Honestly I am stuggling with the concept of shooting the animals and NOT bringing home at least skulls/horns/antlers for a Euro Mount.

I mean, I shoot doe deer, cow elk and doe pronghorn that are not trophies...to fill the freeer.
And I shoot trophies to mount (and if in the U.S. to also eat)

But I am struggling with the idea of shooting an animal that I can't put in the freezer and am not going to mount. I mean at that point your just shooting them to shoot them.

 

[TXhunter65]

I believe I have 4-5 more african animals I feel like I really want to mount

 

[Mountaineer]

On thought, I hunt on a farm that sells its fresh meat to an exporter, who cuts up the cows, and sells them to me at the local steak house in the USA for dinner. Then it’s a huge crime if I had a hide fleshed and salted and brought it back to the USA. Not sure I understand the difference.

 

[shootist~]

@oahufish
You might try contacting the OP in this thread:

Shipping Cape Buffalo To Hawaii

Hello All, My hunting buddy and I are having our Cape Buffalo among other animals shot in South Africa mounted there. I shot a Buff in 2017, and had it mounted in SA, and Quantas shipped it to Hawaii last year. However, Quantas just changed their policy and won't ship any of the Big 5. Delta...

www.africahunting.com

 

[JHT]

Well hell's bells, welcome to the future. Please see below. Shamelessly stolen from @SPLITTING IMAGE TAXIDERMY's post. Has anyone done this?

 

[lil 2 sleepy]

Wow, you’re scaring me! What all did you have mounted and shipped back?

I’ve right now waiting on 3 wall pedestals, 4 Euros and 5 skins, and I need to get them all back to Hawai’i. I hope it’s nowhere near $20k!

That’s Dip and Pack on 16 animals at $150ish each
Shipping was two crates at $2557
Import “storage” and shipment to taxidermist was $1790

taxidermy on 9 shoulder mounts, a zebra rug, and 7 skulls and backskins will be $13000. All taxi in the US.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

First, let me say that I might have a very different view of this if I had more money. And I realize many people that visit this site have a lot more money than I do, so I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. But I believe the process of shipping trophies to the US from Africa has a negative impact on trophy hunting in Africa. It has become too frustrating and expensive for me. I have only hunted in Africa 5 times, so I am not a leading expert on this, but it’s only taken 4 times for it to have a negative impact on me.

2 days ago I received my crate from a trip to South Africa in May of 2021. Today I received a final statement for the cost. We waited months to get them on a plane. Finally they suggested we put them on a ship. Then we waited months to get them on a ship. I was actually thrilled when I saw the price for ocean shipping. Then we waited weeks while they sat in Houston. Then I got the final bill for getting them from the port to my house. There went my savings. $900 of the bill was for customs exam and warehouse fees. And they were shipped from Houston without even consulting me about cost, so there’s nothing I can really do about it now. (Can I?) And I used a well-known customs broker. That’s 15 months and $3000 for 6 plains game skull mounts of which 2 were management animals. (And that doesn’t count the $1500 for taxidermy fees, crating, etc.) And truthfully, I know it could have been a lot higher than $3000, but that is still too much, especially when added to the frustration of being at the mercy of all the entities in the shipping process and the feeling that you have no control in the matter.

2021 was an incredible trip that I would love to do every year, but my frustration over shipping has lead me to plan 2 years of cull hunts before my next trophy hunt. I get most of the Africa experience without the cost and frustration of shipping. I didn’t bring trophies back from this year’s hunt and will not bring anything back next year. I still plan to go to Africa every year, but I no longer plan to trophy hunt every trip. Cull hunt 2 and trophy hunt every third year. Maybe most do not feel as I do, but it seems if let’s say 10% of hunters do, that’s a lot of trophy hunting Africa is missing out on. Hunters doing fewer trophy hunts, and those of us with limited budgets taking fewer trophies to cover the costs of shipping.


What’s the answer? I talked to my ph/outfitter about this on my 2021 hunt. He said if it were him, he’d just come for the experience and take good pictures and leave the trophies in Africa. I don’t think I’m quite to that point yet.

Am I just crazy and looking at this entirely wrong?

You might also consider hiring a videographer. I did that for my lion hunt this past summer, knowing I wouldn't be able to import it into the states. Decided I might as well hire one for the portion of my hunt in Namibia as well. In my mind, it was the best decision I made, and I'll likely always budget some money for one. If you want some info, I can give you the two I used. I've seen them as low as $100/day but $250-350 per day was about average.

 

[flatwater bill]

It certainly can take a long time from making a good shot to getting a nice mount on the wall. I don't mind that, as it allows me to spread the cost over a year or two. I am with you on the total cost though.....and I have posted on this before....$4200 bucks to get 4 skulls/3 capes back to my taxidermist in the USA. .............FWB

 

[Slope77]

I am a newbie, and I’m sure this is a dumb question, but it seems like maybe shipping would be cheaper with a large, economies-of-scale company? Does FedEx fly from South Africa and will they ship trophies?