Deep Thoughts on trophy shipping

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

There are plenty of good people in this business. There are also plenty of useless people and crooks

I do agree however the shipping part has become one massive sh!t show in past few years

 

[CBH Australia]

You are looking at it exactly the right way.
It's up to you to decide how importantly the trophies rank in your budget and priorities.
I say that because I went for a cull hunt. The meat was utilised, the cost was reasonable. I had the same experience and I'm happy for that. I have the photos and the memories.
If or when I hunt the right thing I might have a mount done. Until then I can admire other people's trophies.

 

[Dudders]

This year i have not brought any trophies home for the first time. Just took plenty of photos felt a bit strange at first but there is only so much space on the wall.

 

[mikecatt13]

I wish I had found this thread sooner. I took my first trip to Africa in early august (Namibia) and it was life changing. I love great taxidermy and seeing them daily transports me back immediately.

My biggest issue/fear has always been the shipping ransom. I have endured self inflicted stress worrying about shipping. My frustration boiled over on my 17hr flight home because I felt hostage to whatever the shipping fees would be once I had an animal mounted (all fees to get an animal from taxidermist to airport for me to pick up) . I have gone back and forth so many times. I didn't take as great of photos as I would have if I had known I'd leave it all. I got caught up in the hunt and didn't think about the shipping at all.
I'm not a fan of euros, but it would be a way to have something from my trip. I'm also not interested in dip and pack. This is all on me. My fault, my decision, my stress. I just feel the animals I took deserve better than being left behind. I ABSOLUTELY despise the shipping racket.

Have you gotten a quote for freight yet? It sounds like some horror stories have you overly worried.

It also may not be too late for you to decide to dip and pack and have them mounted at home. This is a debate in itself, but with higher than historical shipping costs, the higher taxidermy costs stateside might be outweighed (among other factors).

Yes, a lot can go wrong, but that goes for walking across the street too. Dont let horror stories stress you and have you giving up on trophies you orginally wanted to bring home. My Namibia crates just landed and there were no suprise fees or "ransom". My importer also has their own warehouse and the storage fees while waiting for clearing have a ceiling on them so it doesnt matter how long customs takes, there will be no surprises.


As far as the thread in general, I think it's a personal decision. I am sentimental and have a taxidermy addiction, I dont see leaving anything there that I'm allowed to bring back. Some will get full body, some euro, and in between. I factor the cost into the trip because that's my preference. To each their own

 

[mikecatt13]

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.

That's CRAZY. Where was it coming from and what companies did you use?

 

[godwincp]

You can have some large canvas prints made for $50 and they look great!

 

[DonPablo]

Another option:

Trophy Scan

Trophy Scan

trophyscan.com

 

[DonPablo]

Sorry, that had already been posted. I was seriously thinking the idea of bringing crates back on the plane was a viable option but the closer I've looked, I've realized that The crates would likely exceed the excess baggage limits.

 

[StickFlicker AZ]

Mikecatt13, you mentioned that your trophy importer had their own storage facility to avoid airport storage charges if there was a delay. Who do you use, and what port of entry do you have them come into?

 

[mikecatt13]

Mikecatt13, you mentioned that your trophy importer had their own storage facility to avoid airport storage charges if there was a delay. Who do you use, and what port of entry do you have them come into?

Wyatt at Safari Specialty Importers

 

[Longwalker]

I've come around to the point that I don't even want more trophies on my walls. Too much trouble and expense anyway. I love the experience of hunting in Africa, every trip has been a special experience. I brought home trophies from the first successful hunts, but not recently. I have a similar feeling about bringing my own firearms. After renting rifles a few times, I have to think very hard before going through the trouble of bringing my own. It's cheaper to rent, and much easier to travel without firearms. I prefer the simplicity of booking a hunt and flights, and then going there and back with a minimum of worries and extra expenses. A hunting safari is meant to be enjoyable, not onerous!

 

[Throwback]

we

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Air freight has gone up but not that much. My 2021 shipment was a ripoff. First, the taxidermist sent the stuff (8 skulls and 2 tanned capes) to same lousy freight company I had problems with the previous trip. They did this without even letting me know the work was done or photos to approve (turns out there was good reason no photos were taken!). The freight company then sent me a one line email: send +$2K. What the ...? Last shipment was $700 and change. Contacted the lodge owner who contacted the taxidermist who supposedly contacted the freight pirates. "Oh, it's because air freight has jumped up 2.5x." The freight company would supply no breakdown, just pay it or else. They have my stuff, what can I do? Turns out they sent an invoice from the air freight (Turkish Air) to the customs broker and it was only $820. I find it hard to believe the first shipment in a crate almost the same size with same number of skulls flew half way around the world for three hundred bucks. Pffft! So Rex Forwarders pocketed $1,200. For what? They arrange for vet inspection and take the crate to airport. $1,200 US is a LOT of rand for that. Worst part about Rex is their lack of communication. Where is the stuff? When will it be shipped? If your trophies are leaving out of Port Elizabeth, give your taxidermist specific instructions to avoid Rex Forwarders. There are other options.

 

[Badjer]

I've hunted Africa once. Never say never, but it is extremely unlikely I will ship anything home if I go back. One of the biggest pains in the @$$ I've ever dealt with.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I also had problems with the Canadian customs broker (Coles International) both times (2019 and 2021). So for 2022 shipment I decided to find another customs broker in the Toronto area. A taxidermist my daughter contacted suggested Rutherford Global Logistics. I phoned and spoke to a very helpful young man named Rain. First surprise was I didn't have to communicate in Punjabi English. He strongly suggested that I travel to Toronto and take the shipment through customs myself and bring it back in my vehicle. It's almost a two day drive but he said it would save me a pile of money. The difference is if I take the trophies through customs they are "personal effects." If shipped to customs broker, they are "commercial goods." As soon as he said "commercial goods" a huge red flag popped up. We cross the border regularly to pick up taxidermy supplies and have to log the stuff in on Canadian Customs archaic computer system. It's like a DOS screen from the Stone Age! Also, the commercial goods inspection has a huge backlog compared to personal effects. "What freight outfit did you use?" Manatoulin. "And you actually found your shipment? Wow!" So, this shipment will be sent to me not a broker. The freight company in Port Elizabeth will provide me with itinerary and I will be there when the flight lands. My daughter needs to see a specialist in Toronto so we should be able to write the trip off. Anyway, it sounds like some of you guys who are getting screwed can avoid a lot of delays and save some money if you do the customs inspection yourselves.

I don't need to go into the problems with taxidermist because I started another thread on that elsewhere. I only posted chapter one issues with 2019 trophies and before I could post chapter two 2021 disaster, the owner called. He has the correspondence and photos but still no response. I will say this much: 2019 was a taxidermy disaster but 2021 was MUCH worse. Whatever you have done over there - euros, shoulder mounts, capes - MAKE SURE THE TAXIDERMIST IS KEEPING YOU IN THE LOOP WITH PHOTOS OF PROGRESS OR AT LEAST FINISHED PRODUCT. Hunters & Collectors in Port Elizabeth has last year's trophies. Hoping to have them boxed up finally next week. I have seen images of the work and 100% improvement over previous two shipments done by the other outfit ... which will remain unnamed for now pending a satisfactory resolution.

I was impressed with how quickly I received a response after posting chapter one here. This site apparently carries a lot of weight in the safari community. That is good for us hunters and good for the industry. However, if you do feel the need to drop some negative bombs for the benefit of others on here, be prepared to back it up. I think the owner of the taxidermy suspected I was talking out my ass ... until he saw the photos. Those don't lie. Also they had the bad fortune of screwing with a guy who is involved in the taxidermy business.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I should also add that you need to do your inspections homework before deciding what you want to bring back. Expect that any pig stuff will get flagged and carefully inspected. Forget about bringing back any bird items. That is another flag for another flu bug. Porcupine and mongoose will also apparently cause delays. And those tortoise shells you find laying around in the bush, just leave them. They won't get out of the country. Make sure the manifest is properly labeled before it leaves Africa. What's a "sable?" Is it an Angolan giant sable on the verge of extinction? Questions like that will cause delays. Does the shipper give a shit how stuff is listed on the manifest? No. "Not my chob, man."

 

[Hunt anything]

I completely understand about just doing quality photos but I’m not there yet. We are not wealthy by any means but I’ve found a way to budget taxidermy. What I’ve done is my trophy list have gotten shorter and shorter with a focus on smaller and smaller antelope. I’ve become infatuated with the tiny ten and will concentrate on them in the future, plus some medium antelope like puku, impala and never pass up hunting bushbuck. I’m not a great fan of euro mounts even though I have a few, pigs, baboon and whitetail. I will continue to ship trophies until I completely run out of wall space, even though 8x10 pictures can fill up wall space quickly as well.

 

[mikecatt13]

I've hunted Africa once. Never say never, but it is extremely unlikely I will ship anything home if I go back. One of the biggest pains in the @$$ I've ever dealt with.

What importer did you use?

 

[Hunt anything]

I've hunted Africa once. Never say never, but it is extremely unlikely I will ship anything home if I go back. One of the biggest pains in the @$$ I've ever dealt with.

Was it your shipping company in Africa or your import/customs broker that was the problem ? I’ve used 2 customs brokers in the states and 3 shipping companies in Africa with minimal problems, the only glitch was during the first panic attacks by governments about Covid in early 2020. This covered 4 safaris over 8 years, with a mix of swine, primates and CITES animals.

 

[Badjer]

I won't name names openly..... Outfitter, Taxidermist, shipping company. Import broker might have garnered a couple complaints if these other 3 didn't screw everything up so bad. As it was, they were the high point. FYI: a friend of mine who I've known for about 15 years and was along on my trip, has used this outfitter at least 6 times. 1st time for the taxidermist, and he used his own shipper and importer. I went along with the rest of the group. I don't think he will use the outfitter or taxidermist again either. I apologize for being a bit vague, but you don't know who reads a public forum.