Giraffe question from newbie

[AZDAVE]

@ActionBob I like the JD. It will be nice to finally get yours unpacked and up in the house.

I had a flat skin done with mine in 2018. Have used it for gun cases, covered a couple foot stools, and on one of the pedestals I built. Probably have enough left to cover a chair. Was a good hunt for a old past breeding age male that had lost his place as the alpha bull. Would hunt one again.

 

[Nomsag]

Dark giraffe from 2021 hunt with @DAVE FREEBURN SAFARIS

 

[BRICKBURN]

https://www.africahunting.com/threa...zondjahe-hunting-safaris-namibia.11161/page-5

Stalking and getting close to a Giraffe on foot is a challenging hunt on a large property where they are wild. Try it.

 

[Neil Molendyk]

In 2018, I took an old cow, wouldn't wean her two year old calf and wouldn't come back into eustrus, so I guess it was a cull hunt. Because she was a dark as an old stink bull, many of the people that I showed the picture to thought it was bull. She had "canted in horns" so it was a specific animal I was targeting and it made the hunt more challenging in the thick brush and the fact that her vision from on high, it made her elusive. I never went to Africa with the intent to hunt giraffe but the opportunity was too good to pass on.

My PH asked me if I knew where to shoot the giraffe and I answered "Yes, high in the chest in the heart" as shown in Kevin Robertson's book, The Perfect Shot.He laughs at my answer and says No, beside a road, those things are f#%*ing huge. He couldn't have been more correct. It took six trackers and skinners just to carry the skin out.

Anyways, I had the hide processed hair on and two shin bones scrimshawed with cape buffalo and PG scenes and took the other two shin bones to ship home. Apparently they can be used for knife handles. Yes, I would do it again, both the hunt and the shipping.

 

[Reed Thoma Outdoors]

The bull In your profile photo is super sweet looking

Thanks, he was massive. One of the PHs said it was the biggest giraffe he's been on a hunt for. The carcass weight from the butcher was just shy of 1000kg.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I have no qualms about people hunting them legally, but I choose not to myself. Bringing the trophy back can financially ruin someone. Folks will go with a full neck or 1/4 shoulder from the floor mount and the dollar amount to have only that shipped is staggering.

There is also some disagreement on how challenging or "sporting" giraffe hunting can be. According to my PH, some will stand broadside and look at you for 2 minutes while you shoot them. Other times they will track an old bull for days. It will get bumped into thick stuff, almost unreachable. Yes, you can see the head above the tree line. Good luck getting a shot on the shoulder. That's the 2 sides.

Giraffes need culling on certain properties due to over abundance, fighting, and lack of food. Hunting them is all but essential in certain areas.

This opinion and choice of not hunting them is based off what? Your single experience hunting put & take game ranches with an outfitter who's likely the most controversial outfitter posted about on AH to this point? Financially ruin? If one animal is going to financially ruin someone they probably weren't in a great position to go hunting in Africa to begin with, and if they were and certain unforeseen circumstances befell them, they could always opt to leave that trophy in Africa.

There are a bunch of members on this forum with more African Safaris under their belt than you and I have years on this earth. There are a bunch of extremely knowledgeable and respected PH's on here. Don't rule hunting one out and keep an open mind. As one noted no two animals are the same. I've hunted whitetails that walked up to me and stood there for minutes looking at me waiting for me to shoot them and others that I bumped and went into the thick stuff to never be seen again. Your last sentence says everything needed.

Hunting is an essential tool for ecology and conservation and very few areas have enough land area, biodiversity, and lack of human interference to allow for nature to manage itself.

 

[Philip Glass]

Why is there very little posted about giraffe hunting on AF? It just doesn’t seem many hunt reports or posts mention giraffe hunting.
I’m sure there is reason l, but being a newbie I just don’t know the reasons.

I’ve posted mine. Not that many people hunt them. Like all African animals we need people to hunt more so there will be more!

 

[Tra3]

I’ve hunted or been part of the hunt for 6 giraffe over 3 different safaris. You might get lucky, you might have a long and complicated stalk and never connect. They are a completely different animal and style of hunting. Their height really changes how you hunt them and their ability to evade a hunter.
For feeding the people in a conservancy, or for feeding an anti-poaching team, you can’t get a a bigger animal than a giraffe (other than a hippo, ele, or rhino). In areas where giraffe are abundant, they are an excellent source of food for the community. All of them we have hunted were for conservancy meat and one for an anti-poaching team. It really felt like a gift to the community. And it takes a team of people to process one (which we gladly pay to do!).

All of the animals we hunt are special. People in NA are so used to whitetail deer that it doesn’t seem bad for the environment to take one to eat. How is that different than abundant African animals?

 

[Triathlete3]

Having just had my giraffe neck mount, remaining rug, leg lamp, leg ashtray, bones, and skull shipped back, via boat, I was pleasantly surprised that the added cost was only about an extra $1100 in shipping. It was a very old bull, an uneventful hunt, but one that was important for conservation and am proud of it.

 

[D-Orcutt]

Having just had my giraffe neck mount, remaining rug, leg lamp, leg ashtray, bones, and skull shipped back, via boat, I was pleasantly surprised that the added cost was only about an extra $1100 in shipping. It was a very old bull, an uneventful hunt, but one that was important for conservation and am proud of it.

How tall was the neck mount?

 

[Doubleplay]

This is my 3.5 year old(at the time) granddaughters hand next to a giraffe culled by my son in Limpopo.
He's raising future generation giraffe hunters

 

[freefall]

This opinion and choice of not hunting them is based off what? Your single experience hunting put & take game ranches with an outfitter who's likely the most controversial outfitter posted about on AH to this point? Financially ruin? If one animal is going to financially ruin someone they probably weren't in a great position to go hunting in Africa to begin with, and if they were and certain unforeseen circumstances befell them, they could always opt to leave that trophy in Africa.

There are a bunch of members on this forum with more African Safaris under their belt than you and I have years on this earth. There are a bunch of extremely knowledgeable and respected PH's on here. Don't rule hunting one out and keep an open mind. As one noted no two animals are the same. I've hunted whitetails that walked up to me and stood there for minutes looking at me waiting for me to shoot them and others that I bumped and went into the thick stuff to never be seen again. Your last sentence says everything needed.

Hunting is an essential tool for ecology and conservation and very few areas have enough land area, biodiversity, and lack of human interference to allow for nature to manage itself.

Nice scolding!
I have never been to Africa, after a year or so here, I am realizing I may well never go.
My. attitude has been forever shaped by Harry Selby saying disgustedly in "Horn of the Hunter", "may as well shoot a bloody giraffe!" Same book makes me want to shoot a buffalo with a double .470.
The whole thing is about our dreams and desires. Big part of why I live in Alaska. I'd have been financially better off had I stayed in Nebraska 45 years ago, but my book of dream tickets would be far less punched.

 

[Aaron N]

No. The taxidermy in that crate was done by Paul of Relive Africa in Port Elizabeth. RSA. I shot that giraffe in 2015 so a long time coming. It was shipped ocean frieght and after many delays including Covid setting it back a couple years, it finally arrived about the time we were buying the house in Texas. However we did not have the deal done and needed to take delivery so had it sent to Minnesota where it has been in one the sheds. So it is all still crated as it was in Africa.

I did take a sheet of plywood off the top and look in and all looked fine but of course I can't be sure until it is unpacked....

Man, I haven’t heard anyone mention Relive in years! How did it turn out?

 

[ActionBob]

I have no qualms about people hunting them legally, but I choose not to myself. Bringing the trophy back can financially ruin someone. Folks will go with a full neck or 1/4 shoulder from the floor mount and the dollar amount to have only that shipped is staggering.

There is also some disagreement on how challenging or "sporting" giraffe hunting can be. According to my PH, some will stand broadside and look at you for 2 minutes while you shoot them. Other times they will track an old bull for days. It will get bumped into thick stuff, almost unreachable. Yes, you can see the head above the tree line. Good luck getting a shot on the shoulder. That's the 2 sides.

Giraffes need culling on certain properties due to over abundance, fighting, and lack of food. Hunting them is all but essential in certain areas.

On the shipping. Really? Financial ruin? Get real. Shipping any finished taxidermy back since the whole Covid-19 screw up the World plandemic has been ridiculous. Perhaps it is coming back down a bit now. But to ship my giraffe back was not going to financially ruin anyone who was going to ship back a bunch of finished mounts anyway. That crate is packed full of other stuff arranged all around the giraffe so the space was well used.

I do believe a really good option to look into would be to tan the hide in South Africa and ship that to a local taxidermist to mount.

My giraffe was as much or more of a challenge to hunt as buffalo. He saw us and loped off several times until we found a brush covered hill to stalk above him crawling under the thick brush and wedging myself into a bush to shoot from. It was a high heart/lung shot with my Ruger RSM in 505 Gibbs with a 525 grain TSX which was very effective. He ran about 40 yards and breaking several trees and piling up. It was very dramatic and an exciting hunt.

 

[ActionBob]

Man, I haven’t heard anyone mention Relive in years! How did it turn out?

Hard to say

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Nice scolding!
I have never been to Africa, after a year or so here, I am realizing I may well never go.
My. attitude has been forever shaped by Harry Selby saying disgustedly in "Horn of the Hunter", "may as well shoot a bloody giraffe!" Same book makes me want to shoot a buffalo with a double .470.
The whole thing is about our dreams and desires. Big part of why I live in Alaska. I'd have been financially better off had I stayed in Nebraska 45 years ago, but my book of dream tickets would be far less punched.

You’re living where I and many others dream to here in the states. I’ve been looking at property on and off in Alaska to invest in for retirement one day. I personally have a bunch of dream tickets to punch in Alaska.

Realize that dream of a buffalo with a 470 or shooting “a bloody giraffe”. I’ve personally never been to Tanzania but do think the images I conjured up from reading the classical books from authors like Hemingway and Ruark are going to be hard to achieve given how Africa has changed since then. There are still some great options to experience Wild Africa. I’d be looking at Tanzania, Mozambique, parts of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana for this. You owe it to yourself to make a trip to Africa, even if it’s South Africa. South Africa was the gateway for me and will continue to be fire a lot of other people. You CAN find non fenced and game farm experiences in South Africa.

 

[62flint]

Dark giraffe from 2021 hunt with @DAVE FREEBURN SAFARIS

View attachment 596307View attachment 596308

Now that looks good

Couple questions because I just don’t know.
Why shipping so much for a giraffe ? Is it simply the size and weight ?
I could of hunted and shot a giraffe on my last trip. I didn’t. Do not really have a desire to do so. But I am not going to bash you for hunting one. Lord know we have our differences here and in the world in general. But hunters should bad mouth other hunters over what they ethically hunt.
But the more I hear about hunting zebra and giraffe I am warming up to the idea.
My issue is I do not have room for more trophies or hides.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Now that looks good

Couple questions because I just don’t know.
Why shipping so much for a giraffe ? Is it simply the size and weight ?
I could of hunted and shot a giraffe on my last trip. I didn’t. Do not really have a desire to do so. But I am not going to bash you for hunting one. Lord know we have our differences here and in the world in general. But hunters should bad mouth other hunters over what they ethically hunt.
But the more I hear about hunting zebra and giraffe I am warming up to the idea.
My issue is I do not have room for more trophies or hides.

Shipping costs are based on volumetric weight, or actual weight. A finished giraffe is big so it’s going to have a high volumetric weight. If it’s not finished, that’s a lot of skin to roll/fold and bones/skulls can be heavy. Just like eland and buffalo will drive the shipping weight up.

I’ve seems some really cool carved giraffe skulls. You can always have the zebra and giraffe hide tanned and used for upholstery on furniture, bags or gun cases made. There are a ton of ways to utilize trophies or parts of them that don’t involve mounts or hides. Giraffe bone makes awesome silverware handles.

 

[Triathlete3]

How tall was the neck mount?

Just shy of 8 feet with the base.

 

[henandhunt]

Glad the OP asked the question as I’ve enjoyed reading this thread. I’m actually going back to Africa in 2025, this time Namibia. Won a hunt package in a live auction at SCI this year and it included a giraffe.

I’ll say I have been hesitant on whether or not I should switch it out for another game animal.

Just purchased my own first hunting rifle and decided I had to go large enough caliber for a giraffe should I be unable to switch.
Went with a Q Fix 8.6 BLK will use sups.
Trying to decide on a scope now - I’m overwhelmed by options!

Interesting reading tho everyone’s inputs on mounts - @Nomsag beautiful dark bull you had there!

Info on what’s possible, from skin to bones is helpful as it seems like a costly animal to mount as others have discussed.