Hunting South Africa

[ericg1]

I’ll be hunting South Africa in January 2025
What are the pros and cons of hunting in January and pros and cons of taxidermy done by splitting image taxidermy in South Africa. This is my first African hunting trip

Thank you

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

Why january if i may ask
About10 better monthsthan january

 

[Deni81]

Eric I am new to the forum, welcome. I just got back from the Eastern Cape in July so I can't respond to Jan. However the guide I used suggested that I go a different route for taxidermy since he had some bad customer experiences with Spliitting. I heard their showroom is nice but the negatives outweighed. I Dont want to share the negavites since I took the guides word for it but he suggested I use lauriston taxidermy and So far so good on communication and they are only 9 months out on getting my trophies shipped.

 

[Mekaniks]

You came the right place

 

[ericg1]

Why january if i may ask
About10 better monthsthan january

January is the time that works the best for my schedule. I am headed to Argentina in April

 

[JOHN GRENZ]

I used Splitting Image Taxidermy for my June 2021 hunt with KMG and was very happy with the work done. Don’t know if things have changed since. Nothing stays the same forever I guess.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

It will be hot and buggy. As soon as an animal is down they will have to move fast to keep it from spoiling. So the hunt may be over for the day while the carcass is run to a cooler. In contrast, on my first safari I had four animals piled in the truck before lunch of the first day (end of August). It was cool enough to require wearing a couple of layers. In January you can also easily run into issues with hair slippage (very likely) so I suggest skulls only.

 

[Hank2211]

The pros and cons of hunting RSA in January? You've heard the cons - hot, sometimes very hot, buggy, and often very humid. Another con is that the brush may be very thick - to the point where finding the animals will likely be more difficult than it is in winter, when the grass is generally lower and the leaves are off the trees and bushes. The pros? Well, there won't be much competition for the game (other than perhaps local meat hunters), and the walking will be much quieter!

And using a local taxidermy firm? The pros are the cost of the actual taxidermy, partially offset by the extra cost of shipping fully mounted trophies (they take up more space, hence larger and heavier crates). Another pro may be that your work will be done faster than if it was done in North America - but that depends on the taxidermy at each end. You may have a local taxidermy in the US who works fast; many don't.

And the cons? I've used a number of taxidermy firms in South Africa, in the Northwest Province, the Limpopo, and the Eastern Cape. Each time it was the triumph of hope ever experience. I have never found the work to be as good as the work I have had done in North America. In some cases, the work has been so bad that I've trashed the taxidermy upon arrival. I've given up and don't use local taxidermists any longer.

Understand that in South Africa, it's extremely unlikely that your work will be done by an actual taxidermist as we would think of them in North America. The work will be done by one or more local workers, who will be supervised, to a greater or lesser degree, by a taxidermist. It will come down to quality control. Every time I was promised "the work won't leave here until it's perfect." Well, every time, we clearly had different views of perfection.

Good luck with your hunt. I'm envious - I'd love to do my first hunt again!