Not keeping trophies on first plains game hunt?

[Dr Ray]

Correct me if I'm wrong but do you not get charged the 14% VAT in South Africa for any trophies that are left behind?

If you export one part of a trophy there's no tax.
I suggest tan the skins.

 

[Ty Howard]

Dip and pack, ship the hides and horns back

Have the mounts done as you can afford them

 

[Ryan]

As you have gathered, this is a very personal decision.

The cold hard fact is the hunt is only part of the costs, that said going off of your first post I'm guessing you'd only looked at US taxidermist's. Not a bad choice for the shoulder mount but honestly for the skull mounts (aka Euro mount) good ones can be done for a lot cheaper in southern Africa. You have time so I'd say start looking at local taxidermists in the country of Africa you're hunting for those and have the kudu dip/packed for that one if you'd prefer it done stateside at your leisure and as money allows. I have a few skulls done in Namibia by Hunter's Pride and I have no regrets. The key is to take the time to find a good taxidermist over there since some are bad. Dig a little in AH for opinions on good ones of wherever you are going.

 

[Adrian]

You could also consider getting the skulls dipped and shipped back to your residence and do the euro mounts yourself.
I will be tackling mine when I get them in a couple of weeks.
I don't know what the process is or how well prepared they will be when they arrive but I do my own deer trophies here in the UK and will apply the same procedures to my African skulls, just on a larger scale.

 

[cpr0312]

once it's left behind, it's left behind. It would be a shame to look back in two years time wishing you had done It differently. Even if you just dipped and packed everything and did one critter at a time as finances allowed!

Big +1 on this!

 

[thi9elsp]

As others have said, I would suggest to get the skulls, horns and at least 1 or 2 hides sent home. When you are in the field you'll know which are most special to you. Once the hide is tanned, you can wait until you can afford it and have pillows, belts, etc. made.

 

[Bob Daymon]

I am taking my first trip to Africa in April '18. I have chosen an outfitter.

This is the bag included with my hunt:
Kudu
Blesbok
Springbok
Impala
duiker
warthog

I am planning out all the finances and I got a quote for a shoulder mount on the Kudu and euro mounts on everything else. I will do without at the price I was quoted. The skull mounts averaged about $300 each (minus the warthog) and the kudu shoulder mount was $1600 and I got a shipping estimate of $1000 give or take.

I simply can not afford to spend that amount on taxidermy.

The level of experience on africahunting is mind blowing. I would like to know some thoughts on forgoing the taxidermy altogether. My house is too small for a Trophy room and my man cave is my new pick up so I don't really have the room for them either but I must say a $2500 or so tab for 4/5 skull mounts shipped is my first reason for asking this question AND that is skipping the shoulder mount on the kudu.

Any tips on memorable pictures in lieu of mounts? Can I ship the horns only? Trophies are way down my list of "wants" for this hunt if that matters.

It really seems there is a "new" added cost around every corner hunting in Africa and these costs are in the hundreds to thousands of dollars. Gun permits, flights, secondary flights, taxidermy, shipping, weight restrictions, baggage fees, tipping, insurance, layovers etc etc. The hunt is the cheapest part of the trip it seems.

Watch closely
Cost me 2000 in shipping prep and handling just to get my 5 animals to
Taxidermists
Caution:
African taxidermists seems cheaper
But if something isn't right?
What u gonna do send it back?
And they sure know that.
Saw a kudu that's eyes were crossed!
Bob

 

[flyfishaz]

Before I went I always wanted an exact idea on how much it would cost to mount and ship trophies. Just to give you an idea of the cost, here is what I paid and what I had done at Karoo Taxidermy. My total cost was $3433.46

Kudu shoulder mount $800
Impala shoulder mount $450
Gemsbuck euro mount $225
Warthog tusks (cleaned) $45
Kudu back skin (tan) $180
Blesbok flat skin (tan) $105

Admin, crating, export
document $180.50

Shipping $882.96


Once it arrives in the States:
Container receipt/exams/unloading/terminal, etc………. $250

Clearance through all gov’t agencies…………………………….. $195

ISF / AMS…………………………………………………………………… $70

Warehouse load out………………………………………………………. $50

------------
$565

 

[Michael Dean]

Just a thought; if you're not going to bring them home or mount them you just might consider changing your hunt to a cull hunt. You could end up hunting twice the number of animals at half the price.

 

[enysse]

For everyone it very personal. My trophies have been sitting in storage for 4.5 years. I personally can't wait to unwrap the plastic and put them back up in my house. There are pros and cons to the taxidermy. The cost of plain game hunts double when you do nice taxidermy!!!! I'm not a big fan of European mounts, they still take up a lot of space and cost WAY TOO MUCH to get back from Africa. Everything depends on where you live, I live in the suburbs of Milwaukee, it's anything but cheap to live there. Space is at a premium. A nicely done trophy room or presentation of your mounts in your house to me looks classy and good but that is my personal two cents.

 

[Hank2211]

When I first began hunting, bringing the trophy home and finding a place for it on a wall, or floor, or wherever, was important to me. These days, with more time behind me than I likely have in front, I find that I rarely even see most of the trophies I've brought back over the years, other than those which are in my den.

Almost imperceptibly, I've found myself focusing more on the hunt and less on the trophy. It's hunting I love to do, not staring at animals on a wall. I find I don't need a trophy to make myself happy, nor do I need anything more than perhaps a picture or a hunt report to remind me of the animals I've hunted. I've thought about this a lot, because I have one of the spiral horned antelope left to hunt - the Lord Derby Eland. The other eight are on the walls somewhere. Will a Lord Derby mount join them? The more I think about it, the more I find it's not a certainty. Apart from the fact that it's a big mount, I don't really think I need the mount to derive a sense of accomplishment. And apart from the LDE, I'm mounting very little these days, and expect to mount even fewer going forward. In fact, I have a brief hunt scheduled in RSA for this summer, and my current plans are to bring back nothing but pictures and memories.

My feelings are not particularly motivated by the practical considerations - trophies take up a lot of space, and many of us are at a stage of life where we are considering downsizing; and trophies cost money to mount and ship which could be spent on more hunting (it's not lost on me that I've probably spent the equivalent of a full bag Tanzanian safari on taxidermy). Those considerations are real though, and they may matter to you. My decision is based on the fact that I don't feel I need trophies anymore.

If mounting trophies is important to you, I completely understand. It was to me at one time, and may still be for certain special trophies. I equally understand if you choose to bring home pictures and memories rather than animal bits and pieces.

Either way, it's a personal decision, and I feel no need to be defensive about my choice. And neither should you.

 

[enysse]

Pictures are perfectly acceptable! In some ways if I wasn't so visual I would have done just pictures. It would saved on a ton of housing space, I know my significant other would be perfectly fine with zero mounts in the house. The money I would have saved could have bought more hunts or a deer hunting property. Life is full of choices and consequences!

 

[Gemsbok Gangsta]

Seen this done... bring home horn only and lots of pics. Buy faux skulls and build plaque mounts as you want or can afford The horn must come home !!!!!

 

[Spearhead]

You could also consider getting the skulls dipped and shipped back to your residence and do the euro mounts yourself.
I will be tackling mine when I get them in a couple of weeks.
I don't know what the process is or how well prepared they will be when they arrive but I do my own deer trophies here in the UK and will apply the same procedures to my African skulls, just on a larger scale.

@Adrian saw this old post and was curious the condition your skulls when they arrived, and how did your self done euros turn out? I’m struggling the worst with this topic posed by the OP too. My wife says she knows I have to mount something. I’m not a fan of euros and don’t have the room or finances to mount 4 or 5 heads, so I am googling PG mount photos and trying decide on “the one” . I talked to one guy who is hiring a videographer. I read another (actually several) make a safari trip photo book via a few online services. So many options (thankfully) for such a personal decision.

I walk by my mounts and I’m immediately taken back to the location. The sights, sounds, smells and overall experience. It’s what a shoulder mount does to and for me. My wife doesn’t hunt, eats what I harvest, but does not understand my passion for a shoulder mount . My mounts have lots of feelings and emotions attached to them.
photos of me with the animals doesn’t do it for me like a mount does........

 

[JimP]

We had a videographer on my first hunt, but I shared him with 2 other hunters. On 2 of the days that I had him nothing happened. Just a lot of walking and glassing. I did get one stalk and animal on the video out of the 6 that I shot. This was at $300 a day.

Now after 6 years I never watch it or even look at the DVD that I have all of my pictures on, but it was nice to show others where a group of people could watch it on the TV instead of going through a book.

But when I look at my 5 mounts I can remember every second of the stalk to get close enough to them

On my upcoming safari I plan on only bringing one trophy home to mount. The rest will be euroed and I'll build a trophy tree to exhibit them. That is unless one of the others is a exceptional animal.

 

[R.M.C.]

@Adrian saw this old post and was curious the condition your skulls when they arrived, and how did your self done euros turn out? I’m struggling the worst with this topic posed by the OP too. My wife says she knows I have to mount something. I’m not a fan of euros and don’t have the room or finances to mount 4 or 5 heads, so I am googling PG mount photos and trying decide on “the one” . I talked to one guy who is hiring a videographer. I read another (actually several) make a safari trip photo book via a few online services. So many options (thankfully) for such a personal decision.

I walk by my mounts and I’m immediately taken back to the location. The sights, sounds, smells and overall experience. It’s what a shoulder mount does to and for me. My wife doesn’t hunt, eats what I harvest, but does not understand my passion for a shoulder mount . My mounts have lots of feelings and emotions attached to them.
photos of me with the animals doesn’t do it for me like a mount does........

I agree. I'm instantly transported to the time and location of the animals I have shoulder or full mounted. I couldn't bare just taking pictures and leaving them for god knows who to mess with lol . I'm going for my first safari next year and I'm definitely getting a few of my favorites mounted and lots of tanned hides and euros if things go well. Maybe another thing to consider is tanned hides. I really love all of mine. Gotta be less room than shoulder mounts so gotta be little cheaper to ship. That's my two cents lol

 

[Erny]

Interesting old tread. I usually do a mix of skulls and shoulder mounts. I have thought of just taking pictures of the trophies, but the idea does not appeal to me.

Some of my favorite mounts are my Skulls hanging on the walls. Although a shoulder mounted Gemsbok is an impressive mount. The idea of doing skulls and/or flat skins is an much less expensive option, if taxidermy costs are a major consideration.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

When I go to Safari and Outdoor it is the myriad of photos that hold my attention, all b&w and usually have a few interesting words. A few prize mounts for sure, but why not mount the pictures too? Adds the human side of the hunt too.

 

[mikecatt13]

I'm still awaiting my first safari so this is t first hand experience but from everything I've heard, a "dipped and packed" skull is basically a completed european/skull mount (without plaque of course) so if you want the trophies you may want to look into simply dip and pack with shipping. Could also talk to a taxidermist about how long dip and packed hides last, I know a tanned and frozen hide can last many many years, maybe you want to get the stuff home and some or all tanned and have th taxidermy done at a later date?

 

[tedthorn]

This is an old thread but an easy answer.
Ship home the horns and nothing else. If you decide to do any taxidermy in the years ahead plains game capes are easily obtainable and will cost less to buy tanned then to have them DPS and tanned