Question for experienced kudu hunters...

[Tundra Tiger]

From one Tundra to another... thanks for that!

 

[Ridgewalker]

I really dislike my euros where they over bleach the skull, then paint the horns black! A waist of money IMO. A good photo is better. Since my first trip, I have asked the taxidermists to leave the skulls natural color (only dip enough to kill the bugs) and do not paint the horns. Sadly they don’t seem to remember even when it is in writing.

 

[buck wild]

In short, your observation about horn color is correct. They are not black naturally, but range from brown to grey to beige. As others have noted, the black is a combination of poor care with the skinners, additional poor care with the dip and pack and possibly compounded by the taxidermist. All these things COULD be prevented but those things are out of your control for the most part. However, the horns can be restored to their natural aesthetics but it takes a little time and elbow grease. As already attached, I did try to outline the general process in a thread here on AH. Bottom line- they can be done right and they can be fixed.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Thanks buck; I found that thread incredibly helpful. I used to have a side business in KS years ago, doing mostly whitetail and mule deer; what you suggested made perfect sense. Love the idea of wax to fill in gaps. Thank you for sharing that. Though my stuff is likely a lot of months out yet, I'm anxious to see what I'll get.

 

[Ridgewalker]

In short, your observation about horn color is correct. They are not black naturally, but range from brown to grey to beige. As others have noted, the black is a combination of poor care with the skinners, additional poor care with the dip and pack and possibly compounded by the taxidermist. All these things COULD be prevented but those things are out of your control for the most part. However, the horns can be restored to their natural aesthetics but it takes a little time and elbow grease. As already attached, I did try to outline the general process in a thread here on AH. Bottom line- they can be done right and they can be fixed.

I remember reading your write up. I need to search for it and print it out.
Thanks for the reminder.

Found it!
Thread title Re-conditioning horns
Author Buck wild

 

[MarkB]

Another good thread. As for taxidermy my rule is mine look natural, horn color, wounds, ripped/torn ears, scars and animal color. I want my mounted animals to look as close as they did when I harvested them. At least as close as I a budding taxidermist can get with limited African experience. I have had taxidermy done in Africa, NEVER again. I have one impala whose horns are black, don't touch them as your hands get black. I do believe its black shoe polish, and that was after explicit directions to have real looking horns. No pics of my impala has jet black horns or any other antelope for that matter.

I think you made the correct decision, have your buddy do in AK. You can use an airbrush so finish should be exactly how you want them. Buck Wild gave me some outstanding detailed info in the other thread. The man KNOWS, don't think you could go wrong using his knowledge, experience and willingness to help and pass on.

MB

 

[Ryan]

As I write I'm looking at two kudu head mounts done in Namibia and an eland done in RSA, and none of them have black horns. They all have darker horns than original, so some kind of oil was placed on then, but they're fine by me. Wisest move, talk to the taxidermist who is doing the dip pack now. I made it clear they shouldn't be overly oiled.

As for shipping all the way to Alaska, where we both live. Well, it's not going to be cheap until the Delta flights resume. And the difference between dip and pack of those two along with skulls of others compared to two shoulders plus the others as skulls is really not going to be a big difference because the kudus horns are taken off and they do amazing packing. My last box looked like a puzzle when I opened it up, with heads and skulls attached to every side. That's my take on it after seeing boxes of dip and pack only and mine with heads and skulls.

Here's my elands horns, done by Relive out of Port Elizabeth.

 

[fourfive8]

Yes, as most have posted I think there will be some variation in color and texture among all kudu. The amount and type of imbedded debris will vary. The texture and roughness will vary. Most seem average "dirt" color to me... tan to brown. None that I've seen are black, or even close. I've noticed that the color between on-the-hoof and after cleaning, without any paint or oil or any substance... is that they will usually, but not always, darken some. After the fact trying to duplicate the appearance of the on-the-hoof look is going to be impossible or nearly so, IMO. Airbrush painting may duplicate the color but the overall look and appearance will not be the same and it maybe significantly detract from original appearance. Pics are a couple of typical examples of on-the-hoof kudu horns. Airbrushing cannot duplicate the look. Best bet may be to just clean and call it good. A small amount of oil won't hurt and will maintain the original cleaned color with the biggest difference being it will give the horn a slightly translucent appearance- not necessarily a bad thing, IMO. The most difficulty in the "taxidermy" process for horns I believe is replacing lost horn material after cleaning/ bleaching has destroyed some of it. There is a certain amount of new growth, softer horn material around the base of most horns that will be lost in the prep, clean, boil, preserve process. That is the area of the horn that is neither soft tissue nor fully hardened horn. A good taxidermist can replace that loss and come pretty close to duplicating the appearance of the original horn that was there.

As an aside to kudu horns, the trickiest to repair are the base "bulbs" of the reedbuck and they are invariably lost during the cleaning/boiling process... no matter the technique. Very difficult to duplicate the original appearance of that part of reedbuck horns.

Top two pics are of an average, representative, fairly rough textured kudu and of a somewhat smooth textured kudu with a lot of mud. Photos taken immediately after harvest. Bottom pic is an average kudu horn after cleaning and processing with no added enhancement, paint or oil applied.

Top two

 

[James Cook]

Kudu horns are brown/grey/beige - not black. Cost being neutral +/- the deciding factor for me - if there is a mistake or something needs to be fixed when the trophy is received from the taxidermist (and even the good ones can make a mistake). If mounted in Africa, no way to have it fixed without high shipping cost to send back - or pay again in the states to have the mount changed. Used a taxidermist stateside.

 

[Gemsbok45]

My old taxidermist used food wax. Moistened up the horns and brought the true color out. Needs to be redone every couple of years. I use it on all my Africa mounts.

 

[Philip Glass]

Good questions.

The other issue is freight. A freight quote last spring for 3 shoulder and 3 Euro Shield mounts was around $5k. Hoping things improve soon. Airfreight for 3 dip and pack, including a Kudu was closer to $1k, IIRC.

Those, while current, are inflated costs due to fewer flights. The costs will come down

 

[buck wild]

A small amount of oil won't hurt and will maintain the original cleaned color with the biggest difference being it will give the horn a slightly translucent appearance- not necessarily a bad thing, IMO. The most difficulty in the "taxidermy" process for horns I believe is replacing lost horn material after cleaning/ bleaching has destroyed some of it. There is a certain amount of new growth, softer horn material around the base of most horns that will be lost in the prep, clean, boil, preserve process. That is the area of the horn that is neither soft tissue nor fully hardened horn. A good taxidermist can replace that loss and come pretty close to duplicating the appearance of the original horn that was there.

Did you read the attached thread about treating horns? There is a way to re build the "debris and dirt" you discuss and it can be done although it takes about 2 hrs to get a set of kudu horns done.

I have seen mention of using different OILS for horns. My taxidermy mentors and other well respected taxidermist will tell you to never use oil on horns. The oil penetrates the porous horn forever causing it to darken. I think this is the cause of a lot of "dark horns" and some of it happens unintentionally during the boiling process as oils from the head/fat get into the horns. Other times it happens intentionally as taxidermist and others "treat the horns" with various oils. I would recommend staying away from any oil on horns. Antlers are totally different and take well to a light oil as it does not penetrate the antlers. Just my .02 cents