Taxidermy or next safari?

[Ado]

Hi All,

I have two problems and wonder whether anyone else has faced the same issue, or has advice on what I should do next.

1. Too many trophies from my safaris, a wife who refuses to allow them in the house, and no space for them to be displayed.

2. Insufficient funds to allocate to going on another safari.

I can sell my trophies to solve both of these problems (yes they are both first world problems I accept) but the blood, sweat and tears that went into the hunting of them makes it painful to consider parting.

All in all I have 16 trophies from buff to baboon... and each of them has a story.

Should I sell to make new memories, or keep them and savour the old memories?

Ado...

 

[cagkt3]

Sell the wife, keep the trophies

 

[cpr0312]

Wow @Ado ,

I just cant see getting rid of all those great memories, or I think it would be tough for me to do so! I also see wanting to go on another safari, tough call.

 

[Ado]

Sell the wife, keep the trophies

Classic... had not thought of that one!

Cheers..

Ado

 

[lwaters]

I did the same thing shoulder mounted everything. The buff will be my last mount. Hunting now just for the experience. Sooner or later you have to settle for pictures

 

[jpr792]

Dear Ado
...you do not sell your memories that you have created when you sell your trophies...
When creating new memories, it does not replace the previous ones, it is making/creating new memories...
No one can take your memories away from you; trophies yes, but not your memories.
Go ahead: start planning your next safari - and bring your wife along so that she can also enjoy making memories in Africa.

 

[Royal27]

Easy call for me, and I'm assuming you plan to keep the wife.

I'd sell every trophy I had and never bring home another if that was the only way I could go on an additional hunt, and I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I know some guys would rather sit at home and not go hunting if they can't bring a trophy back, but that's just not me. It's all about the hunt, the experience, and the memories for me, not the trinket.

Dear Ado
...you do not sell your memories that you have created when you sell your trophies...
When creating new memories, it does not replace the previous ones, it is making/creating new memories...
No one can take your memories away from you; trophies yes, but not your memories.
Go ahead: start planning your next safari - and bring your wife along so that she can also enjoy making memories in Africa.

well said

 

[VonJager]

Well, I wouldn't have married a woman who wouldn't let me have hunting trophies in the house, and I am not that good at empathy.

Where are your trophies now? You can't allocate new funds for a new safari because of said wife?

I think I would be wife shopping instead of taxidermy selling.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Can you really get that much money from selling the trophies?

A taxidermy cull might assist with the numbers and space, but which ones.

At some point pictures are going to save you time, space and resources and a scrap with your bride.

 

[CEO]

Can you really get that much money from selling the trophies?

This is my question as well. While deep down I would not want to sell the trophies, especially the buffalo, if that was the only way to go on another safari I would do so. My wife is a home builder and is currently designing our (her) dream house. I've already made the stipulation I will have a few trophies in the house, but I will also have a building on the property for other trophies and your run of the mill man stuff. Maybe get a climate controlled storage unit where you can visit your trophies, have a Scotch, and let the wife be happy.

 

[LivingTheDream]

I would keep a couple and sell most. No way I would sell shoulder buff mount. I am all for selling stuff to go hunting. And on future safaris just don't do any taxidermy. It really isn't that bad, I enjoy my trophies but I really enjoy hunting.

 

[cagkt3]

Easy call for me, and I'm assuming you plan to keep the wife.

You know what they say about assuming things @Royal27

 

[CAustin]

Get a new wife! Kidding of course........we'll maybe not!
Keep your trophies sir! The memories are there with each one of them!

 

[Ado]

Can you really get that much money from selling the trophies?

A taxidermy cull might assist with the numbers and space, but which ones.

At some point pictures are going to save you time, space and resources and a scrap with your bride.

I believe so... it looks like I could get between $15,000 and $20,000 AUD for the lot. Not often this sort of thing comes up in Australia for sale especially as a collection.

That would buy a lot of safari!

Ado

 

[Ado]

Get a new wife! Kidding of course........we'll maybe not!
Keep your trophies sir! The memories are there with each one of them!

Hi Charlie,

Getting rid of wife not an option... love her and she is the mum of my beautiful boy - must plan the next generation of hunters!

Ado

 

[Mort Hill]

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? Sounds like you are gonna be married for a while, so it is a given that you will have to have a man cave, man room, man garage at some time in the future. I ask because time may be on your side. Be patient. My taxidermy is a tangible reminder of each hunt and adventure. I love to look at them, touch the horns, hide, and tell the story of each hunt to those who will listen. So, yes I have a full trophy room, and mounts stored in the garage, because while I have a patient and understanding wife, she always ask when is enough enough. I do not have a good answer. Yet I keep going on safari and keep getting mounts done. So I just tell her one more safari and keep going. Point being, one day I will leave this world and then it will be my sons' problem and I won't care. Selfish I know. But until then, I will continue to admire and reminisce with a smile on my face, even when my hunting days have ended. So be patient, keep your trophies, and start planning for that man cave.

 

[Red Leg]

If we keep hunting and have both finite economic and real estate resources (like most of us), we all reach the point where we can't bring it all home. You must then decide whether or not to keep hunting. You have reached it a bit sooner than others. That is ok - there is nothing wrong with a photograph. I build albums through Shutterfly of each of my expeditions. It is a combination journal and photo album. Other exceptional trophies or memorable people and places are preserved on canvas photos on the wall. All take far less space and expense than a shoulder mount. I know many people who no longer hunt Africa because they have no room for taxidermy. That is, to my mind at least, nuts. As I mentioned in another thread, my mounts are representative of my hunting experiences - not their sum total. I will be in Mozambique for two weeks in October. I anticipate shooting 7-10 game animals during that hunt. Yet, I only will bring home two or three Euro-mounts and one or two skins. However, I will also bring home several hundred photos. I can relive the hunt through those photographic cues just as readily as through a piece of taxidermy.

 

[kesha]

Well there are several avenues to take 1: Ditch the wife 2: Sell the whole lot 3: Build a man cave game room at one end of the house and she doesn't have to go in their look at it as a hide out. lol
Back to #2 if you wait too long to sell when you pass they will definitely sell them for way less than their worth so spend the $$ on you.
Back to # 3 If you build said man cave make sure it is big enough for everything .... I didn't lol

 

[K-man]

I was in the same boat as you. many different trips, lots of taxidermy and NONE in the house. We have a wall 18 foot high and 30 ft long with never a nail in it. The joke in our family is "my next wife is going to let me put trophies up on that wall, she says your next wife isn't getting that wall..." It is a fine understanding. HER solution was to encourage me to build a trophy room. Do you have any options or a club where they could be stored for you?View attachment 200009

 

[CAustin]

Hi Charlie,

Getting rid of wife not an option... love her and she is the mum of my beautiful boy - must plan the next generation of hunters!

Ado

Understood. Wouldn't trade mine either!