Taxidermy Progress Reports

[BRICKBURN]

If I manage to get it together. Into Willmore into a little valley that everyone avoids and might just hold a sheep.
It's a lottery for sure.

 

[Diamondhitch]

I wouldnt say a lottery but there is alot of work and scouting involved to consistantly be successful. My personal honey hole was ruined a few years ago by one of my brothers buddies. For years we never saw a soul or any sign of anyone hunting there, we took a different trail in and out each time to avoid packing a trail, it was great, then bigmouth told and took so many people there that there is a well beaten trail and our camp now appears on the Willmore map. We had probably 5 years of wood gathered and that dissapeared in one summer. So much for that.
There are still sheep there but it is no longer a refuge that they seek when the pressure is on.

Is this your first bighorn hunt?

 

[BRICKBURN]

No I have chased them for years.
One little guy on the wall and one monster left on the mountain unretrievable. (Nightmare)

Willmore is more about the trip than the trophy. If you survive it is a reward.

I have heard that horror story about sheep spots too many times. Take some deer hunter up there and they think the sheep just magically appeared. For the guy who did no work, they did.
Unless they burn the shoe leather (rubber) themselves, leave them behind.

 

[Diamondhitch]

Unless they burn the shoe leather (rubber) themselves, leave them behind.

Couldnt agree more, some people can be trusted and appreciative, others are just mouthpeices.

You will love the Willmore, the rams tend to be small on average but there is the odd good one. I have spent many years there and there are still far more trails that I havent ridden and mountains I havent climbed than those I have. Anytime you are in a wilderness area that it takes many days to ride across you know it will be a special trip. Make sure you give me a shout when you are heading up/back. You will be driving right past my place.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I just got the email with the pictures of my mounts and of course the bill.

Three months ahead of schedule. Scheduled for packing and shipping March 28.
I am getting some quotes for the shipping, just to double check.

All things going well these critters will be on my wall in UNDER A YEAR from being hunted. Amazing.

Here are some final pictures close ups and the whole mount.

Bushbuck

Kudu

Nyala

Astounding how a picture from a different angle shrinks a record book Nyala.
You sure need good pictures to show your trophies off to their best.


Reedbuck

 

[saeng101]

I will add my $.02 also. We have been sending all of our work to Johannes also. His shop is within walking distance of some really great nyala and kudu spots. He has done about 50 trophies for us now and there is never a problem. As a side note he is also a good PH.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I will add my $.02 also. We have been sending all of our work to Johannes also. His shop is within walking distance of some really great nyala and kudu spots. He has done about 50 trophies for us now and there is never a problem. As a side note he is also a good PH.

Damn, man don't be telling everybody!

 

[35bore]

Brick, congrats, ALL good news.

 

[Stretch]

BRICKBURN, Congratulations! Nice animals and nice report. I just shot Ubombo Taxidermy, KZN an e-mail for quote on skull mounts and dip and ship. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thus far Johannes has made one little boo boo on an invoice. Nothing that I am concerned about.
More than pleased.

I hope you get to use his services.

I just await safe packing and shipping and then all the attendant work of reinforcing walls to get these critters hanging in the right places.

 

[RickB]

Less than a year is great! Hopefully it all works out. I just talked to safari cargo systems yesterday. They picked up my trophies frome Moredou last week. But he said the export permits had expired? Has to get them re-issued. 2-3 weeks for that, then he can ship them. I am still hoping for less than one year.

 

[Diamondhitch]

Is it just me or are those pic links working for everyone else? Id love to see them.

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Is it just me or are those pic links working for everyone else? Id love to see them.

The issue has been fixed.

 

[Diamondhitch]

Thanks Jerome.

Nice looking mounts! I especially like the Reedbuck. Brick I know what you are saying about the photos, the smaller of my Nyala bulls looks bigger in the feild pics as well. It is still a nice mount. Whats the deal with the missing Kudu ear?

 

[BRICKBURN]

I am sure that when they get home that they will look just fine and there will be no more perspective loss/distortion from photos.

As for the Kudu, it is a good story.

I snuck up on him on his deaf side, it turned out. Which of course we did not know until quite a while after he was on the ground.
He was walking past below us with his right side toward me in thick cover and never bolted once at the three shots that were required, due to bush veld ricochets. It seemed strange at the start and I was convinced it was all about the great job we did on stalking in on him. The stalk was a good one given that he was always in a bachelor group and we had to walk through what sounded like ankle deep corn flakes to get close.

When we came up on him on the ground it took several minutes for us to notice that he had no ear. The PH even ran his hand over the area and no one noticed. Then during the process of setting up one picture angle it dawned on us.
There was no ear. We all laughed.

Johannes, the taxidermist was not told beforehand that it had no ear and he actually emailed and offered to fix it earlier this month. I told him that I wanted it mounted exactly the way I found it. That is the trophy.
I also wanted to wall pedestal in that direction in order to fit in trophy space allotted in the house, but it will show off this incredible animal to its best in my mind.
This Kudu Bull survived with one ear growing large enough to hit Rowland Ward's record book. That is the toughest Kudu on the planet in my opinion.

Speculation, after the fact, was that someone screwed up a cull shot when he was very young or a Leopard missed his meal.

The mount did it's job. You asked the question.

 

[Diamondhitch]

Thats great, I love character especially on a mount. You made a good decision to mount him like that instead of "fixing" him up and the pose is perfect to display it without making him look lopsided to those who only see a missing ear instead of a story.

Maybe next time you can shoot a blind one to mount next to him. LOL

 

[BRICKBURN]

The Impala was an ancient monster with a broken hind leg.

I got lots of razing about only taking handicapped animals. So, big and blind works for me.

Lions, Hyena and Leopards can't be wrong!

 

[Diamondhitch]

The Impala was an ancient monster with a broken hind leg.

I got lots of razing about only taking handicapped animals. So, big and blind works for me.

Lions, Hyena and Leopards can't be wrong!

LOL Dont feel bad. Years ago we were after a huge 190" typical buck and about a week in my buddy got a good look at him heading into a bluff with a doe, he called his cousin to rattle for him. A deer approached the edge of the bush but stayed back just far enough he couldnt get a good look. He said to his cousin "is that the big buck?" His cousin had a clear view of the deer and thought he was being sarcastic so he said "ya thats him" and my buddy shot. That has to be 12 years ago or so and he still gets the "one horn wave" every time we see him while hunting. The one horn wave, in case you were wondering, is done with your thumb on your head while wiggling your fingers. LOL

 

[BRICKBURN]

One of the PH's told me about a hunter he took out that did not understand very much english.
Instructing the hunter to only shoot when told to do so, he thought the client understood.
It turned out that there was a minor problem.
The client had the scope on an animal and the Ph was on the Binos assessing the animal.
The excited hunter is just chomping at the bit to take a trophy.
The PH finally gets to the point of decision. It is not good enough. So, he says "Don't shoot!"
Bang!
The hunter never understood the "don't" but he sure understood the "shoot".
Oops.
From that point on, he held his hand over the objective lens until it was time to shoot.

 

[Diamondhitch]

LOL. Im sure the language barrier has frustrated many a PH over the years. A little knowledge is often more dangerous than none at all.

"It would be a BIG mistake to SHOOT, he is definitely not a TROPHY!!!) BANG