Taxidermy and shipping of trophys

I'm planning a plains game safari in August 2011. I'll be hunting in Limpopo Province. Will I be better off having the taxidermy done at home (USA) or in South Africa? Does any one have a taxidermist that they can recommend in SA That does award winning work? Any info will be appreciated

Hey Cyrossi,
I don't know for sure but I have hunted in the Limpopo Province twice and both times we wre told to get our taxidermy work done in the US. Not so much as for quality but the cost and difficulty of shipping the finished product. I can reccomend an excellent dip and pack company "Trophy Pro SA" We used them both in 2008 and again last year. Everything arrived in good order about six months after our safari both times. JRH

Originally Posted by cyrossi

I'm planning a plains game safari in August 2011. I'll be hunting in Limpopo Province. Will I be better off having the taxidermy done at home (USA) or in South Africa? Does any one have a taxidermist that they can recommend in SA That does award winning work? Any info will be appreciated

Its a difficult one but honetsly in the end it works to be around the same money getting it mounted here or in the US but getting it done in the US you can keep an eye on it.
What is definetly whorthwhile to do over here is tanning of skins shipping a salted skin back or a tanned skin works to the same maybe even less so maybe do dip and pack but get the flatskins tanned here.
With dip and pack the skulls are also almost ready to be mounted and used less work for your taxidermist.

But whoever you use make sure they dont overboil the skulls and horns.

Otherwise there is some very good taxidermists in SA Higveld or Lifeform and a whole bunch more.

Thanks for the info.

If your going to South Africa, a great taxidermist you could use over there is Highveld, they do fantastic work, some of the best in Africa.

I would recommend having it done in the U.S.
When your stuff gets here you can examine it to make sure it is actually your stuff, before you spend a small fortune on it. Also you can check your capes for hair slip before they are mounted. If it gets to your home and something is wrong there is little you can do about it.

I of course would say bring them back to the USA to have done. Its alot easier than you think to have them shipped/etc....and you can check on them anytime you want to. Just pick out a african taxidermist and all will be fine..Contact your taxidermist before you go so they can supply you with shipping tags for customs and all the item you will need to know.And if they don't,just check my studio out....Have a great time.....

I would have to agree with what most say & have your skins & horns shipped home and get them mounted here in the states.
I reccommend this just because I think it is easier to work with cients on their mounts with poses & alterations and keeping the client updated with their mounts throughout the mounting process. We like to email client pictures of their trophies throughout the mounting process to keep them updated on each trophy.
I try to look at it as if I was the hunter. Its alot easier to keep in contact with the taxidermist here in the states since the hunter(you) also lives here in the states.
What we do for our clients is to supply them with plenty of shipping tags for all their animals and shipping labels for the crates to be shipped.

What about Pro-Dip Limpopo, the dip and pack company in Lephalale? I heard their work is great?

Originally Posted by cyrossi

I'm planning a plains game safari in August 2011. I'll be hunting in Limpopo Province. Will I be better off having the taxidermy done at home (USA) or in South Africa? Does any one have a taxidermist that they can recommend in SA That does award winning work? Any info will be appreciated

All post have been good information for you to use.

I have talked to individuals who have done it both ways. Mounts completed in Africa and then shipping them home or shipping the raw material home and having a local professional taxidermist complete the work....The individuals were all happy...and were comparing the basic final costs.

Having work performed by a good African taxidermist will cost less than in the USA, however the shipping home is more expensive. All said and done the cost are about equal having the work done in Africa or having the work performed at home.

When i go next year i will look at having some work performed over their and some in the states. That way i believe you will reduce some costs. Like European mounts, tanned hides performed over in Africa and the life size or shoulder mounts in the states.

Originally Posted by James.Grage

All post have been good information for you to use.

I have talked to individuals who have done it both ways. Mounts completed in Africa and then shipping them home or shipping the raw material home and having a local professional taxidermist complete the work....The individuals were all happy...and were comparing the basic final costs.

Having work performed by a good African taxidermist will cost less than in the USA, however the shipping home is more expensive. All said and done the cost are about equal having the work done in Africa or having the work performed at home.

When i go next year i will look at having some work performed over their and some in the states. That way i believe you will reduce some costs. Like European mounts, tanned hides performed over in Africa and the life size or shoulder mounts in the states.

I agree about the euros, they take up no more room than a plain skull. As for tanning, flat hides and back skins yes but capes and lifesize no. Too many times hides tanned in africa need to be re-tanned to be suitable for taxidermy once brought home. It is better to just let your taxi get the hides tanned by someone who he knows can get the best results and it will be at no additional cost to you, unlike re-tanning which will be. There are many different types of tan all yeilding very different results, this is best left to the experts.

Diamond hitch..

i agree with you on the tanning of capes and hides...in the states by local taxidermist.

Another thing to consider is the taxidermist your going to use in the states. Do some research to make sure he/she has done African animals before. Ask to look at previous pictures of mounts done of the animals you are thinking about or hoping to take on your hunt so you can decide for yourself if it looks like the kind of quality you would expect for your mount. Also make sure they are the ones doing the work in their shop and not a newbie. While I agree everyone needs to start somewhere I would rather it wasn't mine for the kind of dollars it costs for this service. While your local or smaller shops may do a hell of a job on a whitetail or elk this maybe the first or one of very few of your African animals they have ever done. You should know who your going to use before you go so they can provide you with tags for the shipping of your trophies. This makes things much easier and hopefully problem free. Some taxidermy shops have the ability to ship your trophy straight to their shop for inspection/customs clearing and not done elsewhere and then shipped on from there. Last but not least is take plenty of close up pictures of details of your animal. Things like the inside of the ears on a kudu and facial features. Each animal has a little different pattern and or colors and this way the person doing the work on your mount can look at the picture for reference when he's doing the sculpting and air brushing for your mount. These small details really make your mount come alive and it will look just like it did when you took your trophy in Africa.