After almost 3 years, it's time

[HookMeUpII]

All of our mounts from RSA from May of 2023 are completed and crated. Wyatt from SSI is handling the import. It's been somewhat of a process, to no fault on Wyatt's end. We were a party of 4, 3 of our crates are with the shipper and 1 is on it's way. The idea is to move them all together, potentially saving on shipping.

Wyatt has done a fantastic job thus far despite the taxidermist and logistics company emailing each of us direct, vs. him, as we had asked them to.

Hopefully I can keep this thread updated with the process, and ultimately pictures.

My initial shipping quote was not outside the realm of what I expected, which is nice.

 

[analog_peninsula]

Threads like this are a reason why I'm not planning on bringing anything back from my hunt in July. Sigh ... my buffalo from '22 only made it to my house about four or five months ago.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Threads like this are a reason why I'm not planning on bringing anything back from my hunt in July. Sigh ... my buffalo from '22 only made it to my house about four or five months ago.

I have 2 trips myself. Both involved getting things to my taxidermist in Wasilla here in Alaska. My first trip I had my mounts in my home in under a year. The second time was just slightly over a year, due to a gaff on my part. My dip and pack company was Lauriston Taxidermy in South Africa. My taxidermist here at home is Jesse Dahlberg.

Maybe I just got lucky finding expeditious companies? Shipping of trophies can happen faster though.

 

[Hunt anything]

The only delay in any of my 1st 4 safaris was covid, it took around 2 years all others have been around 10-14 months. 2 shipments were dip&pack the other 2 finished taxidermy, dip&pack slightly less time.
My next shipment is supposed to be ready in August from my August 25 hunt, time will tell.

Keep us posted on the progress @HookMeUpII , can’t wait to see them.

 

[samson7x]

Wow, I received mine a few weeks ago from a March 2025 hunt. Skulls and skin only though, no shoulder mounts.

 

[dchum]

Sounds like the south African taxidermy just took a long time to complete?

Glad they are done and will be on their way! You should be excited to see them soon

 

[WyoBull]

It took 26 months to get my Buffalo and Croc back from our hunt in August 2023. Got them in October. That seemed like a long time, especially after being told it would take about 14 months. It was pretty much anticlimactic when they arrived since it has been so long from the hunt. I thought the shipping was very expensive, especially compared to my previous trip.
I am done with mounts going forward and will focus more on taking great photos for the memories.
The OP will surely be excited to finally get his mounts back on on the wall. Looking forward to the photos when you have them.

 

[steve white]

African taxidermy also has to take LONG ENOUGH if they use dermestid beetles or dipping in a solution to get all the brain matter and tissue out. I had one shipment that stunk to high heaven because they didn't take long enough. Had to deal with it from this end. It was shipped in a matter of months, though. (and it was all cheaper back then. Glad I had a bunch done then, as I might balk at the prices now) At the time, I even chose to clear customs myself at DFW. It is amazing how much they can pack into a wooden crate, with animals screwed to the side walls, fitting around each other like some kind of puzzle.

The taxidermy I have had completed in Zimbabwe turned out better than having skins shipped over and completed here from Tanzania. YMMV Unfortunately, the other heartache with the Tanzania shipment was due to the forklift operators along the route. They punched a hole in the box, breaking the jaw of a Cape buffalo, and refused any responsibility!!

Am interested in shipping stories so I can learn what to steer clear of in the future, also who to use for the business.

 

[HookMeUpII]

Sounds like the south African taxidermy just took a long time to complete?

Glad they are done and will be on their way! You should be excited to see them soon

Supposedly, there were issues with permitting and possibly the method that was used to preserve the hides. This caused a delay.

We were told outright, 18 months was average. This is a bit of an overshot of that estimate.

Wyatt has worked with this outfit and hinted that their timeline for completion is long.

 

[3chunter]

Both times I went over my dip and pack were here within 6 months and trophies were mounted inside 12 months.
Now the cost to ship and mount the animals is now more than the rest of the hunt itself.
if you can shoot an animal at a good price average $1000 it will cost you about $2000-$2500 extra to ship and shoulder mount it per animal and that’s conservative averaged across a mixed safari with a few small game mixed in.
So might as well break it down like $3000-3500/animal total and that’s if you ship and get the hunt at good price/taxidermy at good price/etc. example 5 animal plains game safari=$15-16500 k all in.
10 animals and shipped back/mounted you are going to spend $30 k minimum all in.
Some people want to compare and contrast hunts. Here is how I look at it when compared to say going out west.
Africa 10 animal safari= $30 k
Out west I can shop and do an elk hunt, mule deer hunt, whitetail hunt, and maybe a cougar hunt for $30 k.

 

[crackerman]

I've got Wyatt and Ian taking care of my trophies too. They are crated and just waiting on permits and shipping from my April 2025 safari.

Hoping they move soon.

 

[HookMeUpII]

I've got Wyatt and Ian taking care of my trophies too. They are crated and just waiting on permits and shipping from my April 2025 safari.

Hoping they move soon.

One thing I have to say is that I feel much better and at ease working with Wyatt. If I had to handle a lot of this myself, which happens with other importers, I'd probably be really stressed.

 

[jomw10]

Mine were finish taxidermy with Lauriston, 3 pedestals, rug, 7 shoulder mounts. They were stateside in 7 months.

 

[Sabre]

One thing I have to say is that I feel much better and at ease working with Wyatt. If I had to handle a lot of this myself, which happens with other importers, I'd probably be really stressed.

What taxidermist in Africa did you use?