Hi
@Alaska Hunter.... I hunted RSA in May of this past year. I live in Dillingham. I will get a portion of my trophies this week. Let me tell you how mine has unfolded. This WAS my first rodeo, so there are probably better/cheaper/more efficient ways.
I had ten trophies. I opted to only dip and pack over there. I have a buddy in Wasilla who is a taxidermist who will do a portion of my work. The goal was to get it to him.
The taxidermist who did the dipping and packing handed off to a shipper over there, who got it stateside. I do not remember their company name but the cost was $1800. They got it from RSA to San Francisco via Turkish Airways. They were very responsive to emails. Tom Kelly had good words about them and said he deals with them often. Without knowing if the price was fair I have no complaints about the service.
In SF I was advised one of my trophies was found to have organic matter on it by the USDA. I was told my shipment needed to be sent to an approved facility to deal with it. At this time Tom Kelly's company Trophy Shoppers took over. I would invite Tom to jump in if I muck up the description of events to any degree. In the end Tom got my stuff sent to the Wildlife Gallery, as that's who my taxidermist uses for tanning. I would add Tom is terrific at communications too, and answered all my questions promptly. I believe it was another $700 from SF to the Wildlife Gallery.
The Wildlife Gallery pulled the hides and capes for tanning. They sent the skulls and horns to my guy in Wasilla last week; he received them Friday. He will keep the two I am having shoulder mounts done with and he's going to send the rest to me. I am doing a large scale Euro display myself (I used to have a small taxidermy business). I should have them by the end of the week. Jesse says he will have the hides and capes within a month. I anticipate having everything back by summer.
To me the whole process felt a little convoluted. But this is my first time and I live off the beaten path in Alaska. The two shipping companies communicated very well. I have no idea if the cost of shipping is good, bad, or otherwise, and it's not quite over yet. I do believe, having conversed with several experienced African hunters, that I am getting things in decent time. Less than 8 months later and I am going to get to hold most of my horns again; I am beyond excited.
Sorry for the length of this. Hopefully it helps some. Despite my pre-trip planning there were two things I was still uncertain about when I went over: tipping and shipping. I feel like I managed to navigate both without major pitfalls. If others would care to share how I can improve, I'm all ears. I hope to make it back soon. Thanks in advance.
