Out of Africa (warning: NOT 56K friendly...)

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What is it about North American taxidermists that keep you waiting for years to get your mounts done? I have 5 mounts I'm still waiting for, some of them going back more than 4 years... :mad:

Then, in total contrast, there's the experience of dealing with a reputable taxidermy studio in Africa -- in this case, Karoo Taxidermy in South Africa. It has been a grand total of 10-1/2 months since they took possession of my capes and horns, and I just received notice that all but one of my 18 mounts have been completed (just waiting on the bushbuck now).

OK, but if it's that fast, the quality must suck, right? I mean, it's like the old saying goes: we all want fast, cheap and good -- but you can never have more than two out of those three. Or so I thought until today. Fast, cheap and most definitely good! Well, maybe not cheap -- but certainly a lot cheaper than having the work done here, even with shipping costs factored in.

I can't wait until they get here and I can finally play the part of the sensitive modern guy who wakes up and tells his wife, "Honey, let's redecorate today..." :dancingbanana:

Chamca Baboon. Rather large male (estimated at around 60-65 lbs), and a very old one as evidenced by the worn down fangs/canines, which can be longer than a leopard's in a younger baboon.
Baboon1.jpg

Black wildebeest.
Blackwildebeest.jpg

Blesbuck.
Blesbuck.jpg

Blue wildebeest. Missed the Rowland Ward record book by just 1/2" in overall score.
Bluewildebeest.jpg

Common bush duiker (left) and steenbuck (right). Both made the Rowland Ward book.
DuikerandSteenbuck.jpg

Gemsbuck
Gemsbuck.jpg

Southern Impala. Missed Rowland Ward by 6/8" overall.
Impala.jpg

The best of the four kudu I shot.
Kudu1.jpg

Red Lechwe. This guy was an "oops". The guide and I were stalking a group of six in thick cover, 4 cows and 2 rams. One ram was magnificent, the other not quite worth taking. After a long stalk, we got noticed when the animals were all screened by heavy bush. We froze for a couple minutes, me with my rifle at my shoulder and the guide with binoculars glued to his face. After what seemed forever, he directed my attention to a particular patch of hide and told me to let one loose. As it turned out, he guessed wrong --it was a very clean kill, but the wrong ram. But it was my first lechwe, and still a hell of a lot fun. And as they say -- s!@t happens. It gives me something to look forward to on my next trip.
Lechwe2.jpg

Mountain reedbuck. This one made Rowland Ward.
MountainReedbuck1.jpg

Nyala.
Nyala2.jpg

Red Hartebeest.
Redhartbeest.jpg

Kalahari springbuck. Now a proud member of the Rowland Ward club.
Springbuck1.jpg

Common springbuck
Springbuck2.jpg

Common waterbuck. Another Rowland Ward winner.
Waterbuck1.jpg

Burchell's zebra
Zebra1.jpg
 
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Wow...great looking mounts. Can you please give us Non-African game oriented people the names of the animals. And if you don't mind a ball-park $ figure on both the hunt and the mounting. Thanks
 
Very nice looking work indeed ... and good turn-around time.

Just be careful when you say to your wife ... "let's redecorate..."
she just might agree and set up an appointment with an Architect.
... for total redecoration - & higher ceilings !

Yes, some Canadian Taxidermists can brutal on turnaround time, but the best are very good indeed. Then again, the wait for a bespoke best quality double from a London firm will be about the same. :)
 
wouln't want that baboon staring at me when I got up in the middle of the night for a glass of water.
 
I am SO jealous of you. I want to go to Africa so bad for a hunt. I am currently saving a bit month by month to go. If you don't mind what are the cost's involved for the actual hunt and the taxidermy. Very nice looking animals. Did you use a gun or bow? Thanks for sharing
 
Very nice. That must have been quite a hunt. I am curious too about the actual costs. I dream of a nice hunt on the Dark Continent. I have ever since I was a boy. I think the baboon is saying, "Hey fella, how ya doin"
 
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I edited my original post to include species names for those who asked.

In addition to the posted pics (16 shoulder mounts plus 1 half body mount), there's still one more shoulder mount getting done (bushbuck), a pedestal to complete for the waterbuck mount (hardwood with zebra hide panelling), 6 European mounts (skulls & horns on shields), and about 8 or 9 tanned hides as throw rugs.

Price on all this should come to about $14K including shipping. It's a lot of cash, to be sure. But it's some of the best money I've ever spent, and it will help keep the memory of that hunt alive for the rest of my life.
 
$14K covered the airfare, hunt, guide, tags, lodging, taxidermy and shipping? wow, not too bad. i may actually get a turn someday. :D

what do you do with the meat from the animals? do you keep all that as well?
 
Holy crap! You got your moneys worth!

Great looking mounts! I bet you could write a novel with all the stories :D

Thanks for sharing.

(oh ya, thats a scary ass monkey! lol)
 
FlyingHigh said:
$14K covered the airfare, hunt, guide, tags, lodging, taxidermy and shipping? wow, not too bad. i may actually get a turn someday. :D

what do you do with the meat from the animals? do you keep all that as well?
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Oh dear god, no! $14K covered the taxidermy bill. Add airfare, daily rate, trophy fees, and gratuities to that, and the total is close to $40K. Mind you, that included taking 34 animals, and having all but a handful mounted in one way or another.

Meat belongs to the land owner, with hunters generally able to take whatever they want for immediate consumption back at camp.
 
martinbns said:
How much did the PH charge you for the Red Lechwe? My memory from my trip is they were very expensive.
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Thanks, Martin -- I was hoping nobody knew enough to remind me that little episode came with a $2500 price tag :eek: It was, however, just one of those things. The guide did his level best to figure it out, and the opportunity was clearly starting to dissolve when he made the recommendation. I say clearly, "recommendation" -- because truly, it's the guy with his finger on the trigger who really "makes the call" and has to bear responsibility for what happens. We both knew it was a ram, but beyond that it took educated guesswork (which the guide certainly had) and some luck (which we were a bit shy on). But it really was a situation where it was shoot now or forever hold your peace. And this was the first and only opportunity for lechwe I had on the entire trip.

When I look back on all that happened during that hunting trip, however, I'm simply astounded at how well it went. Other than shooting a smaller than intended lechwe (which still came within about a 1/2" of making SCI Bronze), just about everything else went so well as to defy belief.

No, the lechwe was just a little reminder that humility is never something you're too old to remember.
 
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Oh dear god, no! $14K covered the taxidermy bill. Add airfare, daily rate, trophy fees, and gratuities to that, and the total is close to $40K. Mind you, that included taking 34 animals, and having all but a handful mounted in one way or another.

Meat belongs to the land owner, with hunters generally able to take whatever they want for immediate consumption back at camp.
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whoa! lol. ok, that's more like what i was expecting. :) guess i'll wait a little longer.

which outfit did you go with?
 
FlyingHigh said:
whoa! lol. ok, that's more like what i was expecting. :) guess i'll wait a little longer.

which outfit did you go with?
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We went with Sun Africa Safaris, owned and operated by Pierre Moolman. We went as a group of 7 from Edmonton, and everyone had an absolute blast. I ended up getting guided by Pierre personally 1x1, and found him to be a fantastic companion and absolutely relentless hunter. What resulted was a friendship that will certainly last for years.

I know it's daunting trying to save up for a guided hunt or two, but keep saving what you can and don't give up. The day will come when you can afford to go, and you'll never look back. Also, please don't assume that it takes $40K to hunt Africa, because it's just not true. At the time (a year ago), Pierre offered an all inclusive price on a 7-day 5-trophy hunt (kudu, blesbuck, springbuck, impala and duiker as I recall) for the very modest sum of $3000. If you elected to go a bit off-season, you could probably fly there for around $2000 rather than the usual $3500. And you don't have to bring trophies home -- more and more these days, hunters seem to be happy just bringing home photos and saving what they would have spent on taxidermy, putting it towards their next trip. So it's possible to hunt in South Africa for a week for as little as $5000 all in.
 
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