African taxidermy shipped back to Canada

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I am heading to Eastern Cape region of South Africa in a few weeks to go hunting plains game. I will be hunting Kudu, Gemsbok, Nyala, Impala, Springbuck, Bushbuck, Zebra, Warthog. I am planning on getting all the taxidermy work done over there and they will be all pedestal mounts. I will be buying my pedestals here in Canada and just getting the mounts shipped back to Canada. My question is : Does anyone know what the shipping charges back to Winnipeg or similar places would be approximately? Also does anyone have any tips or other advice on shipping back the trophies?

Thanks in Advance.
 
I just sent the payment for shipping a mounted buff, eland, zebra rug and giraffe skull. $2014 from Pretoria to Vancouver, or it would have been $2500 to Calgary. The broker will make a couple bucks, then a few hundred will get the box the rest of the way to Saskatoon. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to shipping charges, they charge whatever they want while we suck it up and pay it.
The total included fees, permits and insurance if you need it broken down further.
 
Budget for $3K and you'll be happy when you have some left over. Might not be much, but there will be some left over. I'm pretty sure that we paid $3500 to ship an 4x8x8' crate back stuffed with animals. Shipped from Jo'burg to Regina by air.
 
What are the taxidermy fees like? I'm thinking of planning a hunt 4-5 years, but want to start saving now. Cape buff, eland, zebra, leopard (I know the latter is going to be pricey) are high on my "want" list, along with the ugliest warthog I can find, just 'cause.
 
Taxidermy fees vary widely, and it depends if you get it done here, or on the other side of the pond. Shipping trophies might be a bit more than capes and skulls, but you don't have to pay dip and pack fees so that's a wash.
The last bill I paid was in Pretoria, SA. An eland, buffalo, zebra flat tan and cleaning a giraffe skull was $4600 US if I remember right. Small stuff is a lot cheaper than eland and buff. Constrast that with some of the quotes I've got here, like 3 grand to do up a kudu, $1700 for a zebra rug and so on.
There's many considerations on the over there/ over here debate, but the first order of business is to get yourself over there.
Pay your deposits now, your airfare and balance next year, and the taxidermy and freight the following year, if you're lucky. This where it gets good.
There's not a heck of a lot of difference between saving for 3 years or paying as you go for 3 years so you may as well book your hunt tomorrow. Our exchange rate is favorable, and the world economy is helping to produce some bargains. It may help to practice this line of reasoning in a mirror before making your case with your wife; mathematics and a pie chart won't hurt either.:D
 
Call Gander Taxidermy in Surrey. When it comes to the trophy of a lifetime, you don't want "pretty good" and the difference between decent and excellent taxidermy is very noticeable after you've seen a few examples of each. Lots of Europeans will hunt Africa, ship to them in BC for mounting and then ship back to Europe due to their incredible workmanship. Some of their work can be seen on loan at the Langley Wholesale Sports over the gun counter.
 
dogleg, great advice. Wife and I are in the saving process but you have helped focus things a bit.

Just a thought we had was to skip the taxidermy, go with european skull mounts and hunt for an extra week on the saved money for a true book trophy? Also pondering the logic of keeping the trophy fees down for mulitiple species and really focus for as long as we can stay on procuring a real trophy on one species.

sorry for the off topic post but you know how this gets infectious
 
david doyle said:
dogleg, great advice. Wife and I are in the saving process but you have helped focus things a bit.

Just a thought we had was to skip the taxidermy, go with european skull mounts and hunt for an extra week on the saved money for a true book trophy? Also pondering the logic of keeping the trophy fees down for mulitiple species and really focus for as long as we can stay on procuring a real trophy on one species.

sorry for the off topic post but you know how this gets infectious
Click to expand...

I've done shoulder mounts and European mounts. The second is less, but you get less. Less room taken up on the walls and floors too.The last bunch of Euro mounts are hanging at a friend's place, hopefully temporarily. Saving money on this aspect to spend more time hunting or take more trophies makes sense to me, especially as wall space disappears.
The temptation to take a videographer/photographer and a pile of pictures is getting more and more tempting every time. You could go back on the savings in taxidermy and shipping, if you can bear to leave them.
 
Prices for shoulder mounts from Orion...

Buff - $2400
Eland - $2200
Zebra - $1595
Leopard (full mount) - $4500

Comparatively, JP Kleinhans in RSA:
Buff - $980
Eland - $880
Zebra (rug) - $700 (aprox)
Leopard (full mount) - $1900

I couldn't get my buff done in RSA because of Foot and Mouth disease. The skins would have to go for radiation before they could be imported to RSA and 90% end up burned (according to JP). I found JP's forcomingness to be very refreshing. So now my stuff goes to Moose Jaw for world-class treatment. I almost hope they skinned my Civet so I can't get a full mount!
 
costs

paying off my taxidermy bill from this years hunt in RSA for space reasons in the house I went with European mounts 10 Europeans along with a impala blanket all sorts of odds and sods and a custom table shipping costs to Vancouver air freight was $1800.00 US I will probably drive the 2 days to Van to pick it up when it shows up in about 2 years
 
I'm only keeping a giraffe femur, and my buffalo skull which I'll Euro mount myself here at home (I also shot a truckload of male Impala, and a Blue Gnu [wildebeest], all of which went to the PH and his taxidermist brother). For me, it was go on the hunt I wanted (buffalo), and do my own Euro mount or hunt Gnu and smaller and get mounts. Something had to give, and no regrets on the way I've gone. I actually prefer Euro as well, though I can certainly appreciate a nice shoulder mount. DHC will indeed have space issues and his house isn't small...
 
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