Top 5 animals you would take in Africa.

[Rob]

I love all the tiny ten 'lopes.

I have two so far.  Steenbok and klipie.  was going to get a common Duiker last year but everytime we saw one we were on the trail of something higher on the priority list.


(nice hippo and lion photos too!)

[Michelle_Nelson]

Another want is all 4 color variations of Springbok.

[Upton O. Good]

Rob, where did you get your klipspringer?  That is a great one you've got there, I'm hoping to have a shot at one on my next trip to Africa.  It's funny, I get the biggest kick out of walking the bush and just seeing the "flash" of a little brown body racing through the grass.  The PH is always the one who can tell which one it is or, rather, was.

 I shot a decent common duiker on my last trip, shot him shooting down from a hillside very early one morning as he was sunning himself, so I have two of the little guys.  That was the first time I ever had a chance to see one that wasn't running full out.  The taxidermist is mounting my bush buck, common duiker, and steenbok in a tower arrangement I've titled "Eastern Cape Trilogy".  Love the little guys.

[/URL]/img]

[BNAElkhntr]

Islamic terrorist!  1 thru 5.

[Rob]

Nice Duiker.  I really wanted one.  We only got one stalk on one and it eluded us and as I said above, all the other shot opportunites that I had were thwarted by higher priority animals.  Did get an old bushbuck so that was cool. 

I picked the Klipie up in Zim last October.  Thinking a full body mount.  Both the Klipie and the Bushbuck were taken right along the Zimbabwe side of the Limpopo river. 

They are fun.  kinda like rabbit hunting only cooler.

Here is what I had done with my steenbok...

[Rob]

Another want is all 4 color variations of Springbok.

I have seen a few of those mounts and they look really cool.  the chocolate springbok are neat looking.

[Michelle_Nelson]

I thought about doing a floor pedestal witb all 4 combined as shoulder pddestals.  Than use the flags off all 4 to go on the sides of the basem. That was just 1 idea.

[lhrbull]

the next trip to Africa if all goes as planned I want to take the grand slam of springbuck and do all four on one pedestal mount they are going to let me take five culls so I'm hoping to use them as the inserts on the pedestal

[Upton O. Good]

The four color phases of springbok on a pedestal is the best way to display them, for sure.

Nice mounts Rob, I've got limited room to display trophies so full body mounts are out. Ugh. And I just read your hunting report thread you posted in Dec.  That sounds like an excellent hunt and you really did a nice job documenting the experience.  Very well done, sir.

[Rob]

Agreed on the Springbok pedistal.  Michelle, you should go to the next SCI show in Jan/Feb- or the cheaper route (that is just as good) is the Dallas Safari Club show - usually the week prior or after the SCI show.  The taxidermy is mind blowing.

Thanks Upton, I enjoyed that thread.  I am in the process of covnerting it to a journal.  I have pretty much finished the first draft of the trip portion of the journal.  I just need to do the pre-trip part.  Our hides and horns should ship to Texas in the next month or so. 

The nice thing about full body mounts, is they go onthe floor.  not an area that is filled with existing mounts.  I live in a crackerbox house (too many hunting trips I guess) so I know about space issues.  Mine are allcrammed in two very small rooms.  The wife has just about agreed (resigned herself is the term she uses) that the animals are going to start migrating out of my two dead rooms to other parts of the house.  (About time this house gets some class in my opinion!).

Someday we will move and when we do I'll make sure there is a large game room for taxidermy!

Here is my dad's warthog.  it really fits nicley on the floor out of the way (again, my mom would disagree with the "out of the way" comment)

[Rob]

the next trip to Africa if all goes as planned

See, thats the problem with Africa....  There is always a "next trip" in the works.

[PolarBear]

1. Kenyan donkey

[Michelle_Nelson]

Rob which animals did you take if africa this last trip?

[Rob]

Easier to post a table.

The reason we shot so many Impala was three fold:
1.  We shot several to be used for camp meat for the trackers, villagers, and hutners
2.  We shot a few as mercy kills (i.e. lots caught in a poachers snare, miserable animal, etc
3.  I hunted Leopard as an afterthought and needed 10 or so for bait. 

I did not bring any Impala home.  I think Ray and Kirk are bringing two home each.

[Upton O. Good]

Rob,
The most interesting or, maybe I should say, surprising part is the number of baboons you all shot.  I don't think people realize that baboons are incredibly intelligent and, one they're shot at, you aren't likely to get another chance unless they are many hundreds of yards distant and they haven't seen you.  The closest I got to one (I wanted to take two for the skulls) was 500 yards and I'm not experienced with shooting at that distance. 

I have a significant professional background in biology and I had some courses in primate behavior including baboons. I've got to say, I think baboons are the one animal in the world I do not like one bit.  I know of their importance in the scheme of things but I still really dislike them.  I should have put them on my "5 animals I most want to shoot" list, I guess.