Community > Taxidermy & Scoring
African animals taxidermist
seth30:
The pedestal mount is pretty cool, but I have cats so everything will have to be on the wall. I saw one gentleman stated not to have anything taxied in south Africa. Is is because of cost, or damage in shipment? Do you have your hides soft tanned before shipping to your taxidermist?
Rob:
You probably know this, but you will want to make the Taxi decision prior to leaving for your hunts.
Your PH is going to want to know who to ship to and will arrange to have the hides and horns direct shipped to your taxi. Most taxidermists will send you with a packet of tags to have attached to your hides and horns to help keep things from getting lost.
I would recomend my taxidermist as he was amazing but he retired this year (he was in Tx as well)
Good call on having the work done stateside. It is very much hit and miss in Africa. Often they pickle the hides rather than tan them. This deteriorates over time.
Benefit with African Taxidermists is that they are a lot cheaper. It ususally offsets shipping. You just never know what you will get.
I have had finished leather done in Africa and contrary to what I just said it has been good quality. They did my hippo leather and my croc belly. Well done and a lot cheaper. I think some taxidermists cut corners on the hair-on tanning but perhaps the finished leather goes direct to a tannery? Not 100% sure
seth30:
Thanks for the explanation Rob. Will ask my PH if they tan or pickle, that's a good bit of knowledge to have!! Once the weather gets a little less wet, will take a bike ride to a few of the taxidermists recommended and do a meet and greet. We are booked for the 2026 may hunt, and really looking forward to it. According to DR Google, shipping taxidermy from RSA is spendy. Thinking of taking my bow, but still doing some research on that aspect. My future PH recommend for wilder beast (GNU) that I use a fixed 125 Grain Broad head.
Rob:
Let me know if you have more questions. I have done the trip 3 times and had mostly good experiences. It has been a few years since I have been however (last trip was 2016 I think?)
Be ready to wait when it comes to taxidermy. It is not unusual to have it take 9-12 months for the hides and horns to arrive stateside. There are also costs on the US side that are not often communicated. (storage costs in the US waiting for USDA to inspect the shipments, freight forwarding, etc. This would apply to mounts and hides/horns.
I will see if I can dig up any details on expenses from my trips.
Trapline Taxidermy:
Hello Seth,
We are a USDA Approved AE and can assist with any mounting or pre trip planning you need. We've hunted South Africa and can help with your importing as well. Our lead times after a deposit is made is 8-12 months. Our owner used to work for a South African Taxidermy company before moving to the PNW. We wish you the best on your hunt - If you have any questions just reach out.
(541) 207-6269
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