Just heard from the exporter this morning.     :D          

That was the same as my experience with Vissers in 2005.  I shot a Eland, Kudu, Red Hartebeest, Nyala, Impala, and a Zebra.  I just have the Nyala and Zebra left to get mounted because they are getting done as half mounts.  Got everything in god shape with no hassles.  Joseph

good for you man, that's awesome

Came back middle of July, haven't heard nothing yet. Might be dying some Whitetail hides and doing some Grinch like horn cutting to get that African look. Oh well, it was worth every second!

Thanks guys...The final details have been arranged. Hunter International is my broker and they'll charge $500, so the whole thing for getting them over here to my Taxidermist comes to about $1800. It'll all be in San Francisco on the 29th. Timing for that hurts a bit since I'm going to the Solana Ranch hunt on the 1st. Might not be able to check them out until I get back from there.

thats good to hear.
be sure to show us how they turn out when you get them!      

Yes, the trophies are at the taxidermist! We went down there today to open the crate and check them out.

At first glance, I thought, how'd they fit 7 animals in that small crate!



After Ron Gomez, my taxidermist at West Coast Taxidermy, opened the crate, I saw the creative packing job they did. Ron was happy. Since he was happy, so was I.



They had taken the horns of the kudu, gemsbok, and bushbuck off the skulls. This saved space, using a smaller crate saved me money.



All the trophies laid out to compare against the packing list...everything checked out. Kudu, gemsbok, bushbuck, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, two impala...


capes and flatskins.



So, in three months I'll have the euro mounts of the wildebeest, hartebeest, and impala. Shortly after the tanning will be completed on the flatskins for the wildebeest and hartebeest rugs and the capes for the kudu, gemsbok, and bushbuck mounts.

For the first time Africa hunters, like me, the best thing I did for my trophies was to meet with my taxidermist before going and discussing what I was going to shoot, and what I was going to do with it when I brought it back. No surprises, unless of course you shoot more than you thought you would!
Tanning fees here amounts to $600 for the capes and flatskins. The two flatskins are trophies for me so I can live with the cost there. The tanning is extra above the fee for the mount. The taxidermy will end up costing about $5k when the work is done. So, check out the top post, add up the costs for dip and pack, shipping, then go to the next post I made in the thread, add in broker fees (unless you have time to do that part yourself), then add in the tanning and mount fees that your taxidermist quotes you.
All that adds up to almost $7k just to get the seven trophies over here from Africa and into the trophy room, AFTER you've paid for the airfare, trophy fees, hunt days, gifts and souvenirs, tips for the staff and guides, side trips, passports, and all that gear you had to have...
It was one heck of a trip, that's for sure      

ah nice! sure is amazing how many heads they can fit in that crate  :eek:  we had a full giraffe shoulder mount in our last one  :D  but it took us 2 years to get the dam things back, and it just seemed hastle after hastle so im glade you'v got your there and where you can go check up on the progress.  
i think the next trips gonna be european mounts only for me, help save some money.

hope they turn out well for you Toby!
 :D    

I am still working on getting my last 2 done. Half mounts are a lot more expensive.  The will look really nice when they are done though. Joseph

Those are some nice trophies Toby! I hope you're gonna post some pics of the finished mounts?
I agree with Andy, I prefer european mounts. Personally I'd rather save the money you'd spend on shoulder mounts for another hunt! :D  
It is amazing how many mounts and trophies you can fit in one crate, I've helped out at some friends that are taxidermists in SA, and I couldn't believe the number of trophies they fit in such a small place! Thanks for sharing!    

Nigel

Just picked up my stuff today. Prep and dip at taxidermist in SA, exporter, importer- total about $2400. This was for 2 kudu, 2 impala, blue wildebeest,zebra,and a porcupine(very cool)Skulls were beetled and very nicely done. Capes and skins all look good. I am the taxidermist and I won't be able to afford to do it right away! Great trip but not quite the value you often times read about.

I really had no idea how expensive it was going to be bringing trophies home.  I am really starting to debate if I should cut WAY back on the number of animals that I had wanted to harvest.

If a person takes 3-5 animals add dip and pack, import export your looking at a fair chunk of money before the taxidermist ever gets their hands on it.

That was very cool to see how they pack the trophies up for shipping.

Jason

cool cant wait to see the next step

seems as if going in with someone, bringing all your items back together in same crate to same taxidermist would at least save some of teh brokerage costs, import/export duties and the like.

Ray, that's a sound idea to explore. One larger crate between two people is probably more affordable than two smaller crates...I'm getting ready to call my taxidermist to see what's up. It's almost time for my euro mounts and skins to be ready!

From the looks of the content in your crate you had the hunt of a lifetime. Congrats!

Just got a call from my taxidermist.All has arrived, but package was open and NO Sprinbok horns!!! Might have to go back and get another one!

After losing my luggage on the trip, then finding it, I'm over news like this. It is what it is.

Grouping up to get your stuff back is a good idea to save money but watch who you group with. We had one guy who wouldn't go along with the program, it held up everything for a few extra weeks cause he didn't want to pay the $200 fee for the freight forwarder.

you are so right, Big. You have to group up with folks that have sense at least!!

I just talked to my taxidermist today. The tannery is about 4 MONTHS behind schedule. Ron tells me it will be 2-4 more months before the hides are done and then when he gets the hides he will call me. After that it will be another 2-3 weeks for the mounts to be done.
Just as well...I get to save more money and I'm not done remodeling the living room where the mounts are going to live!