Shipping

[shotguntom]

Can some please advise me on what the total cost i am likely to face, to get stuff back from SA.

I am only shooting a trophy warthog and springbok, and taking the tusks back in my hold luggage. I want to get the springbok shoulder mounted. What sort of cost am I looking at to get it sent back to the UK, including any tax's, etc i may incur..

I was also thinking that it may be easier to just buy a couple of animal hides while i am out there and bring them back in my hold luggage. Not the same as using your own ones i know, but it should be cheaper? and not have a bullet hole in it. Can this be done?

Cheers, Tom

 

[tusker]

Hi Tom, I bought the hides from the taxidermist when out there except for a Wildebeste that i shot. Put them in siutcase no problem. i had my Bushbuck shoulder mounted and 3 other animals skull mounted. The cost of the shoulder mount was about £200 the skull mounts about £30 each I think. I shared the shipping with a mate and my side of the costs came to over £400. If I can find the original docs. I will scan and send to you. Who and were are you hunting with?
Tusker.

 

[shotguntom]

Hi Tom, I bought the hides from the taxidermist when out there except for a Wildebeste that i shot. Put them in siutcase no problem. i had my Bushbuck shoulder mounted and 3 other animals skull mounted. The cost of the shoulder mount was about £200 the skull mounts about £30 each I think. I shared the shipping with a mate and my side of the costs came to over £400. If I can find the original docs. I will scan and send to you. Who and were are you hunting with?
Tusker.

Hi Tusker,

Thanks for the reply. I thinks thats what i will do hide wise then, cheers.

I have quotes from a taxidermist on what the work will cost me as well as packaging. I was just wondering what I am looking at for flights, and import taxes, etc. Im hoping as it will only be a springbuck mount the cost will be fairly low..

I am hunting with Nduna Safaris. It my 1st trip to Africa with a friend in September, so cant wait!

​Tom

 

[norma 308]

Hey Tom you gotta shoot one first lol .!
Kind regards
doug

 

[shotguntom]

Hey Tom you gotta shoot one first lol .!
Kind regards
doug

Don't worry about that Doug I'm a deer magnet, its Charles who will be pulling his hair out haha.

​Tom

 

[Safari Hunter]

To bring one trophy back is not cost viable really. It will cost around £450 to include flights, vets inspection, taxes and delivery to yourself in the UK.
To give you an idea I recently brought back 13 heads in a crate weighing 250kg and that was £1400 from PE aiport to my house all in.
Let me know if you need any help as I do this all the time.
Thanks
Adrian

 

[kuwinda]

If its only the springbok then why don't you just pop it in your suitcase too? Yeah its not quite kosher - but it will save you a bunch.

I've done this a couple of times - even with some quite big impala - its surprising they fit but they do - and no damage. Not sure about a springbok though - its more about the shape than the size.

The cape will be salt dried anyway so as long as you have a couple of days (been a while since I dried a skin in the bush so I can't remember how long it takes - days not weeks) you should be OK.

If I remember correctly they charge for air-freight on 'volumetric weight' - so it might cost you a disproportionate amount for just one skull - better shoot a few more to make it more economic! You know you want that kudu........

 

[shotguntom]

I was hoping to have the taxidermy work done out there, as they do it all the time so are more likely to do a better job than a taxidermist back here and also the taxidermy is cheaper out there.

Haha I would love to shoot a Kudu but being a student it is out of my spending limit.

Im a bit stuck then... its the only trophy animal i am going for other than a warthog so would like it mounted but the costs just seem to extreme!

​Tom

 

[kuwinda]

If you're strapped for cash you might want to think of just getting the skull cleaned and bleached and the flat (whole) skin dried. 2 trophies for the price of one! You can mount the skull yourself and get the skin tanned local to you. I have done this with wildebeest and its worked fine - many years later the skin is fine - no hair slip.

Taxidermy is generally cheaper in SA and is often good - but I have had one very bad experience. Made a terrible job of the mounts and 'lost' a Rowland Ward Grants gazelle. Not happy. If you keep it local you can (to an extent) control these things - or at least you have some recourse if things go bad.

I am off to Namibia on Thursday - just a little hunting and (hopefully) a few trophies - but no shoulder mounts, just skulls and flat skins - including a springbok. Never shot one.

 

[shotguntom]

I think that is going to be my best option unfortunately.. otherwise it is going to cost me x3 the cost of the animal to have work done and shipped back here.

​Im not aware of any UK tanning company's so may get the skull bleached and buy a few hides out there and stick it all in my suitcase.

Thanks for the help.

​Tom

 

[steve109]

I would advise you to get the mounts done here in England, there are a few guys what can do this for you.
Apart from a handful of taxidermist in Africa, most of the mounts are junk from there.

 

[cwd]

Got to agree with the above , have seen good and bad from sa and the bad is really bad ha ha
It can be very easy to spend as much on taxidermy ,shipping etc as the trip cost in the first place and when you consider you are probably going to put the mount on your wall and look at it for a long time I would get them mounted back here in your own time and with a quality taxidermist , some of the best in the uk are members of this site
​regards andy

 

[Bos en Dal Safaris]

shipping one trophy almost do not make sense it is very expensive to do so. About the above statement on taxidermy work: it is true, there are a lot of fly by nights that will ruin your trophy and memories for ever, but then there are some guys that do some exceptional work. If you don't mind skull mounts then go for it, by the way springbok has a really nice skin as well.

best of luck to you all coming to hunt this year, hope you have successful hunts and take back some nice trophies
​

 

[User00014]

I was hoping to have the taxidermy work done out there, as they do it all the time so are more likely to do a better job than a taxidermist back here and also the taxidermy is cheaper out there.

Haha I would love to shoot a Kudu but being a student it is out of my spending limit.

Im a bit stuck then... its the only trophy animal i am going for other than a warthog so would like it mounted but the costs just seem to extreme!

​Tom

now that depends on who you get to do it !

i know of an awsome but not well known taxidermist here in norfolk who does all my work who was a full time taxiderminst in SA .

 

[tommo42]

Hi, it cost me and my brother £1200 to bring our taxidermy over and delivered to cumbria, this was for four shoulder mounts and about 13 skulll mounts and skins, cheers graeme

 

[sws]

I've been down the cheap taxidermy route before, and it costs more in the long term.
Get someone to do it whose work you have seen. Poor taxidermy will be with you long after the memory of what it costs has gone.
The best work in this country that I have seen is Colin Dunton's, Claire Fowler's and Paul Taylor's.
My stuff goes to Dunton now.
​I used to use a Norfolk based guy (not Lee's mate) and I just got fed up with the faults I could see on his work - I eBay'd the lot in the end.