Recent RSA taxidermists experience

[PARA45]

I used Coppersmith early this year with great service and will use them for the shipment next month and have 3 shoulder mounts along with a set of buff horns and 2 warthog skulls coming on Turkish and you can bet I will be on Coppersmiths everyday when they ship so there will not be storage fees

You do that and stay on them. The issue is the clearing of the Warthog.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

You do that and stay on them. The issue is the clearing of the Warthog.

Laura at Coppersmiths, said since the Warthogs are done as Euro mounts there will be no issue, she has told me that twice in the last few months. as an fyi she said they have a person that will come to their warehouse and clear primates if you have any, extra cost 100.00 for him to come by. wish I had known that as this past April I would have taken a big Baboon, oh well next time

 

[Rare Breed]

Here is my point of view. i wish i kept my taxi Africa cost because it seems for whatever reason shipping to my Atlanta hometown port i have gotten very good total costs each time might just be luck

1. My Africa taxi work has been excellent and very timely.
2. If you use dip and pack it would have taken me almost twice as long to then actually getting the finished work into my home
3. it was much cheaper no comparison i remember at the time to use Africa taxi
4. you increase the risk your dip and pack might have hair slippage versus with final taxi they have to both find and fix before shipping to you

for the above reasons i will continue to use Africa taxi

Bullseye has been my best so far. my wall pedistal mount that hangs over my desk is their work

 

[flying sailor]

Bullseye has been my best so far. my wall pedistal mount that hangs over my desk is their workView attachment 574406

I have 7 animals at Bullseye that I took back at the end of August. I visited their shop and was very impressed. We communicate frequently. Having 2 flats, one Euro, 2 pedestal mounts and 3 shoulders.

 

[PARA45]

Laura at Coppersmiths, said since the Warthogs are done as Euro mounts there will be no issue, she has told me that twice in the last few months. as an fyi she said they have a person that will come to their warehouse and clear primates if you have any, extra cost 100.00 for him to come by. wish I had known that as this past April I would have taken a big Baboon, oh well next time

Good for you! I think the issue with my shipment is that they were dip & pack. Either way, stay on them. Good luck!

 

[PARA45]

During my first safari in SA, I did visit the taxidermy studio, and looking back now, it was all a show, and you only see the few workers who know what they are doing, not the assembly line they have in the back out of the public view. We are just a number to them, and there is no reputation on the line like there is here. Again, I'm only expressing my experience with one taxidermy studio, and this is only my experience, no offense to the other reputable SA taxidermy studios.

 

[bashaw]

When I hunted in EC SA this last May/June my PH kept telling me about a taxi shop not too far away, the last day we went to the shop to look at there work, I was ready to leave as soon as I walked in. 600 sq ft show room completely full of finished and partially finished animals, less than 50% looks ok the rest looked like crap.
At that time I was going to stay with my usual taxidermist here at home, but we went to visit a friend in KZN SA a farmer that loves to hunt (brothers from another mother) and we looked at his Trophy room, the work was as excellent as the work in my Trophy Room, his was done by Kruger Taxidermy/Marakalalo Taxidermy in Bloemfontein. So they are doing my work. Nolan Human and I visit once or twice a month about hunting/fishing mostly at the same time he's keeping me updated. Time will tell. To be continued in May or June when I receive my animals

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I'll be hunting about 1-1/2 hours South of Polokwane next September and this is who was recommended. Is their work "suitable" or should I go ahead and work out the logistics to get everything to Splitting Image?

I hunted around Polokwane in June of 2021. Our outfitter recommended Safari Taxidermy. Both my hunting partner and I did Dip & Pack. He viewed their shop while I kept hunting one day since he had some firearms issues. He returned to camp saying their work was OK, but he was going to have it done in the states. I'm probably a bit more critical of taxidermy than him and was already planning on having mine completed in the states unless he was blown away.

@gizmo did my actual taxidermy work (delivered a few weeks ago) and might be able to speak better about the quality of the D&P shipment that he received from Safari Taxidermy compared to others.

Just an FYI, their D&P pricing compared to what I had done in Namibia, North West, RSA, Eastern Cape, RSA, and another place in Limpopo was more than double, cost wise. I think in one case it was more than 3 times the cost. Additionally the initial shipping quote (was during covid) was higher than giraffe pussy. I quoted 3 or 4 other places using the dimensions and weights they provided that same week and was once again able to reduce the cost by about half.

 

[Canebrake]

I hunted around Polokwane in June of 2021. Our outfitter recommended Safari Taxidermy. Both my hunting partner and I did Dip & Pack. He viewed their shop while I kept hunting one day since he had some firearms issues. He returned to camp saying their work was OK, but he was going to have it done in the states. I'm probably a bit more critical of taxidermy than him and was already planning on having mine completed in the states unless he was blown away.

Thanks for the good info. I have a couple of guys I use here, and I hate to change course just to save a few bucks. I know their work and I trust them to shoot straight with me in the event something goes wrong.

 

[bashaw]

When I hunted in EC SA this last May/June my PH kept telling me about a taxi shop not too far away, the last day we went to the shop to look at there work, I was ready to leave as soon as I walked in. 600 sq ft show room completely full of finished and partially finished animals, less than 50% looks ok the rest looked like crap.
At that time I was going to stay with my usual taxidermist here at home, but we went to visit a friend in KZN SA a farmer that loves to hunt (brothers from another mother) and we looked at his Trophy room, the work was as excellent as the work in my Trophy Room, his was done by Kruger Taxidermy/Marakalalo Taxidermy in Bloemfontein. So they are doing my work. Nolan Human and I visit once or twice a month about hunting/fishing mostly at the same time he's keeping me updated. Time will tell. To be continued in May or June when I receive my animals

My point is if you don't feel comfortable with the taxidermist don't have him do your work, I was lucky enough to be able to see Marakalalo's work somewhere besides the showroom.

 

[Osama Mahdi]

My broker was Coppersmith, the individual who I was dealing with is who was to blame for the misquote. However, the best Coppersmith could/would do was to lower my quote by $100.00.

My crate sat in the Turkish warehouse for 10 days. I had a warthog in the crate, and Coppersmith knew about it. The individual who I was working with somehow forgot all about it, and I ended up paying for his mistake.

Besides that, their work was good, and my crate arrived at the Taxidermist without any issues.

Sorry to hear about your troubles!
What port of entry did you used?

 

[PARA45]

Sorry to hear about your troubles!
What port of entry did you used?

Thank you! My crate came in through Atlanta, Georgia.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Thanks for the good info. I have a couple of guys I use here, and I hate to change course just to save a few bucks. I know their work and I trust them to shoot straight with me in the event something goes wrong.

African animals are different than North American Animals. I'd make sure your local guys have a good bit of experience with African game. Being in Texas they likely have seen some. My local taxidermist told me point blank he's done some but if it were his hunt he'd go look at x, y, z shops or someone that does more than him. He also said the issue is time, he's a 1 man band and getting 10+ animals in from a single person can cause some delays which I understand as well.

I'm in the D&P camp personally, I am having 5 PG animals done in RSA from this summer and will personally compare/evaluate which I prefer.

 

[migrabill]

I toured Bulls Eye when I was hunting in Limpopo last June. I decided to have them do my work. Their operation is very impressive. They tan hides on site. Their work is very good. I was especially impressed by their crating operation. They take that part very seriously. Communications have been good so far. They should be finishing my stuff soon. I’ll post a review once I receive my work.

I will be hunting Limpopo in June as well. Also using Bulls Eye. Did you do a hunt report of that trip? If so, I would love to read it.

 

[Doug3006]

Here’s my report.

SOUTH AFRICA: The Adventure Begins!

Have a great time! Sounds awesome!

www.africahunting.com