Tanning in RSA vs waiting till capes get to US

[masonmc]

Hunting plains game in Rooipoort in RSA this June. Planning to do half euros and half shoulders as far as taxidermy goes. For the most part.. Ive decided to have my shoulder mounts done in the US. My PH has recommended a shop that does full taxidermy as well as dip pack. I know that may be frowned upon by some as a conflict but from what ive gathered this is a very reputable taxidermy outfit and will just work out better for me overall.

From what I have read capes should be tanned ASAP. I gather some US taxidermist send the larger capes elsewhere to be tanned and this would be the case here. So should I consider asking this shop in RSA to tan my capes so that is done when they get to the US? (was told this shop is nearly as good as some in the US). Or is it not a big deal to have them sent off again to a place in the US where I know it will be done right.

Thanks for input.
Mason

 

[masonmc]

and if it matters for this discussion I am not in a hurry to get the final shoulders done. would rather spread it out a little.

 

[charleslabounty]

I had the same question. As this would save crate size and shipping cost.
But a taxidermist/hunter told me not to plan on having capes tanned in RSA and then pulled onto a mannequin here in the US.
He said RSA chemicals used would not make the capes flexible enough to allow that much time delay and then be able to be stretched over the form.
If you send me a email, I can dig through my notes and try to find his name and number.
Have a great trip.

 

[kathy]

I had my capes dip & packed. then when I received the capes here in the U.S. sent them to a tannery to have them wet tanned, ( taxidermist request ). I had the back skins I wanted to keep tanned in RSA. Forrest

 

[JimP]

Dennis the resident taxidermist on here has said that there are problems with a African tan vrs having them tanned here in the states.

I did a dip and pack on my trip and everything was at my taxidermist shop 4 months after they were dropped off at the dip and pack location in Port Elizabeth. He then had the capes on their way to the tannery 2 days later.

 

[jeff]

As a taxidermist I recommend have your tanning done here in the states by the tannery of your taxidermist's choice. You won't regret it, have seen too many horror stories of capes not properly neutralized and fall apart in a few years and have no stretch and elasticity in them when mounting, the end product after all is what it's all about, skimping on a little shipping costs is false economy. My two cents

 

[masonmc]

Will do as my taxidermist has recommened. Glad to hear others had done the same here in US. Thanks for all input!

 

[enysse]

Dip and Pack, don't have it tanned, you will regret any other choice. They can tan it in the USA and then still spread the taxidermy work out (Any good taxidermist in the USA will do this).

 

[buck wild]

DON'T DO IT- as others have said- salt,dip, pack and let skins be tanned in US. There won't be that much longer of a delay once in US. Most US tanneries turn work in 60-120 days. More than likely your taxidermermist wouldn't begin work on anything for that long anyway so getting them tanned in Africa probably won't result in any speedier return and more than likely will cause other more significant issues !

 

[charleslabounty]

I had the same question. As this would save crate size and shipping cost.
But a taxidermist/hunter told me not to plan on having capes tanned in RSA and then pulled onto a mannequin here in the US.
He said RSA chemicals used would not make the capes flexible enough to allow that much time delay and then be able to be stretched over the form.
If you send me a email, I can dig through my notes and try to find his name and number.
Have a great trip.

Just work for the record ---- I am not critizing RSA taxidermy work.
I have had work done in RSA and currently am having "completed taxidermy" work done in RSA.
I am just repeating advice that I was given by a US taxidermist.

 

[masonmc]

DON'T DO IT- as others have said- salt,dip, pack and let skins be tanned in US. There won't be that much longer of a delay once in US. Most US tanneries turn work in 60-120 days. More than likely your taxidermermist wouldn't begin work on anything for that long anyway so getting them tanned in Africa probably won't result in any speedier return and more than likely will cause other more significant issues !

good point on turnaround time

 

[JimP]

What's the difference if you are waiting for a year for your trophy to come home from Africa or your local taxidermist?

The one thing that I looked at most was the what if there is a problem with the trophy when you receive it from Africa? Are you going to ship it back to them to take care of it?
My local taxidermist has a couple of African mounts that were done in Africa in his shop waiting for new capes so that he can repair what was done to them over there. At least if you have it done locally you have some recourse to get problems taken care of.

 

[masonmc]

Jim P I meant turnaround on outsourcing tanning. I also wonder now if an RSA taxidermist would even tan the capes for you if you weren't having them do the mount. Doesn't matter anymore they will come home for final work.

 

[masonmc]

and tanning

 

[JimP]

Jim P I meant turnaround on outsourcing tanning. I also wonder now if an RSA taxidermist would even tan the capes for you if you weren't having them do the mount. Doesn't matter anymore they will come home for final work.

If you talk to taxidermist that have had to deal with the African tanned capes you will just have them dip and packed in Africa and let the local taxidermist take care of the rest. Give Dennis a call at The Artistry of Wildlife and talk to him about the African tans. From what I have read there are a lot of problems getting them re-hydrated enough to stretch over the forms. A good taxidermist can work with just about anything but why make him work harder than it needs to be, and I doubt that you would be saving that much money from the price list that I have seen from South African taxidermist and the one that I use here in Colorado.

 

[harden]

57 years old, been a taxidermist for 46 of those, full time for 36 of those. Mounted thousands of african trophies and thousands of trophies from around the world. They will not guarantee your tanning anymore than that a US taxidermist and the tanning good or bad lies in the hands of the prep in your safari camp and with your PH , his crew , their salt and their skills. I would highly advise against it getting anything tanned in africa for mounting. Flat hides okay but tanning for mounting a trophy needs to be done in the US in my opinion. I have mounted hundreds of skins from africa tanned there and I personally have to charge more for the trouble they are to do. And the quality of the finished mount can't compare to using my tannery that has done all my skins for 35 years. I cringe when a client tells me he has done this, then the price list goes out of the conversation and becomes I charge by the hours it takes to do them with this tan and I don't guarantee that the mount will be the quality of the mounts I produce from my US tannery.

 

[ScottG]

There you are.

 

[cpr0312]

@The Artistry of Wildlife ,

Thanks for your input on this as I am making this decision myself next month