What can you do with trophies?

[Solitaire]

Another idea with Koudou horns, I saw that in Jobourg and I built a pair for my trophy room

 

[Spearhead]

This has been the most sensible and upsetting thread I’ve read so far
It makes the kind of sense I like to overlook.
BUT..... what I can save on taxidermy, can easily fund another trip ....... This is genius!

 

[Ridgewalker]

BUT..... what I can save on taxidermy, can easily fund another trip

+1 and if you don't have a fine man cave/trophy room like some of the great rooms on here, you could do one of the trigger time cull hunts some the outfitters on AH have offered and just bring back pictures easily made into an album.

 

[Justin.]

After spending good money getting a few special ducks "mounted" and getting back something I didn't recognize I decided spend my money on quality camera gear and become a "digital taxidermist"...

Part of my planning for Africa is writing a "story board" for the photos I want to take and present. When I get back, I'm going to bind those photos into a coffee-table-sized book.

Something along the lines of...

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...and, it doesn't always have to be dead stuff...

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Absolutely incredible photos! Really well done

 

[Rob404]

 

[crs]

Interesting problems.
I ran out of trophy space years ago and have been keeping only the best Euro style mounts + meat hunting! That is shooting primarily animals we use for dinner - cow elk, does, Nilgai (made a small Euro of the first and biggest one and now hunt mostly younger ones and keep only the meat). Hogs - have shot a few big boars, but wife says not in the house, so the capes and such stay in the field with guides and staff. Extra meat is donated to church charity food bank.
After a few years, another buck mount means less, so there are deer antlers in a barrel out back. Sort of like an out back hunting camp with antlers nailed up all around the place.

 

[rookhawk]

I don’t have any pics handy but here’s some examples of what we’ve done.

1.) Bought hand carved European plaques on eBay for about $60, used them with just the skull caps affixed to them to save room. Also adds a European designer look to a room. Bonus points for going to a thrift store to buy a wool tweed item that we cut up to use as the wrap to cover the skull cap at the base of the antlers.

2.) Amazon sells blotter sets, bottle openers, letter openers, and other nick nacks. We used horns and antlers to make barware and other objects we display at use all the time.

3.) Just the horns and skull cap of an African animal can be affixed to a brass, bronze, or copper stem connected to a round or square block of exotic wood or stone. It is a popular decorator look these days for mantles, ottomans, etc, to have such a horn display.

4.) Fine jewelery has been made for 150 years with the floating ribs of leopards.

5.) Elephant hair bracelets.

6.) Warthog tusks can be used for canes.

7.) Leather can be used for many things. Gun cases. Overnight bags. Wallets. Shoes. Boots.

8.) Hair on rugs for decor, pillows, etc.

9.) Hair on hides for custom upholstered Wingback chairs.

10.) Oryx horns can be turned into longbows.

11.) Hides can be made into coasters for bar ware.

12.) Giraffe bones can be carved for lamps as scrimshaw. Or knife handles.

13.) Hippo, buffalo, and elephant feet can be turned into everything from candy jars, pen holders, umbrella stands, pipe tobacco humidors, etc. Scrotums can be done similarly.

14.) Tails can be woven as hat bands, or turned into decorative fly swatters, etc.

The list is endless. You could use every part of an animal in home decor without having a single shoulder or full body mount in your home.