Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Hunting for the experience, not trophies?

Yes you can do this yourself but most don't.....fish and game fee differ depending on animals imported

I do realize all the meat gets eaten. But my only impetus to hunt is to fill my freezer. I mean I enjoy the entire experience but meat is my goal.

I'm leaning more in the direction of getting high quality photos done and forgetting the trophy dip/pack/shipping for reasons already stated by tedthorn.

This guy has done a couple of things for me, and does absolutely fantastic work.
http://www.trophyshotprints.com/

JG

Did you frame your prints from Roland or just hang them?

Cameraland also does quality enlargments

Been to Africa several times, and value the experience greatly.
I always bring something back, however, in addition to photos and memories- sometimes just a hide, or skull and horns, but often shoulder mount and full mount materials.
Some animals, like a monster Sable, or Kudu, or Waterbuck, etc., just deserve to be preserved. They provide an endless source of conversation about past hunts and experiences with friends, acquaintances, and family members who visit our home.

There's no getting around the expense, though- the last safari to SA resulted in $3100 for dip, crate, and ship etc. costs, and another $6000 to the taxidermist for a mix of full-body, shoulder, and European mounts.
It was, however, probably our last trip to Africa, and most of my future hunt plans are more meat hunts than anything else, here in the US.

It has been 20 years since I went to Africa, but we had the European mounts done there, and shipped to us.. Of course they had to clear customs. I don't have the cost, but it was quite modest.. But a pal had his mounted.. That cost as much as the trip.. I am glad I got the European mt. when I look at them, each has a memory for me.. They remind me of a place I loved to visit, people I loved to be with, and very likely something I will never do again.

I splurged for the metallic prints (2). They come with a hanger on the back so no need for framing. I haven't personally seen his regular prints, but I'm sure they're great too.

Gents,
My .02, Hunting in Africa is a process. From planning, to buying stuff, half of which you don't need and will never use to actually getting there.

The taxidermy is a fundamental part of the process, from which, in my opinion you cannot hide. If you Safari in Africa, anywhere in Africa and merely take a few snapshots and leave the rest there, you are devaluing the lives of these animals to a few megapixels on some SD card.

Is that who we really are as sportsmen? If this is representative of the demographic, perhaps the antis have a point.

If you go to Africa, take in the sights, the sounds and kill some stuff, take a few shots and walk away from the balance of your responsibility, you are in my opinion a killer only. Going on Safari, killing and walking away is no different than paying a woman for her services and throwing a few hundred bucks at her on your way out the door.

Perhaps reduce your trophy list by an animal or two and take some responsibility for your actions. Safari hunting isn't cheap, don't cheapen yourself.

I have an article coming out, or perhaps is out now in African Hunter stating these exact same thoughts.

We all see things differently.

"Shipping from Africa to Chicago was quoted at $1400"

Not so sure about this figure. We have been quoting regularly on Dip and Pack crates to the USA recently, and they run about $800 for the shipping. My Canadian representative shipped his 7 mounted animals from SA to Canada at $1500.

I was in RSA in 2013, took the god grandson. He got 5 animals. Had the hides tanned there, and the skulls cleaned and all. tanning was cheaper there, and from the quality I have seen of the stuff I had tanned here, better. Ended up cost like $900 if that for the dipping , tanning, shipping, etc., and another $600 for air fare. There is NOTHING hard about picking up your own stuff at customs. The only animals that need a separate USDA review are warthogs, or other pigs. Mine came into BWI and took me all of about 15 minutes, well, getting the forms signed by customs and driving next door to get the stuff, 1/2 hour. But you need to let the taxidermy folks in Africa, KNOW you will pick them up yourself, so you get the notice and can go to the customs office yourself, or they will be sent to freight person who will charge you $200 or so for nothing. How much your taxidermy bill in SA going to cost going to have a lot to do with what all you bring back. If you bring back a Kudu, Eland, Nyala, and Oryx, all are fairly big and going to need a bigger shipping crate, throw in the smaller stuff like a springbok, bushbuck etc. and takes up a little more room. The 5 animals we brought back, a Zebra, 2 Impala, a Black Wildebeeste and an Nyala, were in a crate about 18" tall, and 30x48" if that. If you got all the stuff I said above (kudu etc), would need a bigger crate, and cost more. For someone going over on a 5 or7 day hunt and getting the smaller plains game, the cleaning, dipping and shipping costs shouldn't be that expensive. As I noted, I got the hides tanned there, as was only a little more than drying and dusting, and such. If you do it that way is done and ready to go, when you get it back here. I also took pictures of the god grandson, and made poster size prints for him of him and his animals.

I am 100% sure but I do understand the game "buisness" of d, p & s

It seems everyone gets paid

Outfitter scratches the taxidermist back in East London.......gets a rebate

Taxidermist pushes work through "his" shipping agent.......gets a rebate

Shipping agent must make up for it all in the end and charges as much $$ as they feel fits

IMO.......it's a massive scam of holding the hunter over a barrel

I won't be a willing victim of this game......and wasn't

I don't disagree. That's why I'm contemplating a two animal safari. I'd shoot whatever good animal we came across the first day so I'd get to eat fresh meat all week and then I'd devote the rest of the hunt to a Kudu.

Those 2 animals may very well be the most expensive you ever kill

Since your a meat hunter......think Texas for safari

Ted,
I'm not saying that's not what you were charged. I assume that this was a couple of years ago. (Maybe let us know when you were charged this and through who?) Might help others to not fall into the same trap with the same people.
I'm just saying that the figures you posted looks expensive, even at what my hunters are paying in 2015.

With all due respect, article or no article, IMHO you couldn't be more wrong.

Let me see: If we take Chipolopolo's post seriously, it means that if we don't have EVERY big game animal we ever kill mounted, somehow, then we're irresponsible hunters. Gee, I didn't know taxidermy validated my experience, and made me a better person in the eyes of anti-hunters.

Yeah, but I'd feel kind of funny with a herd of cow elk staring at me.

Well, let's break it down.

What is the only cognitive difference between a photo safari and a shooting but pics only safari? Seems to me the only difference is the killing, hence my killing comment.

They are called Trophy fee's, trophy rooms, trophy shipping. You can't change the definition of trophy hunting simply to suit your needs.

I find just thrill killing repugnant behavior. And that is exactly what you are describing.

As far as mounting everything that I kill, yes, I do. But I would feel that Euro mounts, rugs, pillows whatever shows some feeling of responsibility to the animal.

The taking of life, to me, is not a casual endeavor. I have a great deal of respect for all life.

To my point about the Anti's. If they have an argument as to photo safaris, how are they wrong calling you a killer if that is THE ONLY difference between their safari and yours?

Not saying my motive are pure, just I have accepted the complete responsibility of the experience. I am not shortcutting it and lessening the cost just to go back sooner.

If I were a PH and my client was only taking photo's, you can be sure the real "decent" kudu would die and not get passed up in favor of continuing the hunt for something special.

Chipper, I was trying to be nice in my first response. Last year I took my first trip to Namibia. What a wonderful place, a place in which I literally saw hundreds upon hundreds of head of game over 8 days. I killed 10 cull animals, and only a couple of trophies. I could've felt like a douche for shooting all those culls, that is until we took some of the meat to what I'd call an orphanage of some sort, and the rest to a meat market where lots of other people would be able to enjoy the spoils. I don't feel the least bit bad about myself for killing, yes, I'm a killer, those animals. Not in the least. You see I have a soft spot for helping people who cannot help themselves for whatever reason. That's what I did. If it weren't for killers, like most if not all hunters are, wildlife would die a slow, cruel death. To answer your question, starving people can't eat pictures.

I've seen, the results of, and the remedies for overpopulation of a deer herd in Central Texas. Mother nature's way ain't always pretty.

As a matter of fact, I enjoyed killing those animals so much, an helping feed the poor over there, I'm doing the exact same thing again in April. I'm also very glad you aren't my PH, as we'd have a come to Jesus meeting somewhere in the middle of Africa.

Nice try.

Your introducing feeding the youths, while noble, is a straw man argument. Also, a cull hunt is in fact a discernible difference to which I have no objection to. Its called a cull hunt, not a trophy hunt.

You cannot be intellectually honest with me or this forum and say that you are going to feed disadvantaged children.

And, if you had a problem with me saving a 60 inch kudu for a client whom wanted to put it on the wall, I would call for a charter and send you home.