Aging out...what to do with trophies

[AlaskaHunter]

My hunting partner is now in his 80s and planning on selling his house
and downsizing. He had his house designed for trophies.

He has a North American grand slam of sheep that he hopes to donate to the University.
Other than that he has lots of heads including a Marco Polo sheep, a Boone & Crocket moose,
musk ox, bison, elk, caribou, African game, Australian game, etc.

Any tips on selling/donating all those heads/hides/skulls?

 

[Nameless Range]

In the entryway of the high school I attended 20 years ago in Boulder, Montana, is “Fez”.

Fez the Panther was killed in the Elkhorn Mountains, by fellow I know. He had it taxidermied and dyed black so that it matched the high school mascot - The Panthers. He donated it to the school.

If any of your friend’s critters match the mascot of any of the local schools, I think that is a cool donation.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I often wonder what I will go with all of my dads mounts when he passes. He has so many. I have as many as he does. I guess I will finish the garage and put them on the walls in there. He has a bunch of stuff from Africa that takes up a ton of room.


I'm not even sure if selling mounts is even legal. All of his mounts are in great condition and would make awesome additions to restaurants or bars.

 

[maxracx]

You might post what he has on Taxidermy.net, it is a chat room followed by people into taxidermy. They have a buy/sell/trade section. One man's junk is another man's treasure. Good luck.

 

[MNElkNut]

Contact local sporting organizations and high school science teachers.

 

[Gunner46]

I ran into a similar situation. I had B&C 7'3" full mount black bear the I could not properly care for any longer, due to personal circumstances. I got in contact with the NC state museum & offered the mount as a charitable donation. This was just after the floods of Hurricane's Fran & Floyd. A day or so later I received a call from the Director of the States Children's museum in Rock Mount. "Sasquatch" is now on full display for thousand of kids, parents and everyone else to see what Huge animals walk within our nation.

 

[TheTone]

I’d be sure the university will actually take care of them. My local school has a bunch of mounts that have been gifted, most have been poorly cared for if at all and are in terrible shape. I know if they were mine I would almost have rather sold them and made some money over letting them just fall apart

 

[Dave N]

I'd just like to see the house!

 

[BucksnDucks]

Keep in mind game laws will vary from state to state regarding sales, import and possession. Mountain Lion pelts for example can not be legally possessed in CA (unless pre ban). There are also all the Federal Regulations that cover out of country animals.

 

[Carnage2011]

Keep in mind game laws will vary from state to state regarding sales, import and possession. Mountain Lion pelts for example can not be legally possessed in CA (unless pre ban). There are also all the Federal Regulations that cover out of country animals.

I have a good rule of thumb….never sell anything to anyone from Cali. There is probably a law that will cause me to end up in jail. This doesn’t just pertain to hunting…I won’t sell a pair of shoes to Cali.

 

[BucksnDucks]

I have a good rule of thumb….never sell anything to anyone from Cali. There is probably a law that will cause me to end up in jail. This doesn’t just pertain to hunting…I won’t sell a pair of shoes to Cali.

Just ship the shoes in a box marked "cannabis" and you'll be fine.

 

[MarvB]

I have a good rule of thumb….never sell anything to anyone from Cali. There is probably a law that will cause me to end up in jail. This doesn’t just pertain to hunting…I won’t sell a pair of shoes to Cali.

Good rule to go by, illegal to sell ANY game pieces in Cali. They write a bunch of citations for yahoo’s posting taxidermy shit for sale on Craigslist all the time without knowing the laws

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Got his heads from the walls to his garage.
It is illegal to sell any head harvested in Alaska.
My favorite is his North American grand slam of sheep, 68 pound King Salmon, and Boone and Crockett Moose.

 

[BrooksRanger]

Wow. Your friend has many amazing memories...

 

[kiwi hunter]

tell him ill take the marco polo as a donation n itll have pride of place in my home,, that aside that is a beaut collection

 

[Flatbrimmer]

In the entryway of the high school I attended 20 years ago in Boulder, Montana, is “Fez”.

Fez the Panther was killed in the Elkhorn Mountains, by fellow I know. He had it taxidermied and dyed black so that it matched the high school mascot - The Panthers. He donated it to the school.

If any of your friend’s critters match the mascot of any of the local schools, I think that is a cool donation.


View attachment 200799

admire that every year when my son and nephew goes to wrestle. as well as the two three forks wolves…

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Got his heads from the walls to his garage.
It is illegal to sell any head harvested in Alaska.
My favorite is his North American grand slam of sheep, 68 pound King Salmon, and Boone and Crockett Moose.
View attachment 219954
View attachment 219955

I’ll take whatever’s left at the end

 

[Bambistew]

Crate them up and send to someone in the L48. Then sell them when they arrive. That's how the new world record moose was obtained by a L48 er.

 

[OntarioHunter]

This is another reason I prefer euro mounts. Much easier to give away. I have two daughters but the one in Maryland probably will never want any of that stuff. My daughter here will probably never be able to afford a home big enough for my trophies. If her taxidermy business ever gets off the ground sufficient to warrant a shop, maybe some of it can be displayed there. I have capes for two kudu and sable tanned and ready to go. Those mounts would be for her business showroom. For now they are staying as euro mounts.

 

[MuleyMB]

This is another reason I prefer euro mounts. Much easier to give away. I have two daughters but the one in Maryland probably will never want any of that stuff. My daughter here will probably never be able to afford a home big enough for my trophies. If her taxidermy business ever gets off the ground sufficient to warrant a shop, maybe some of it can be displayed there. I have capes for two kudu and sable tanned and ready to go. Those mounts would be for her business showroom. For now they are staying as euro mounts.

I wished I would have agreed with this before I filled the walls up with head mounts, I would definitely have went with the euros now instead !!