Trophies are coming!

[Rat Fink]

I got word today that my crate is in Munich and will be on a flight to Atlanta this weekend. It should be in Seattle in a week or two. Once in Seattle Coppersmith will clear customs for me and then I will decide on shipping to MT or doing a 24 hour turn n burn pickup. Hopefully USFWS will allow self pick up since we didn't bring warthog skulls home, just tusks. I am stoked to get my first safari loot here. I have a special place on the wall reserved for my Mountain Zebra rug.

 

[SWMontana1]

That is awesome!!

How much does shipping that all the way back here run a guy?

 

[wswat]

That is awesome!!

How much does shipping that all the way back here run a guy?

Dip and pack plus shipping cost us about $200 per animal.

 

[SWMontana1]

Dip and pack plus shipping cost us about $200 per animal.

Really? WOW!! I would have thought it would have been much, much more than that... good to know! Anyway, congrats!! I bet it will look really nice up on the wall!! Very cool.

 

[Rat Fink]

That is awesome!!

How much does shipping that all the way back here run a guy?

Our crate which has the equivalent of a small zoo of animals in it, was $3,300. That's just getting it to Seattle from Namibia. Shipping from Seattle to Great Falls will determine if I will pick them up or if I will have them shipped.

We used Peter de Villiers with Pronto Global Freight. http://www.prontoglobalfreight.com/
They have communicated very well and were pleasant to work with. I will use them again.

 

[Mudranger1]

is this a crate of all done animals or you still have to get them mounted?

 

[TOM IN TENNESSEE]

Rat Fink, that is a well posed and awesome picture!

I have always had my taxidermy done in Africa. Shipping costs way more that way but I still save money vis-a-vis costs of US taxidermy. BUT, you need to carefully select your African taxidermist just like here in the states. Airline cargo is priced based on volumetric measure of crate.

 

[Rat Fink]

is this a crate of all done animals or you still have to get them mounted?

I had the zebra hide tanned in Namibia but it will be rugged here. I'm not sure on what we will have done with all of the animals but I know we will do a bunch of euros, some back skins, and for sure a Red Hartebeest shoulder mount. Still kinda up in the air on a Kudu mount. I have a 51" and my wife got a 50" but we are planning on 2015 for a return trip and might hold out for a bigger Kudu before I do a mount.

All taxidermy work will be done here http://www.monarchtaxidermyinc.com/
Stuart and Tony are buddies of mine and they do EXCEPTIONAL work. I am very lucky to have such a good taxidermist to work with and even luckier that I can drop in on my lunch hour anytime to see the trophies as they are in progress. I make a point of visiting the shop about once a month just to see the awesome stuff they have in there.

 

[Rat Fink]

Rat Fink, that is a well posed and awesome picture!

I have always had my taxidermy done in Africa. Shipping costs way more that way but I still save money vis-a-vis costs of US taxidermy. BUT, you need to carefully select your African taxidermist just like here in the states. Airline cargo is priced based on volumetric measure of crate.

A little dust in the air, but it encompasses the essence of my first African sunset, my first African animal which is a gold medal Gemsbok, and the feeling of success on my first Safari.

Now I need to repeat all of the above in a few years.

 

[Bambistew]

Thats some pricey shipping! I cleared the last two crates of critters myself. One cost $1400 with skins and hides, the other was full of shoulder mounts at $1700. You can clear it yourself unless you have swine hides or primates. If the swine is 'finished' you can do it all yourself. Its kind of a PITA dealing with govn't folks, but not all that difficult. You could probalby save yourself $1000 the brokers charge.

Post up some more pics!

 

[Rat Fink]

Thats some pricey shipping! I cleared the last two crates of critters myself. One cost $1400 with skins and hides, the other was full of shoulder mounts at $1700. You can clear it yourself unless you have swine hides or primates. If the swine is 'finished' you can do it all yourself. Its kind of a PITA dealing with govn't folks, but not all that difficult. You could probalby save yourself $1000 the brokers charge.

Post up some more pics!

We have 3 hunters in one crate. It's a family safari. Breaks down to 1,100 bucks each. So it's in line and a bit cheaper than individual hunters each having a crate. There are Baboon skulls, and Warthog tusks in there, so I probably can't clear it myself. Even if I could Seattle is a long ways away from Helena so it may be cheaper to pay Coppersmith and ship to Great Falls than for me to try to do it myself.

IF and its a really big IF USFWS releases the crate then I have to make a quick decision on picking up myself or shipping to my USDA facility.

Here's a few trophies and management animals we took. Most of my Pictures are too big to post so I had to find some that would make the size requirement but it's just a small sample of what we got.

 

[Bambistew]

Splitting the cost makes it a bit more palletable. We split the $1700 crate 3 ways, had 5 shoulder mounts done, skulls cleaned, hides tanned, etc. Total bill for taxi and shipping was $5500.

Since you have primates I believe it must go to an approved USDA facility. I'm not sure they will even release it to you unless maybe you can get a letter from the facility? Same thing if the swine is 'raw'.

I avoided bring back primates, and had the pigs cleaned there so I could take care of it myself.

Great photos. That spring buck is awesome! Fun place to hunt. I'll go back one day... Too many hunts to do here and my bank account can't sustain both.

 

[Rat Fink]

Splitting the cost makes it a bit more palletable. We split the $1700 crate 3 ways, had 5 shoulder mounts done, skulls cleaned, hides tanned, etc. Total bill for taxi and shipping was $5500.

Since you have primates I believe it must go to an approved USDA facility. I'm not sure they will even release it to you unless maybe you can get a letter from the facility? Same thing if the swine is 'raw'.

I avoided bring back primates, and had the pigs cleaned there so I could take care of it myself.

Great photos. That spring buck is awesome! Fun place to hunt. I'll go back one day... Too many hunts to do here and my bank account can't sustain both.

I have learned some good lessons this time around for sure. Next time I will have warthog tusks and baboon skulls mounted on plaques there to avoid the USDA requirement. The next time I may try to clear customs and pickup trophies myself, now that I see how the system works.

Overall I feel the shipping was a fair price considering we have 3 peoples trophies in there. The big killer on weight is that my Father in Law brought home not just one, but two warthog skulls, I forgot that he brought home whole skulls instead of just tusks. After checking the list again, with those warthog skulls and two baboon skulls it will certainly have to go to the USDA facility.

I wish I could put up more pictures. Most of the best stuff we have I can't even show off because of the jpeg size requirements.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Don't you have a computer program like Paint or something so you can downsize them to what this site requires? If you don't, you can email some to me and I'll do it on my computer and post them for you. My email addy is: [email protected]

 

[mixedbag]

My shipping bill is suppose to run around $1500.Doubt I'll see my stuff for awhile though.airfeight would have been $2100.I have to get around to posting my pics soon or have someone do it for me.I won't be back again till both my sons are ready with their bows;about 6 years.
Wish I could have taken a springbuck,but there wasn't any where I hunted.I saved the red hartebeest and waterbuck for my next trip

 

[Rat Fink]

Some more photos

I downsized some pics to show some more trophies we have coming home.

By the way there is something missing in all of these photos. If you can guess correctly I will by an ice cold beer for the first to point it out.

 

[kansasdad]

Rat Fink, at first I thought after looking at the photo's that there were no clouds, then later saw that that is not what is missing, then I came to the conclusion that it is WHO is missing....your father-in-law!? Previous posts mention him and yet I do not see any pics of him. I'm guessing he is the photographer in all these pics.

 

[Rat Fink]

Rat Fink, at first I thought after looking at the photo's that there were no clouds, then later saw that that is not what is missing, then I came to the conclusion that it is WHO is missing....your father-in-law!? Previous posts mention him and yet I do not see any pics of him. I'm guessing he is the photographer in all these pics.

Nope. In a couple pictures it is VERY obvious. The rest would be tougher to figure out.

 

[Summitthunting]

The end of your finger, left hand?

 

[Rat Fink]

The end of your finger, left hand?

Damn that didn't take too long. Cold one on me if you ever come up to MT or if I ever make it down to CO.