Cape question?
 

This past fall I hunted Muskox and Arctic caribou,I can send photos of them. I had planned to do a 1/2 body mount on the muskox and shoulder mount on the caribou but have since changed my mind and will be doing European mounts on both. Both capes have been fleshed, salted and are ready for tanning to recover this cost I'm thinking I'd like to sell the capes. Could anyone tell me the value of them?

RE: Cape question?
 

caribou capes go for $250-375
Musk oxe ???
Rich
www.rgswildlifetaxidermy.com

RE: Cape question?
 

$500-600 for the muscox ?

RE: Cape question?
 

mark thats good money, good luck, send pic of the muskox, thanks

RE: Cape question?
 

Musk ox,
http://groups.msn.com/MarkandLaRita/huntingphotos.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=48

Caribou
http://groups.msn.com/MarkandLaRita/huntingphotos.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=51

RE: Cape question?
 

Very nice pics. Are you sure you don't want to get those mounted? Those would look awesome mounted. I don't know, I'd reconsider ifI were you.

RE: Cape question?
 

Pure and smiple, economics, $$$, I can't keep hunting like I want to and pay the taxidermy bill. LaRita and I already have 15 or 16 animals at the taxidermist plus these 2 and we leave in 3 1/2 months for Africa where we plan to take 5 to 8 more! Then I've got a caribou hunt booked for this fall, so there is 2 more to add to the list, and I'm looking ata brownbear hunt for next year... Again I just can't keep hunting like I want to and pay for all these mounts. Plus our den isn't that big and we're running out of space to put all this stuff. So I've decided if it has horns from now on I'm doing European mounts, unless its well above average or a very special hunt. I'd rather spend the money on hunting and a few really good mounts than mount everything I hunt.

RE: Cape question?
 

If it was me I would at least get the capes tanned, and then at a later date if you add more room or want to get them mounted you still can...and if you want to sell them you still could.

RE: Cape question?
 

PLEASE dont take offense to this, as Im being honest and mean NO offense...I couldnt think of taking an animal as nice as that without mounting it. Id rather not take the animal. Im NOT saying you shouldnt have, I hope you understand. Maybe its because Im a taxidermist. I hear guys say they wouldnt kill something unless they could gnaw on it. I still coul;d shoot stuff Im not going to eat though. But I dont think Id wanna take african or north american "one time" trophies unless I could mount them. I see the delemna with the room size. Too bad you couldnt work out an arrangement with a taxidermist you trust, and share the expense to have it mounted for his display or showrrom, anything to help you out. I can see not mounting every buck or turkey, but if I got a muskox, for example, its gotta get hung up! Mark, do you have an outfitter friend that might be able to help you, or anything like that? Ive arranged with a client to have him pay for just the material and I mounted the trophy for display, and he would agree to pay the balance once he was able to house the mount himself. Maybe that would work with you and a reputable taxidermist? Interesting spin, Id say, regardless. I personally dont know the worth of a muskox cape or LS skin, but the caribou isnt fetching as much if the cape cant be discerned from a more common subspecie.

By the way, guys, keep in mind, if you DO choose to have trophies tanned now, for a change of mind later...Tanning has a shelf life, not that itll fall apart, etc, but rather for "workability" for the mount. If you have it tanned, store it in a freezer until its mounted.

RE: Cape question?
 

mark you've got a point, great pics. hope for the best on your hunts,let us know how they go.

RE: Cape question?
 

No offense taken. You see 10 years ago I wanted to hunt the world and as a sub plot I was going to fill up a room with all the mounts. Well, its 10 years later and I've been from the Arctic to Africa, Africa more than once. Now days its far more about the hunt than filling up a room. For what I've got in taxidermy and shipping stuff back from our last 2 trips to Africa,the shipping alone was over $4k[&:],I could more than pay for our next trip. In fact I cound pay for ournext trip and about 1/2 ofmy caribou hunt[:@].When you add to that the small size fo our house I just can't see it. Sure I could add a "trophy room" on to the house or buy a bigger house but our goals are to hunt not spend more on a house. We've got a limited income and if we have to choose, bigger house and more taixdermy vs more hunting. Well... hunting is going to win every time:DBTW I still plan to mount a few things along the way, just not everything. From now on most things with horns or antlers will be European mounts.

RE: Cape question?
 

Mark,
I would possibly be interested in buying the caribou cape depending on what your final figure on it is.Try www.taxidermy.net to sell it. I am fairly new to taxidermy and would like to have a caribou to mount. I admire the fact that you have the desire to hunt like I do, I wish I had the wallet that you do. Man, that would be a dream, to hunt all over the world like that!! Congradulations.

RE: Cape question?
 

Mark, I certainly see your point. When I think about it, of course Im biased as a taxidermist, Id want to "save" everything I got, or even found. Then I think, I might actually be more like you, in a different way. Because, as a taxidermist, I never have time to mount my own stuff anyway! hahaha, hows that for a twist! Good luck with your hunts, I hope maybe someday you stumble into an extra room for your stuff. Glad you didnt take me wrong, I was just enjoying the back and forth with you.

RE: Cape question?
 

Great Animals. If I were you, and had as many mounts as you, I'd be sure to take up and learn a new hobby... Taxidermy :D

RE: Cape question?
 

KS, hahaha, yeah but then he could NEVER afford to build that new trophy room OR hunt across the world!!! I wonder what he DOES do for a living to help that cause. Good luck to him, just the same!

RE: Cape question?
 

I work:D