Trophies on the wall

When I was a kid, I thought trophies on the wall was a sign of a good hunter. Nowadays, it comes down to having deep pockets. Around here, half the poaching is done for the trophy on the wall....and for many folks, their most memorable hunts don't end up with something worth of a space on the wall. While I have a few good racks and mounts on the wall, they don't have much of a appeal to me anymore. Last fish I had mounted was released and a replica made. Too bad we can't do that on deer.

Memories and decor. My fish mounts are graphite with a photo of the catch and release. Birds and big game all have a unique memory and experience. The pronghorn I mounted is not the largest I have taken by a long shot.

earlthegoat2 , that was a good story and nice mount . I bet you remember that hunt and your family members every time that you look at your mount .

I enjoyed seeing all of the mounts that y'all have posted .

Trophys

One thing for sure in our case, we learned early on, around here, to hide any nice antlers from prying eyes in the field (any and all are hid these days, we didn't get anything and we didn't see anything) and would rather not show them off here at home either. Taxidermists, these guys like to talk big time. It seems to encourage talk that leads to increased competition in the general areas of where we like to hunt. It's difficult to convince anyone, that the elk or deer in question, is no longer there, and it's likely it will be a while before another one like him turns up around there. They assume that if you killed one, there are 10 more just like him just waiting for the next fellow to turn up.
We lost track of the other camps that turned up and went home empty handed, and never saw anything, while we were seeing game all day and filled our tags. In our opinion most of the backcountry units in our locale (meaning state) produce similar results, there really isn't any advantage of one place over another. Most depend on the tactics used to how the territory is laid out.
Trapping same thing. Nobody sees any of the catch. (If someone asks what we are doing on the line, our standard answer is " we usually don't say what we are doing"). We don't sell locally. And purchase no supplies locally.
We have to report the catch to the F and G department. And that's bad enough.
Those guys blab anything they learn. Information they learn may as well be broadcast on the radio. They only get the minimum info we are required to give. We rarely give out our name in the field when hunting, and never when trapping.
Memories and pictures, yes, but we keep them "just for us".
That's been our experience. OYE

Good memories and honoring the animal. Lots of pics.

I have antlers and feathers displayed. One mount I call George an d hang my bases
Ball caps on the rack.

I got one pic with me knealing with the rifle and no animal. Caption says didnt get nothing but had a lot of fun.

H&Hhunter said:

. They are two of my fondest "trophies".

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......and those are the words of a true hunter. Where the hunt itself is a greater memory than a kill. Some of my most memorable hunts were ones I came home empty handed or included an animal many would consider inferior. But the day was consumed by a demanding, enjoyable learning experience. I see no reason to mount an animal that someone else scouted and fed before leading me to a stand to shoot it. But that's just the case behind many wall hangers.


As for the catch and release of deer, many years ago there was an article in Popular Mechanics about a new archery system that consisted of a syringe on an arrow filled with a fast acting tranquilizer. This was in the 60s when standard archery equipment was considered inadequate for the legitimate taking of deer. It also came from a time when deer populations in most areas were much lower than they were today and true trophies were very far and few between. What the tranquilizer arrow did was give you the experience of harvesting a deer with your bow, allowed you to take a picture with it and then let the deer go off to live another day after the effects of the drug wore off. I always thought that was a neat idea, especially back then when the bag limit was only one deer a year. The idea of being able to legally continue to hunt after "shooting" a deer already seemed ideal. Funny how things have changed. Just like with trophy bucks around here. 30 years ago, between the limited amount of deer and folks shooting any deer with horn, even a 16'' 8 pointer was considered a "wall hanger". Nowadays, folks demand you let such young and immature deer walk or you are ridiculed. Now bucks are fed, nurtured and allowed to walk regardless of how many mistakes they make until they are considered large enough to "harvest". No longer the case of being smart, wise or survival of the fittest, just having the right genes to be allowed to live.

the 60s when standard archery equipment was considered inadequate for the legitimate taking of deer

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Say what? I started hunting in 1962 and have never heard that one. Archery hunting was different then, but I know the hunters back then didn't think they had no chance. I'd bet the wounding rates weren't much different than todays.

But back on topic. It was tradition in our family to at least mount the horns on a finished wood plaque and display them in the game room. Was that bragging? I don't think so. Many spikes and four points, but each brought back a memory of that hunt. I guarantee I can recount a story for each rack and there are many. I'd hate to think those memories could be forgotten and the opportunity to remember all of those hunts lost without those reminders.

I don't always hunt to kill, but kill to have hunted. If and when you do is your personal choice. I let more walk the older I get, but will never look down at someone who makes a legal kill. Its what hunters do.

Laphroaig

My older brother has a huge collection of trophies from all over the world. He had a special large room built on to his home to display his trophies. He is not a rich man, but very hard-working and his priorities are clear. His wife is a talented artist who makes the most of his passion and decorates the house to best reflect the beauty of the animals and her paintings. As he bags bigger trophies, say a mule deer, he gifts the smaller one to me and other family members. I now have several great trophies in my home including a blue wildebeest. I enjoy them immensely. My brother recently had to downsize and move away from his show home. Now, many of his trophies are spread throughout the family and everyone tells the stories about how they came to be. Not a bad legacy.

Local VFW has several huge mounts hanging. When newbies ask about them standard answer is "ya, he was running real hard when he hit that wall, go out stde and you will see the rest of him."

Laphroaig said:

Say what? I started hunting in 1962 and have never heard that one. Archery hunting was different then, but I know the hunters back then didn't think they had no chance. I'd bet the wounding rates weren't much different than todays.

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I took my first buck with bow @ the age of 14 in 1968. Took it off a farm where the landowner laughed at me and told me to "shoot all I can!" when I asked permission to hunt. That was the general feeling about bow hunters back then, that the equipment resulted in very few kills....and it did. Add to that the amount of deer in the woods of Wisconsin was much lower than it is today. One reason most bow kills were so scrutinized when registered, because folks figured it had to been shot with a gun. While I didn't think I had no chance, the majority of other hunters did.

I suppose people like to mount trophies for the same reasons they take and keep photographs. Memories are more enhanced by the mount because it appears in 3 dimensional form and can be touched and felt. Certainly nothing to get bent out of shape about.

I have a friend who has hunted all over the world and has the trophies to show for all of the safaris and big name, including a full mount of a lion and cheetah around a dead warthog. When he built his new home, the trophy room became 2300sf with 18' ceilings and was written up in a Safari Club journal. He has the money, so good for him.

You'd have to kill me to take my first moose rack. Solo Fly in float out I may never be able to repeat again.

When it came time to draw I simply did not want to kill either one of those bucks. I spotted and stalked both and figuratively speaking "counted coup" on them. That was enough for me as I had already put our meat in the freezer for the year. They are two of my fondest "trophies".

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I wouldn't recommend or condone the following for ethical or legal reasons. A friend of mine was hunting elk for table fair only because he already had a huge bull mounted and on display in his trophy room. He carries a blunt for fool chickens. You guessed it, he shot a 390+ class bull elk in the butt with his blunt to "count coup". Good grief.

I shot a cinnamon teal once and froze it with intent to have it mounted. Never got around to it. Wish I had. Rare to shoot one. They are a rare color variation of blue wing.

I am fairly ambivalent on the matter and wax hot an cold. To walk into a hunting lodge with a nice variety of mounts is special but for me it is about context.

I have two European mounts of Kudu in my external thatched entertainment area that still do not look quiet right, I may well remove them soon. I also do not think that my home and décor is suited to having mounts on the wall and skins on the floor. My old home was perfectly suited, high ceilings and lots of wall, thatch roof, terra cotta floor tiles.

I have no problems with mounts on the wall and in some contexts they look outstanding.

Contrary to others opinions I always thought a trophy honours the hunter and not the animal? In every sporting event the trophy does not honour the sport but the team or the individual. If we were honouring the animal then why not mount a two point buck? It makes no difference though it is what it means to the hunter that counts.

Andrew, for me it's not about honoring me or the animal. It's far more about memories.

To me, taxidermy mounts bring back the memory of the hunt far more vividly than any photograph.

This thread reminds me of what happened to my taxidermist when he was traveling through Appalachia somewhere. He stopped at a bar for a drink, and it turned out to be a redneck bar. He went and asked the barkeep for a beer - all redneck eyes were on him - and the conversation went something like this:

"Y'all ain't from around here, are ya?"

"No, I'm from Minnesota. Just passing through."

Barkeep squints at him, suspicion evident in his dim brain.

"Wha' dya do, up there in Min-E-Soda?"

"Well, I'm a taxidermist."

"You a what? Taxi-der-mist? Wha's that"

"I mount animals"

Barkeep breaks into a big grin, and announces to the rest of the bar

"It's OKAY, boys, he's one of us!!"

I have had the opportunity to fish Okeechobee every year. In the past ten years, I've probably caught maybe over 500 bass. Best day was seventy one. Of those, I have one on the wall. 9#4oz. I have the first white tail I ever got. Eleven points. First turkey fan, pictures of a 30" Canadian walleye I released

I keep them there because every time I see them, I got back on that hunt or fishing trip.

Contrary to others opinions I always thought a trophy honours the hunter and not the animal? In every sporting event the trophy does not honour the sport but the team or the individual. If we were honouring the animal then why not mount a two point buck? It makes no difference though it is what it means to the hunter that counts.[/QUOTE]

I don't shoot them that small , but nothing wrong with it if you want meat .

Do you keep a picture of your kids in your wallet because you might forget what they look like? Of course not. You pull em out now and then, take a look, smile and feel warm and cozy all over. Does honor have anything to do with it? Uuugh, whatever!