Author Topic: How important are "trophies" to you? (Read 2842 times)

SDS-GEN · « **on:** January 10, 2007, 02:06:28 PM »

A friend and I were discussing this today. Just wondering how important shooting an animal with big antlers or a large hide or skull is to you. Do any of you hold out for bigger animals around home, but take what you can get on out of state hunts? What standards do you hold yourselves to as far as killing or mounting an animal? With the huge surge in "quality deer management", mineral supplements, hunting celebrities on TV, etc. I just wondered how average hunters felt about record book animals. Is this just more commercialization of hunting?

GRIMJIM · « **Reply #1 on:** January 10, 2007, 02:19:26 PM »

I hunt more for the meat than the trophy. But I don't know many people who would take a pass on a 12 pointer to go for a doe because the meat was better. None actually. My standards for mounting a trophy? I got a caribou shoulder mount done, big antlers, not recordbook or anything but a nice bull, I'm sure some wouldn't consider it mountable. I haven't gotten a whitetail that I would mount yet. I got a nice 9 pointer, but the rack wasn't that big so I didn't get it mounted. I think if I could get a nice 10 pointer I would get it done. After that only if it's bigger than the one I already have.

hardertr · « **Reply #2 on:** January 10, 2007, 02:33:24 PM »

I started hunting at the age of 12, and always wanted a whitetail mount like my grandpa had on his wall. I've killed probably 30 deer since then, but nothing worth mounting yet.

My view - I WANT to shoot a trophy, but I also want there to be a good story behind it. I just can't picture myself saying " I have a guy $10 grand, he led me to a deer, and I shot it."

I see the hunting shows on TV, and yes, it does a slight sence of jealousy. I also feel a little sad when I see a 10 year old shoot a 170 B&C. That kid will never feel what I do EVERY time a six point (who cares what he scores) or better walks out. Most deer in my area would probably be classifies as 110-120 B&C. The first and only buck I have ever seen alive that was above 150 was at a state park...and waiting for passers by to drop some corn. He was HUGE, but nothing like those "smaller bucks" I see when I'm hunting.

beemanbeme · « **Reply #3 on:** January 10, 2007, 04:55:35 PM »

It depends on what you call a trophy. I don't think "trophies" are some sort of willie measuring contest. To some folks that is exactly what they think they are but to me, a trophy has to MEAN something besides big horns or such. I have a 2x2 set of antlers mounted (on a plaque, I don't do actual mounts). Why? It was the first deer my son shot. I have a set of 13" antelope horns mounted because it was the first antelope I ever shot. I have a 12 pointer nailed to the barn wall along with the other antlers. I went up to the top of the hill behind the house, sat down for about 30 minutes and two does came by with him huffing along behind them. And I shot him. Not exactly what you'd call an adventure. Had it been a spike or such, I'd have shot it as quickly. Poor old deer, thought he was gonna get him some sugar and he got his ticket punched instead. Some days are like that. I have a nicely balanced 8 pointer plaqued that makes me feel warm every time I look at it. It took a lot of time, planning, and woodmanship to put that deer on the ground. On public land at that.
So you see where I'm going. A trophy is what it means to you.

dukkillr · « **Reply #4 on:** January 10, 2007, 05:22:32 PM »

I trophy hunt primarily although I'll kill does for friends who want the meat. I won't shoot a buck that's not mature (4 1/2 or better). I don't hunt for meat. I'm stuck with meat because I hunt. If I didn't get that rush from a big buck/tom/bull I'd buy meat at the grocery store.

NONYA · « **Reply #5 on:** January 10, 2007, 06:20:58 PM »

Shooting a mature buck every year adds a great deal more challenge to the hunt,i buy doe tags in surplus areas to fill the freezer but i wont cut my A tag on anything but what i call a trophy,mature deer,good mass and frame and more often than not some kind of non-typical structure.I will eat the tag before i will fill it on a small buck,Id rather go to the last day and still be able to hunt for that good buck.If your not going to eat what you kill go to the supermarket.

Jerry Lester · « **Reply #6 on:** January 11, 2007, 04:12:29 PM »

I'm like beemanbeme as far as my idea of a trophy. My trophies are "hunts", not racks, skulls, and such. My first called in fox with a 22 magnum Single Six

. Now THAT, was a trophy!

My first bow deer was a long, perfectly curved spike with no other points. He had a beautiful 2 point "rack". He was a true trophy to me. A groundhog I shot at 86 long paces with my iron sighted 357 Blackhawk was another trophy.

I could go on, and on, but you get the point

...

dpastordan · « **Reply #7 on:** January 12, 2007, 07:03:33 AM »

I tend to lean more towards meat and experience than the record book. Partly because the cost of taxidermy services going up and the long waits, and living in small quarters most of my life ... what I consider a trophy is the hunt. When I first started hunting, I decided I that my first buck would have at least six points. Passed up quite a few deer but finally shot my first one. I have special memories about that hunt. One of my goals was to go boar hunting and I wanted to get a big one. I believe the average is between 180-200 pounds. I decided to hold our for a 200 pounder - my first was a 250 pounder and my second 215. I find that photos take up less space.

My best trophy I don't have a photo of. I was 12 and shot a grew squirrel with a .410 shotgun. I had hunted since I was 8 (birds and rabbits) but never got a shot. So that moment when I finally picked up that squirrel by the tail and took it to my father and the look on his face...I'll always treasure that.

Memories make the best trophies.

flintlock · « **Reply #8 on:** January 12, 2007, 07:17:20 AM »

I'm with your dpastordan...First squirrel was killed with a .410...I was 9-10...Dang, was I proud!!!

I am fortunate in that my family owns 3 farms in eastern NC...I hunt with brothers, buddies and kin...
We do "big buck hunt", but also have a need to keep the population in check for the farmer...So I kill many more does than bucks, after I have filled the freezer I hunt for bucks...I have never paid for a out of state big game hunt, my trophys come when I have thinned the does and pick up my flintlock...

Graybeard · « **Reply #9 on:** January 12, 2007, 10:16:28 AM »

Pretty much not at all if hunting locally but if I pay big bucks or travel way off out of state and spend big bucks for a hunt then the trophy is THE reason I went.

1marty · « **Reply #10 on:** January 12, 2007, 03:28:41 PM »

I have mixed thoughts on taking trophies; the reason I hunt is that I enjoy hunting; if, I don't take a deer one year it's no big deal; I rate the deer I shoot more with the difficulty of the stalk and the placement of the shot; perhaps at age 63 it brings back memories of when I was 14 when I went hunting with my dad and my brothers. Although I'm sure people will disagree but watching these "hunting" shows on TV sometimes look more like barn yard hunting than hunting.

elmer · « **Reply #11 on:** January 12, 2007, 05:06:23 PM »

Most of my hunting has been hogs and whitetail. On the hogs I prefer a 100 lb meat hog to a big old hog. On the whitetail I have take two does and one spike this year. I have let very nice bucks walk to give them time to breed and age a little. I rather take a 5 1/2 year old 8 point to a 3 1/2 10 point. That's just me.

And, yes I do hunt differently when hunting the lease versus a paid weekend hunt. When doing a weekend hunt my philosophy is "never pass up on Friday what I would be praying for on Sunday".

Savage .250 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 16, 2007, 03:13:18 AM »

To me every buck i`ve shot over the years has been a Trophy. That being said i`ve also passed on bucks
that i chose not to shoot. Reasons vary but mostly because they were small spikes. Don`t shoot doe either ........my choice.
As the years go by the experience of the hunt with my sons and the bonding far out weigh the need to
harvest another buck. Priorities change but the experience of the hunt are what memories are made off.
I might add my .300 Sav 99 and I harvested a 7 point in W Va in late Nov. Another " Trophy" for the
memory file.

Troggy · « **Reply #13 on:** January 17, 2007, 07:07:28 PM »

To me the prize is the meat. I dont eat antlers ,tusks, hides or skulls. BUT Im not against hunters who do hold out for a trophy animal. Im also not saying that I would not be thrilled with a trophy class animal Ii just dont set out to get one. Now Bass fishing is another story!

ruffled feather · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2007, 02:19:37 PM »

agree with alot of folks who already replied, the trophy is the hunt and in the eye of the beholder. I have over the years become more selective however, I didn't tag any animal this year. Not for lack of opportunity, but more for holding out for something a little special. My wife and son had tags to fill the freezer, so I decided to 'trophy" hunt his year and came up empty. But I thoroughly enjoyed this season as much and sometimes more than when I tagged out. Just hanging with my wife and son, being the cameraman and packhorse, and while hunting for blacktails on the WA coast I told my son, "since I've never gotten a true blacktail, ANY blacktail would be a trophy for me."

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 23, 2007, 08:13:50 AM »

My primary reason to hunt is for the expriences and to enjoy the outdoors. I've had just as much fun on hunts when I didn't take anything as on ones where I did. That said, I usually hold out for "trophy" animals because the meat is an issue for me. I also can usually convince myself that the "big one" is just around the corner too. That's why I get stuck with no meat more often than not.

My wife won't touch anything wild, and my kids are just starting to get interested in trying it. I don't want to take more than I can use or give to other family members. Yes, there are programs for the hungry, and I do give meat to them sometimes. I just don't want to be wasteful of good eating game.

ruffled feather · « **Reply #16 on:** January 23, 2007, 01:50:26 PM »

Quote from: Troggy on January 17, 2007, 07:07:28 PM

To me the prize is the meat. I dont eat antlers ,tusks, hides or skulls. BUT Im not against hunters who do hold out for a trophy animal. Im also not saying that I would not be thrilled with a trophy class animal Ii just dont set out to get one. Now Bass fishing is another story!

do you mean bass like these?

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 23, 2007, 02:05:18 PM »

Are there bass in that picture?

Oh, those bass. Yep, those are some great looking "bass-ets" you have.

SDS-GEN · « **Reply #18 on:** January 24, 2007, 09:02:06 AM »

I think those are trophies in any mans book.

I can't afford to fish like that any more.

drdougrx · « **Reply #19 on:** January 24, 2007, 03:01:31 PM »

I've been trying to avoid this thread.

But...taking my own advise is a waste of time.

I am a trophy hunter first and foremost. I don't give a damn about meat, or, more accurately...meat is not the primary reason for my hunt. About 20 years ago, as my family grew and my job got busier, I didn't have the time to spend in the woods. I went from 30 or so hunting days a year down to about 5 or 6. Some years less. Also, the quality of the hunting experience got progressively worse for me. The folks I went with spent more time bickering over gas, dish washing, cooking, etc, etc, etc. I basically spent money and froze. In about 1984, I just plain gave up and headed home half way through the season.

Then...the bug came back as it always did in 1985. So...I met new taxidermist and he invited me to go to New Bruswick, Canada for a Fall deer hunt. It was my first, fully outfitted hunt. It was great!!! I even shot a 200LB + whitetail. About the same time, I began to buy Sportsman-on-Film videos. Hunting videos fueled my dreams of hunting in far away lands. I also began to make more money and began to squirrel some away. After a few huge whitetails and some black bear, I was ready for something else. I was also part time in a gun shop and the owner invited me to go boar hunting in a preserve in VT. Again, I had a great time and saw all kinds of animals that I had no clue existed. Just for laughs I called Ken Wilson of Sportsman-on-Film and found he guided hunts for texas exotics on big ranches. I said, big...huh...how big could they be...man was I wrong....these ranches each had thousands of acres of land. As we saw various animals, Ken instructed me on what to look for in game animals (including whitetails) with regards to maturity and trophy size. Because we took the time to evaluate each possible animal I looked at, it really enriched my hunt! I soon joined the SCI and became a certified measurer and that was it. I never looked back and will never harvest an animal unless it I can mentally calculate it's size and whether it's worth shooting TO ME.

What I mean is...as much as I love game meat (I currently have about 50lbs of fallow venison and 300 or so lbs of buffalo in the freezer) it isn't the primary reason for my hunting. YES...it is the experience...though I usually go by myself. For me it's the adventure of hunting animals that I've never hunted before, and I've quite a few. BUT...i always look for the trophy first. Three buddies and I went to Montana hunting Mulie and Pronghorn. There I was evaluating racks of which we saw maybe 70 deer a day (20 or so were bucks). My partners all filled out on the first day....that's a mulie buck and doe and a pronghorn buck and doe...each shot 3x3's or forkies. It took me 4 days to fill my two buck species tags and it was worth the wait (though I took the smallest pronghorn, the horns were really asymetrical and that was the best trophy of all). By the way...trophy venison generally tastes as good as non-trophy.

Today, I'm lucky to get 3 to 5 days in the field...it's a shame but at this point in my life that's that So..I make the most of what I do when I hunt. I don't always get animals though and like most I folks, I generally don't get asked about the one's that get away or when I get skunked. Case in point, I went to Newfi for moose and caribou in 1993. We saw 30 or more woodland caribou per day for six days. Most were does and some were really small stags... I passed and passed and passed on the animals we saw. My trophy became my unfilled, $600, non-resident woodland caribou tag. My buddy shot a fork horn moose and a nice woodland caribou by 11:30am the first morning. I shot a 40" bull three days into the hunt.

To end this rant...does' and sub-adult bucks are safe from me. I save my money and go to where I have the best opportunity to harvest a trophy (of which I mount) in the limited time that I have to hunt.

BUT...there are rules. I Never Shoot (a) any animal that isn't a better than average trophy; (b) any animal that I don't intend to eat (Lord, some of the goats, one of boars, my 1st black bear and my pronghorn really tested this!!!); and, (c) any animal that I can't cleanly take in one or two shots (I'm 59 shots including 5 misses on 32 game animals or 1.8 shots per animal).

OK...I'm a trophy hunter...I don't expect anyone to agree with me. If we ever meet in the field and you shoot the first doe you see for the meat, I'll always offer to help you gut, drag and skin....promise. I'll even good naturedly take your teasing about waiting for the big rack. And I may not get that rack........this time.

Good hunting all!!!

NONYA · « **Reply #20 on:** January 24, 2007, 04:23:05 PM »

Looks like almost all your trophys came from a game farm anyways so your shooting what you paid for not holding out and taking a chance of not filling a tag.There is a big difference.

oso45-70 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 24, 2007, 04:32:42 PM »

Doc Doug

Great story Doc, I have a lot of the same traits as you. Been hunting for sixty years and the priorities has changed a bunch. I read some of the posts that some of the younger hunters and the stories they tell are funny because i see my self back twenty five or thirty years ago doing the same things. The last four or five years i have slowed down a bunch, But it was not always like that, When Deer or Elk season came around it didn't matter what it took. I went hunting. We had two large freezers and it was up to me to keep them full of meat I did kill some very nice bucks and Bulls but was not a trophy hunter. Keep the good stories coming Doc and good health to you sir........Joe.........

drdougrx · « **Reply #22 on:** January 25, 2007, 02:16:31 AM »

Hi All,

Quick reply before work.

Nonya...you are right...I'm still in the process of scanning in pics to my FOTKI site. I scanned game farm pics first because I like the Exotics thread here on GB. Yes...there is a big difference. Here in Massachusetts...well...it's Massachusetts and hunting can be just an aweful experience. I'm scanning other wilderness hunts, non-preserve hunts and will post over the next several days.

Oso...thank-you for your kind words. I suppose my priorities are to just get away. I'm sorry...I can't justify the time away to have a bad time , even though I can't predict this. Sometimes the challange is to find the animal with a particular trait or trophy size....y'know...like that buck you've been patterning during the pre-season. I remember chasing a gold medal fallow deer at the Galloway ranch in TX and finally ran out of time and had to leave. I had one more day before my flight so we changed ranches. On another trip I was after fallow, mouflon and aoudad....ended up not taking any of these because of all kinds of reasons.

This may not be for everone. I envey you guys who got out locally before work. Who every year "get your deer". Wait...if you get your deer every year, how is that different than what I have been doing...nah...that's not fair...I could jack one every year in my backyard if I wanted though this is illeagal. Anyway...if it makes any difference to you...next fall I've booked 10 days of brown bear and moose in Alaska for a tradional tented hunt...no game farm here. The real challange will be to make sure I can be away for all of that time.

Thanks for the replies!

olbiffer · « **Reply #23 on:** January 25, 2007, 05:18:59 PM »

I agree that a trophy is what it means to you personally. I have taken some mature whitetails, even drew a coveted michigan elk {antlerless] tag, but the "trophy" that stands out in mind has to be the coyote I took with my 45acp handgun on n. manitou island. T.

LEO · « **Reply #24 on:** January 31, 2007, 09:53:12 AM »

Trophies are less important to me than the memories and the time afield expecially with my good friends. I have killed a bunch of deer and hogs, I only have one deer mounted. Unlike some of the posters me and my family really enjoy eating deer meat and eat a lot of it 4 to 6 deer a year so the meat is important to me. Now to the subject of "horn hunters", this is a group of individuals that I have absolutely no use for, everytime I find a deer that has been killed and only the antlers taken, my blood boils. If you don't want to eat the meat or give it to someone who will, then hunt with a camera don't kill the animal and only cut off the antlers.

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #25 on:** January 31, 2007, 10:37:48 AM »

This is a touchy subject for some people, but I agree about the "horn hunters". I hunt in an area in Eastern KY, where the locals "hunt" deer all year. They all say the same thing........we're poor and need the meat. In that area, if you get a job making a couple bucks an hour more than minimum wage, you are doing good. A lot of people work for less money and get paid under the table. You know, if you can't afford meat at the store, I really don't care if you take a deer here and there, even if it's not in season. You got to eat.

BUT, and this is a BIG BUT, some of them (the "poor") are the same guys that in October through January, are shooting big bucks and cutting the heads off of them and letting them lay where they drop. Mostly at night, mostly from a truck, spotlighting in the fields. Don't give me the "got to have meat" story if you are going to do that kind of thing. I mean, they have it down to an art. They even do their own mounts, so they don't have to worry about the deer being at the taxidermist without a tag on it. I guess you can say that trophies are really important to those guys, they'll even give up eating to get one.

SDS-GEN · « **Reply #26 on:** January 31, 2007, 03:01:01 PM »

Many states have wanton waste laws that prevent this type of behavior. In my book if you kill a deer you use the meat, if you don't use it give it to someone who will. I generally give a couple of deer away each year and still have people waiting on meat at the end of the year. It is also illegal if a deer is shot and not tagged, sounds like that is whats going on in kyelkhunter's neck of the woods.

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #27 on:** January 31, 2007, 03:08:24 PM »

That's exactly what's going on................with those guys, the only thing I could compare it to is trying to crack a drug ring. No one talks, no one knows anything, blah blah blah. It's just disgusting. I've about stopped going down there because of it. I don't do it, none of the guys who hunt the farm do it, but I feel guilty because there's not more I can do other than report what I've seen.

SDS-GEN · « **Reply #28 on:** January 31, 2007, 03:20:34 PM »

Round these parts thats called "poaching" and the game wardens love nothing more than busting poachers. If the DNR gets enough complaints, especially from landowners (locals) they will do something about it.

LEO · « **Reply #29 on:** February 01, 2007, 04:56:53 AM »

SDS-GEN, you are right, it is called poaching but in the mountains, it has been a tolerated thing for many years, that is slowly changing but it is taking time. Many of the folk heros in these areas are poachers, it was once looked on as they were doing a good job of feeding their families. We know that is bull now days but times often change slowly. I now of counties where the judges have basically chastised the wildlife officers for taking up the courts time with such things. I have also been in court when the judge told a poacher to tell his buddies if they are in court for poaching deer or turkey to bring the title to their truck with them so they wont have to go back home and get it. Basically judges respond to the whim of the community as that is who elects them, if they feel the community feels poaching is no big deal then it is no big deal. If they feel that the community will not tolerate it then they wont either. Wildlife officers do an incredible job, a lot of folks like to run them down and bad mouth them but think about where we as sportsmen would be without these men and women. Sure there are bad ones but he majority of them are as fine of people as are found anywhere.