if you know its the same buck you shot,then its your trophy . just hang on to the antlers and mount it on another cape ,we do this all the time.

back around 1985 i shot a huge 6pt near a big swampy thicket,he was bleeding like a stuck pig when he entered the swamp. we looked for days and couldn't find him. there were no buzzards near there for a week, then 10 days later it warmed up and i found him while hunting the other side of the thicket,there was one buzzard setting in a tree . now i knew i killed this buck, he was the biggest 6pt i'd ever seen. i kept that rack and about 5-6 years ago i mounted it,with the cape from another buck i killed. the buck is 22 1/2 outside spread and heavy .you just don't find many 6pts that size in va.