If I shot a record book Bull/Stag/Buck..etc and I was faced with a situation where I only had one choice on carrying out the choice cuts or carrying out the trophy. The trophy would win every time. (Nice if you can do both.)
In my situation there' s always plenty of opportunity to take another animal for meat, as we don' t have limits/tags/seasons etc.
I like to keep my freezer stocked.
We' re encouraged to take female animals as a means of controlling numbers, and improving trophy quality, by letting males grow out a bit more.
Have been involved in commercial hunting where you make your money from the meat, and the antlers got left in the bush.
I' ve noticed down this way, where hunting big game is more or less unrestricted, that hunters go through a type of evolution. At the start you shoot the first animal you see. As you progress on you become more discerning and selective on what animal you shoot. And then later on you choose not to shoot most animals and even take up photography instead, or get more of a buzz through take others out hunting. So to answer your question I guess it depends on where you' re at.