RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

I' d get the deer mounted, it' s still a mature buck that I' ve been hunting for and finally killed, but I' d tell the story every chance I got, it' s a heck of a story.
I shot a buck about 10 years ago in NJ Blackpowder season in Jan that had shed an antler, he was still dripping blood, and I spent the rest of that day and the next trying to backtrack him, but there were so many other deer in the swamp, I couldn' t keep the tracks straight. I would have loved to have found it.
Bottom line, what' s it matter what someone else does, he' s happy with it, right? Heck, I have guys in my club find a deer in rifle season that they shot weeks earlier with a bow, and they claim it, and get it mounted. I just laugh.

RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

Is it a misrepresentation, yes....would it really matter to me if I were in your situation...no, not really.

If this is an issue with entering the buck into the record book then I think the scoring panel would be able to easily notice the crack around the base of the antler. Don' t they do x-rays or something.

Hey, if it makes the guy happy to say that he shot the buck with both antlers still on then let him have his day. He is the one that has to live with the situation.

RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

I guess I don' t see the problem. Are you saying he should not have shot the buck, because of the missing antler? If it was too dark to see that one side was gone, it was apparently pretty dark. In the same situation, I would not shoot the deer, if I could see the antler was gone. But since he did, and got the other piece back, why not attach it. He admits to what happened. And as David said, he can' t enter it in the books, so what' s the harm?

RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

As long as he tells the story how it happened, I don' t see how it can be called a misrepresentation. A misrepresentation would be putting the missing antler back in place and not telling anyone. It seems as if he' s being honest about the whole thing and that' s about all he can do after the fact. He took the deer with a good shot. Finding the other antler just makes for a cool story.

I certainly wouldn' t let something like that ruin a good relationship. They' re too hard to come by.

RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

Oh boy. Let me clear up a few things.

a) I honestly don' t care about what he did, I personally wouldn' t have done it, but TO EACH HIS OWN.....that means, that everyone has a different opinion, and that' s ok...just as I stated in my prior posts.

b) the reason is bugged me a little was that he told me of his story, but not the other 30 or so hunting buddies we had back home. I just found it a little odd.

c)pdq. Not at any point in any of my posts did I say anything about him not taking the buck. I am saying I would have been excited to get that buck, regardless of it having one antler...it would have made a funny little story (read excerpt above)

d) let me reiterate. I was simply making conversation about something that didn' t jive with my belief system....that' s it, nothing more. I have no plans on calling him up and reprimanding him for finding the antler and adding it to his mount (that was sarcasm) or calling the local authorities to investigate the situation (that was too).

Everybody just relax a little. I just wanted ya' ll to ponder how each one of you would handle his situation, that' s it, nothing more.

RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

rook, as my screen name implies I shot a buck that only had the right side. That side was ' half of an 8 point' . It was my first archery deer and it was the first year of hunting with the best partner and now my best friend. I have the skull mounted with just the right side, I would not have taken the left side had it been found and offered to me. I always write a brief description of the specifics of the hunt on a 3x5 card and attach it to the back of the mount.
I relay that story of my first archery deer as a half of an 8 point. I feel that I, and your friend, would be phony to brag about shooting an 8,10 or 12 point when it was a 4,5,or six when it was harvested.
This is also an example, as I see it, of ' rack worship' when the success is the humane harvesting of a game animal and hopefully the sharing of the event. I harvested my ' halfa' in the morning and would not have taken the shot so close to dark and, by the way, it is not uncommon for a buck to lose one or both sides during combat for breeding rights.

RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

I would of bought my buddy a drink, and congratulated him on that great deer he had been hunting for years and finally shot, and how Lucky he was to find the shed.

Then I would pulled out the elmers, and helped him put that thing back together!

RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

Let me chime in. I have found a match set of antlers this spring. They have very unique features that make them almost impossible to say they are not from the same head. Together, they score around 125 without the inside spread credit. Because of their uniqueness, I havd considered having them mounted on a cape I can get.

Is that wrong???....OR will it depend on what story I tell after he' s hanging on my wall?

RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

I am with you 100% hafa8pt. But as I said earlier, to each his own...although this is not a thing I would do. Obviously I think the story needs to be told in full if the set is manufactured, otherwise it is a tad bogus.

Personally, I feel that when you do something like this it takes away from the experience, and you are only fooling yourself. Hafa8 is corrrect in my opinion, in that it seems that hunters are becoming more concerned with the size of the rack, rather than the size of the experience.

Just my two cents.

RE: A little bogus...what do you guys think?
 

You asked here how I would handle the situation.

(ring ring)
Skeeter here:

Oh hey JED, whats new......

Now way, you finally caught up with the Willow Buck...that is awesome/congrats...

No blimping way, oh that sucks....a one horned B&C....aw to bad. How did you miss that detail before shooting. A little late and just to jacked on finally getting him..........

GET THE ---- OUT......................... C" MON... No way that is awesome, you found the shed and it matchs...wow. How is that huge horseshoe in your @ss, man buy a lotto ticket.....whew. That will be a great mount for your basement........ too bad you can' t enter him in the book though....ah h#ll, but one great story and congrats on your deer.

Now if this same buddy sent out an email claiming he shot a B&C deer, with no mention of the events he described in the phone call (above:D) I would call him on it, but to his face directly.....not around the bend crap. Maybe he had the same conversation with the 30 others and just wanted to show off the finished product...an oversight on my part is very possible. If I felt he was stretching the truth he' d know, wouldn' t let it bother me or our friendship. However it may make me question things he said, but basically say my peace and move on.;)