kickin_buck

I agree that you should rethink the whole not mounting him thing. Things can go wrong any time you are shooting at a living breathing animal. The fact it is, it would have be very easy for you to chalk him up as a loss and climb back into the tree and wait for the next buck to come by. However, you show what kind of person you are buy working your butt of to recover this animal. It may not have went as planned, but IMO, your willingness to work hard to recover the animial makes this a bigger trophy than what it would have been if everything went according to plan.

zmax hunter

Dude, exactly what everyone else has said, get him mounted. Congrats on a very nice mature gnarly old buck! My 05' buck spent the entire night dead in a creek, his hair was starting to slip, so no, my mount doesn't have his cape but honestly, when i look at him, i see the hunt for him that transpired, with vivid detail i can remember thatcompleteexperience,and i remember the horrible feelings of not finding him that fateful evening. It's hard to shoot an animal and watch him walk away not knowing if and when or where he might expire. Been there, done that. But you should feel nothing but elation for sticking it out and searching for him as you have and found him. I currently know of 3 bowhunters who have shot and lost bucks this year in my area, seems to me they should look harder after seeing your success. Congrats again on an awesome buck!

Can you tell that its not his cape?

oldvt.bowhunter

Pa Trophy Man, I agree with everyone. Right now you feel sick
about it, but that will change with time. You did an extrodinary
job on the recovery, you should be proud about that! If you don't
do a mount, you will feel sick about not doing it latter on down the road. The mount will remind you ofyour super, very sportsmanlike recovery job.
Be Proud; you did a GOOD job!!! You are a true sportsman!!

LKNCHOPPERS

Every hunt doesn't work out like we see on TV. Heck, most experiences in life do not work out the way you think it will. You recovered the deer but the meat was spoiled. That is your only loss. I would get it mounted and be proud of that beautiful animal. You are a real hunter, and real hunters do what ever it takes to recover the animal and salvage the hunt. Good going, hope you can put a better shot on the next one and have a better experience. All we can do is the best we can. This stuff isn't scripted.

turtleshell

U R insane if you don't count your blessings and have a mount done. That is the deer of a lifetime. There are plenty of does out there if you need some meat. It sucks but make the best of the situation.

NavyDeerHunter

We all learn from these situations...not just the hunter that has the experience. This is a classic tale of perseverance and persistence that paid off. I commend you for your efforts and hope that should the same ever happen to me that I have the same dedication you did.
Congratulations on a fine hunt and a great buck. Mount or no mount it is a hunt you will long remember.