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But you can' t deny that people are more liable to be drawn to your booth if you have a nice collection of mounts to look at, and they just might take a gander at what' s on the table while they' re there. Whether that' s the reason you display the mounts or not, that' s the end result. Not trying to be offensive, but that' s the way it is.

Now this is a thread I thought was headed NO WHERE. I was positive it was one of the stupidest questions I ever saw. But, some how ya' ll have managed to throw in some brain teasers and give it a little depth. Take it easy BOW. We have to play once in a while.[8D]

There are many ways to " respect" an animal, IMO. One way is taking ethical shots, and making sure that your kills are quick and humane. As far as mounting the deer or not, it is up to the hunter that harvests the game. It is his decision and nobody elses. I myself would mount a deer if I harvested a big buck. I may respect the deer in this way, while other may respect the deer by putting just the antlers on the wall. I believe the only way to truly respect the animal though, is to waste no parts, and to not kill more than is necessary for you. Respect the animal, and respect the fact that it give it' s life so that you can survive.

And your deceased relatives could give a rat' s rectum if they are in a fancy coffin, dressed in thier Sunday best either but it' s something we do to preserve the " honor" of the life they lived.....

Therefore you can carry that into the hunting world saying to mount an animal is to " honor" the animal and the life they lived....neither the human, or animal in this case cares what happens to it after death, but somehow the human, or animal in this case lives on when stories are told of it' s mount, memories are reborn just by looking at it...the honor is in our mind....not what the animal thinks.

Our native Americans hold honor in the spirit of each animal....to disrespect, or dishonoring the animal is to disrespect or dishonor yourself. If you can' t find some truth in that...I feel for you. I guess you hunt for other reasons than myself.

Rob

I' ve told the wife to get the boss and have him dig a big hole with the backhoe. Put me in my old ford truck, push it in and cover. It' s not so much as how I want to be remembered but it makes much more sense then having to pay for a coffin which I will never see and then pay someone to haul the old wreck away.

Tim

Oh and I told her to put a glass of water in the truck with me. A guy should be prepared for the worse should I take a wrong turn!!! [X(][>:]

I leave the horns in the field. I just give a little thanks to God for providing me with additional food for my family. All usable meat is recovered and I leave the hide, guts and bones for animals like wolves, bears, coyotes, squirrels, rabbits and porcupines to nurish themselves. These are just my personal beliefs, I do not look down my nose or admonish anyone if they want to display their successes.

You don' t see very many horns adorning the homes of natives that I know. In fact, on the many, many caribou hunts I have been on with Native Alaskans I can' t ever remember bringing home a set of antlers. Maybe, I just misunderstodd Rob???????