Where does it end ?
Unless you have game tracker pictures of it.......you can't say for sure what that tine looked like !

If someone finds a buck a month after they shoot it...........should you just throw on another cape .........mount it and call it a successful hunt ?

To me..........your freezing a moment in time !! You can either do it like it really was..........or you can do it how you wish it would've been !! Your the one that has to live with that !

CBM - If you shot a big mature Buck in the middle of December. He was rutted out hard and lost 20-30% of his pre-rut weight. Your very good Taxidermist measures the cape at 19" and tells you the skin has "alot of stretch in it". He tells you this buck easily had a 24" or 26" neck during peak rut - and it would be very easy to get that back for the mount.

Would you tell him:

No leave it at 19 because I want to save a moment in time

or

Do you let him show that huge buck the way he was in peak rut?

Rack........To be honest.........I'd european mount it ! But that's a very good/strong point !!

But where does someone draw the line ? If someone kills a late season mature buck with broken tines and small neck..........do you repair it.... swell it up and pass it off as what you truely killed to your friend's ?

If one of these guys shoots one and finds it months later .....varmit damaged and no cape ..........is it fine to take it to a good taxidermist and have him make it look like what he thinks it should've been in it's prime ? Then strut around telling everyone to come look at his trophy ?

It's a personal preference..........just not what I'd do ! But you made me think real hard !

No way, wouldn't think of it! I like to remember them as I killed them. A broken point shouldn't diminish your admiration or enjoyment of the mount. If anything, it should add some mystique! I have a shoulder mount and several antler plaques that have broken tines. It's always neat to wonder what fight they might have been in or what accident may have occured that caused them to break a point.

yea i agree it adds character.

Rack,
You Da Man!
When a good looking, enhanced female walks into the local watering hole, she gets a the full attention of all the bucks in the place. Even if they already have a doe at their side.

I would leave it as is. It will look natural. Deer break antlers in fights, etc. Who knows? You may have the golden glove whitetail champ on your wall? I shot a dandy 8 this year with one that was broken/rubbed off. It was trying to be a 10. I left it. Just got him back and he looks great......EXACTLY like he did when I saw him in the crosshairs.

Nice buck!

PL,

I shot a buck this year almoast identical to that, g2 on the same side broken off with about the same amount of stub left, didnt know until i shot it.
Personally im fixing mine because i want to be able to look at the deer every day just as i saw him in the summer and early october, (i got him in early nov). JMO

I think as long as your not adding the tine to gain more scoring points why not, Its your trophy do what you feel you need to do to reprecent the deer the way you want to see it.

Nah.... why bother. Most get fed to the squirrels anyway.