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2020 mount opinions welcomed

Old 11-18-2020, 08:34 PM
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Default 2020 mount opinions welcomed

We get drawn for mule deer roughly every 5 yrs where we are. This was the second time I was drawn for them and I again managed a nice mule deer this year which I am mounting.

My idea is to move my whitetail up and to the right and then put the 2020 mule deer where the whitetail was. Then my non typical and typical mules will be beside each other and they will all look nice together.

I am having a tough time between semi sneak or semi upright. It will have a right twist so it looks into the room. My non typical is a semi sneak and I really like it. When I harvested the 2020 buck he was in the semi sneak pose as well. He was a massive bodied deer and his neck and shoulders were huge so I think the semi upright would maybe showcase that a bit more.

looking for some ideas or thoughts if anyone cares to share.
Attached Thumbnails 2020 mount opinions welcomed-4d0ab8ae-0831-4f9f-8a04-9a1739fdba97.jpeg   2020 mount opinions welcomed-9847afca-f080-4971-827e-5ee02e8413d2.jpeg   2020 mount opinions welcomed-0aaccab1-bb07-480f-86df-d28216f9fbed.jpeg  

Last edited by zcilahim; 11-18-2020 at 08:39 PM. Reason: to add another pic
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Old 11-19-2020, 05:26 AM
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We need a post and story on the muley already on the wall! What a buck!

-Jake
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Old 11-19-2020, 05:48 AM
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I have a lot of deer heads mounted( over 40) and for me, I always got everyone mounted in the position they were in when I shot them, be it semi sneak, looking left or right, and if I have time to take a mental note, I even position the ears in ways they were at time of shot too!

for me,it helps me remember each hunt better, a friend that was a taxidermist suggested this for me when he did my first deer, and I have done so ever wsince!
so, for me, that how I pick possition of them when getting mounted!

and I agree that other mule deer on the wall already is one dandy of a buck there, the WT ain;'t nothing to snooze at either, both very nice bucks, feel free to share the stories of both, and or any other pictures of them!
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Old 11-19-2020, 05:50 PM
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The mule deer on the wall is probably the least exciting of them all. The year I got him I was also drawn for moose. I told my wife I was only going to shoot a big deer if the opportunity presented itself as we would have a lot of meat with the moose tag. I put my tag on him 5 yrs ago and back then I didn’t do a ton of pre-work. We have always had big deer in our area but I never had a ton of time to do a lot of scouting. We just know the areas that typically hold the deer. So opening day comes and me and my hunting buddy hit the road and I tell him we are looking for a nice mature deer. We get out to where we planned to start the day. It’s early and we stop to switch seats I get my gear out and ready to go. We decide we would do some driving and glassing in the morning just to see what was moving around. We start driving and get to our first spot to glass and he’s standing in a small opening with a doe about 300-400 yds away. He was standing perfectly broad side not paying muck attention to us and I tell my buddy well he’s a decent buck but I think we can do better. Right as the words leave my mouth he turns his head and all we see is junk everywhere and I say never mind we are going to put a plan in place. He saunters into a bush with his doe and we walk to the far side of the bush and start working our way back. I’m on the outside as I was the only one with a tag and he’s in the middle of the bush. We are 75% through the bush and approaching where we think he should be. Then all of the sudden one, two, three, four, five does come out in a line. My heart is starting to race but he doesn’t come out with them. Then I hear my buddy say here he comes. I get ready he comes busting out on the side of a small hill and all I can see is the top half of his back. It’s hard to believe how animals understand the contours of the land. I shoot and miss shoot again and miss and then on the third attempt I connected. We were both super excited and happy it all worked out. He has 19 scoreable points and grossed just over 198.
Attached Thumbnails 2020 mount opinions welcomed-d556ec0b-666d-45f9-8085-95c135dabfb1.jpeg   2020 mount opinions welcomed-9de6397a-45a4-45b4-96b2-d41544a6333a.jpeg   2020 mount opinions welcomed-67e35db3-6705-456b-8b49-d352aa1b8658.jpeg   2020 mount opinions welcomed-c1fd4d53-ed46-44c5-b770-c9b967792ff2.jpeg  

Last edited by zcilahim; 11-19-2020 at 06:43 PM.
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Old 11-19-2020, 07:16 PM
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The whitetail was probably my most memorable hunt to date. It was 11 years ago now and it was the first big whitetail I shot and it is still my biggest to date. I believe he scored mid to high 150’s. It was my first hunt where I was one my own (I can’t remember why that was) and I was hunting one of my favorite areas around the farm. The area we hunt is quite hilly with a ton of bluffs and a series of deep ravines. It’s really great mule deer and whitetail country. I walked miles and miles and miles that day through the hills without seeing to much. Come mid afternoon I worked my way to one of the ravines and decided it was time to park my ass on the side of it and try some rattling. It was the first time I tried rattling as we did a lot of pushing bush back then. I hit the horns a few times and waited. Nothing. I hit them again and wait a few more minutes and nothing. I hit them a third time and decide to wait. A few minutes goes bye and I look across the ravine to an opening and I see him standing in about the only place I could get a nice clear shot. He would have been about 150 yds and was standing broadside. I pull my gun up get my breathing under control, put the crosshairs behind his front shoulder, then squeezed the trigger and he just stands there. I was sure it was a good shot but I chamber another round and boom. He barely moves again but walks into the bush line. I head down and find good blood. I tracked him about 25 ft and found him piled up in the bush. I again was so it excited I just shot the biggest deer of my young hunting life. I then realized how the hell am I going to get him out of this ravine. Luckily our cousin was free from the farm for a bit and helped me out with the long drag to the truck! When I got home and skinned him out he had two holes from the .270 about 1/2 an inch from each other which made me feel a lot better.

Last edited by zcilahim; 11-19-2020 at 07:22 PM.
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Old 11-19-2020, 07:26 PM
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Originally Posted by mrbb
I have a lot of deer heads mounted( over 40) and for me, I always got everyone mounted in the position they were in when I shot them, be it semi sneak, looking left or right, and if I have time to take a mental note, I even position the ears in ways they were at time of shot too!

for me,it helps me remember each hunt better, a friend that was a taxidermist suggested this for me when he did my first deer, and I have done so ever wsince!
so, for me, that how I pick possition of them when getting mounted!

and I agree that other mule deer on the wall already is one dandy of a buck there, the WT ain;'t nothing to snooze at either, both very nice bucks, feel free to share the stories of both, and or any other pictures of them!
I like the advice and I think I will go with the semi sneak. Thanks for your input!
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Old 11-20-2020, 02:09 AM
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Thanks for sharing!

-Jake
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Old 11-20-2020, 05:36 AM
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cool story on the mule deer on the wall,
as they say some times its better to be lucky than skilled
but even better IMO when you can mix the two together !
a little luck and some skills can take you pretty far IMO or get you in more trouble than you can handle LOL
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Old 05-21-2021, 09:13 PM
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Updated pics of the final product.
Attached Thumbnails 2020 mount opinions welcomed-f45cf73a-d55e-4d73-b36f-ed348f4b258b.jpg   2020 mount opinions welcomed-497150cf-5de4-4792-8cc1-432436c29eda.jpeg  
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Old 05-21-2021, 10:32 PM
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They look good together. Where did the whitetail end up?

-Jake
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