Tree climber

it all depends on the person and the hunt.
When I did taxidermy work,I mounted everything from a doe to a very large 8pt that scored in the 150s.(not taken any where around here)

if we in this area of Fla. waited to take a 3 1/2 year old buck or a 150 class ; there would not be a deer taken ever again(in my area of central Fla.)

lhook7

Outdoor writer,

I agree with you. I hunted in South Texas last season where the standing, and strictly enforced, rule is shoot no trophy bucks younger that 5 1/2. If you wanted to hunt for meat it had to be a doe or a cull buck. The results of this management practice are amazing. I've never seen as many big deer in an area as I saw down there.

JimboHunter1

Would you let the Beatty buck walk then lhook?

kyhuntsman

For me it all boils down to these few questions and in this order:
1) Can I afford to have this buck mounted? If yes, go to #2.
2) Do I have a place to display this buck? If yes, go to #3.
3) Does this buck hold a good memory for me? If yes, then go to taxidermist.

NY Bowhunter

lol I like kyhuntsmans' theory.

I have a buck mounted that is by far no trophy in the form of scoring goes. He's a allright 8 pointer. But that was the best hunt I've ever been on in my life. It was back in my earlier days of hunting when I wasn't nearly as selective as I am now. But I'm sure glad I got him mounted. 10 years later it's cool looking at him and reflecting on that hunt which is still my greatest hunt to date. So I don't think headgear really matters when it comes to a mount.

And outdoor writer.......... come out from the ranch and hunt some public property before you make statements like that. Until there's a Statewide agreement on your theory, Jimbohunter is right. For some people there would be no sense in hunting. Would you rather see him not take a buck for the next 30 years??

ironranger

Buckmine,

I'd agree with what has been said already in that it isn't the size or inches that counts but the memories of the hunt that count. I have one on the wall that scored 150 but I've also got another one that is well under that and I'm considering getting a mount done on it. I remember the hunt well. I grunted him in and dropped him with one shot. Then as I was gutting him out, I had a 6 point buck walk within about 30 feet of me. I heard him coming so I laid flat against the buck and watched him walk by. That was cool. Then I hooked that buck to my safety strap and drug him about 1.5 miles thru swamp and trail to the truck. I was fully lathered up with sweat when I got to the truck and as I came by some guys that were sitting at the trailhead. I felt like saying "You won't shoot anything sitting at the truck" but bit my tongue. I was grinning too much to say anything!!

skeeter 7MM

I think what outdoor writer is saying that if everybody changed there mentality to adopt a rule of harvesting mature deer vs a deer than it would result in more opportunities to harvets mature/bigger bucks. However it is very unrealistic in the public hunting situations to manage on a large scale. While I have a certain standard/expectation I certainly wouldn't force that upon other hunters. Sure I believe in only harvesting mature deer but that is my own personal belief, makes me happy and my sense of enjoyment. The key is hunting is for personal reasons if you are enjoying being in the woods taking a "dink" well all the power to you. However if you complain about never taking a big buck(bear in mind where you hunt this can be very different from others areas) and shoot the first set of antlers you see b/c you'll never see another or someone else will, then your agruement is full of holes(I am not going to get into this as it is for a different debate).

To the question of what is worthy of a shoulder mount, well I agree with those who said if the deer is mounting worthy to the hunter than go for it. Really what I think or someone else thinks is moot, the guy displaying it, paying for it and harvesting it has to make that call based on their own feelings. I mount deer that have character, score, memory or just plain look good(not always have they scored the highest either). I have actually become quite fond of the Euro mounts and have done my last 4 deer harvested in this fashion, which is another less costly option to shoulder mounts for displaying YOUR animals.

Just do what ever makes you happy

benhuntin

Your darn right it does. WE,re all having withdrawls trying to wait another
8 months to hunt. [:@][:@][8D][&o]

Everybody has different ideas on what makes a trophy and how best they would like to preserve the memory of the hunt.

OregunHntr

benhuntin,

Thats one good looking future hunter you have there.

I myself have never gotten a full head mount done, but then again
I have never shot a 150 or above buck (not yet anyway). But the Bucks
I have gotten I have mounted the horns on a plaque. Each one has it's own
hunting memories and it's own unique rack and story.

bobo21

I'll know when I get there.