by23856

I have a question that is likely rather premature, but after reading Bowhunter' s post about being proud of what you harvest, it got me wondering about a decision I hopefully will have to make this year.

I have two large bucks running around in the area I' m going to hunt starting the 15th of this month, and my estimate, although I' m no expert at this, is that they may score in the area of 140-150.

The problem is, I have never been one that wants to decorate with animal heads or antlers, I don' t have a hunting camp to hang it in, and personally (please don' t take offense) I can think of a lot of other things I would rather do with a couple of hundred bucks (or more?) than to have a deer' s head stuffed.

Is this showing disrespect to the animal? I likely will cut the antlers off and hang them on the wood shed like I have done with all the rest, although I will always cherish the photos and memory of taking a ' trophy' , something I have never done before. Who knows, if I' m lucky enough to bag one of these guys, my opinion may change, although my wife' s may not...

Danny45

I say absolutely not! Only you can make that kind of choice. Whether you shoulder mount it, mount the rack only, or throw the rack away, it' s up to you. I look at it as, if you use the meat and not waste it, then you' ve shown respect to the animal. You can' t eat antlers anyway.

But, if you truly have no desire to do anything with the rack, let it go so someone else can shoot it that may want to have it mounted, and take a doe or smaller deer instead.

I take it your wife doesn' t want a head on her walls in the living room or den? Do like I did. I told mine that if I couldn' t hang it in the living room, I' d hang it over the bed. It sits proudly on a living room wall as we speak.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Interesting....I am perplexed. I personally think mounted animals in honorable and beautiful....course I live in a log home and the setting is perfect but on any wall, they are beautiful. I' ll have to give this one some thought. I don' t think it' s disrespectful, but at the same time, your taking an animal away from someone who wants to see the mount on thier wall....hmmmm I' ll have to give this one some thought.

I do however admire your thinking towards the memory, the photos and at least hanging the antlers along with your others, even if it is on a shed. Hmmmm I' m perplexed.......I guess I can' t tell you what' s right and what' s wrong as long as you hold the animal in respect when you take them....you seem sound enough as a sportsman and hunter....what you do with the animals you harvest is up to you....who am I to say differently. I haven' t mounted all my animals as head mounts but I do plaque them, use them as decor and waste not. Good luck this season.

Danny45

[:' (] That' s just not fair!!!

Arthur P

I don' t think not mounting the ' trophy' is disprespectful, but throwing the antlers away IS. They are a very useful part of the animal that should not be discarded. If you can' t use them, find someone that can.

MA Jay

I don' t think you will be showing the deer any disrespect. Hanging them on the shed is 1 way many thousands of people choose to display their racks.

Please, do not throw them on the ground in the back of the barn or on the " pile" behind the shed. I see this much to frequently on the farms I hunt in PA and NY. They live with and around deer constantly all year round and see them as eating machines of good crops. Many of these guys love to hunt as well and it is a very strong tradition with them, but once they are in the freezer and a photo or 2 has been snapped many racks end up thrown behind the barn. No matter how hard I try and explain that just nailing that rack to the wall instead of letting it rot on the ground would be more respectful they don' t get it. I' ve even offered to do it myself.

Nothing wrong with hanging them on the shed. A good mount is expensive for some people, around here it' s about $400.

benhuntin

No, thats not disrespectful. Now if you shot the deer and cutout the backstrap and threw the rest of the animal away, THAT would be disrespectful.
The fact that you take pictures of the animal and adorn the antlers on your barn shows respect.

by23856

Not trying to defend myself, but another situation I find myself in is the exact opposite of PA/ Bowhunter' s. I live in a relatively small home with 8' ceilings and a small living room. Hanging a full head mount would put me eye to eye with the deer, especially the one which is a very large (tall) 10 point basket rack, I' m estimating an antler height of 2' and a few inches. The base of his neck, in a typical head mount post, would be down near my belt buckle, I would imagine.

Two things I' m thinking about since posting is either getting it european mounted, which I think is approx. $100, or talking to Cabella' s. I have two Cabella' s somewhat close to me- one in Sydney, NE, and another in Kansas City. Would they possibly pay to have it head mounted and hang it in their store? I know that' s a long shot, since they probably have many people donating mounts to them, but it' s a thought.

Also, it' s not just the wife that doesn' t like deer heads hanging in the house- I' m not fond of them either, at least in the home I' m in now. If I lived in a log house or lodge styled home with tall ceilings, it would be a different story, for both me and my wife.

BTW, thanks for all the responses, I really appreciate it.

Jason N

It' s not disrespectful not to mount a trophy, but as far as I' m concerned nailing a 150" rack to a shed is somewhat disrespectful. If the problem is with the wife not wanting in the house.....well, it' s your house too. Marriage is a two sided deal! Ultimately the decision is yours on whether or not to mount it, but if it were me and I wasn' t going to mount it I' d let him walk.

by23856

There' s NO WAY that I would ever let an animal lie and go to waste. I' ll either eat it or donate it to a needy family or to Hunter' s Feeding the Hungry. I also send the hide away to get it tanned (I don' t have time to do it myself) to later be made into a garment of some sort, when I collect enough. In fact, I cherish the hide now much more than I do the antler' s. I' m having a fundamental shift in my thinking where I' m thinking about shooting the largest bodied deer that I see, if I should have a couple of bucks (or does) pass by at the same time, over the size of the antlers.

When I got my hide back last year, the feel of that soft leather in my hands felt as good as any antlers I' ve ever held.