When To Mount
- csoult
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When To Mount
I know this is personal preference, and that's what I'm looking for... what size, age, or whatever, are your qualifications for mounting a deer.
I shot a 140"+ this year and only got it euro mounted. Lots of people thought I was crazy for not getting it mounted. A shoulder mount is a lot of money and frankly money I'd rather spend on a new tree stand or a hunting trip. Am I crazy for not mounting it.
I did encounter a buck twice this year that I would mount. A true monster.
I shot a 140"+ this year and only got it euro mounted. Lots of people thought I was crazy for not getting it mounted. A shoulder mount is a lot of money and frankly money I'd rather spend on a new tree stand or a hunting trip. Am I crazy for not mounting it.
I did encounter a buck twice this year that I would mount. A true monster.
- Stanley
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Re: When To Mount
A wall full of 140 inch bucks is pretty impressive.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: When To Mount
Most of mine are euros. Less space and upkeep.
- csoult
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Re: When To Mount
Not being smart but, do you think they are less impressive if euro mounted though?
- Nocturnal
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Re: When To Mount
I would have mounted a 140. So to me you may be a little crazy. But I have a few 3 year old 120's I've uro mounted and maybe should have mounted seeing as they are great deer for the area I took them from. Anyways, different strokes for different folks. I like to see a variety of sizes in a trophy room. I like to see some big ol Bucks piled into one single room. But I like a mix of sizes. It shows what whitetail bucks are really like.
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Re: When To Mount
I've got 2 stud 6pts I wish I would have mounted. I really like mounts though. Brings the deer back to life. I've got a 90inch 8pt I killed here in Florida mounted. I think I like it as much as my 130 Carolina deer. Different strokes for different folks. Only you can really answer that.
- Crazinamatese
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Re: When To Mount
Me personally, it has to be a a beast if Im gonna spend the money on a shoulder mount. Otherwise euro-mounts look sweet too. and cheaper.
The cave you fear hides the treasure you seek!!!
- Dewey
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Re: When To Mount
For me it's 130" or bigger for a shoulder mount otherwise I'm doing a euro mount. With deer, bear and fish I'm running out of prime wall space so next buck shoulder mount will need to be something really special.
- Stanley
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Re: When To Mount
csoult wrote:Not being smart but, do you think they are less impressive if euro mounted though?
In my opinion yes. I'm not a big fan of euro mounts though. I have a few euro mounts they don't show off the rack nearly as nicely as a good shoulder mount.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
- thwack16
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Re: When To Mount
Right now I'm setting my minimum to be shoulder mounted at 125 gross for a bow kill and 140 for a gun kill. There's a decent chance that I would skull mount one that just barely made it to that mark; I'm cheap.
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Re: When To Mount
I think Euro mounts are great. I haven't killed a big enough buck yet to consider a full mount, but if/when it does happen I'll go with a Euro mount.
At this point with a young family, I'd rather allocate the funds to other things. I'm more than happy with photos and a Euro mount.
At this point with a young family, I'd rather allocate the funds to other things. I'm more than happy with photos and a Euro mount.
- cbay
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Re: When To Mount
Doing a 100 inch buck right now. Need the experience to get better at it. If i were paying someone else then i would want it to probably be a 3 yr. old or better. If money were no object i would get any deer i shot mounted. At about a 100 bucks each i can do a couple a year though.
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Re: When To Mount
I'm not a fan of euro mounts, and don't really want a shoulder mount on my wall. Just me. I do like a well done shoulder mount better than Euros or skull plates.
Someone mentioned it - you could get into doing your own. It takes some practice and will costs some, you'd save some money...
Ultimately - mount what you want to see over your mantle. If a 140 doesn't do it, then you'll just have to shoot a bigger one!
Someone mentioned it - you could get into doing your own. It takes some practice and will costs some, you'd save some money...
Ultimately - mount what you want to see over your mantle. If a 140 doesn't do it, then you'll just have to shoot a bigger one!
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Re: When To Mount
I only have one buck mounted. It was my first "nice" buck. Since then I have shot quite a few bigger and I just prefer to go with a European mount. I have a coupler reasons for my thinking. The main reason for me is, and this might sound a little weird, but I like to be able to hold the rack in my hands. Deer that are mounted and up on the wall look great, but you can't really ever do anything with it. It's almost like taking a picture of the buck and putting it on the wall. I went on my first Iowa hunt this year and I had my mind already made up that I was going to go with a European mount unless it was something of record book proportions. Also I think the cost is just too much money for me to deal with. The cost of my hunt this year was already enough, let alone adding in a huge taxidermy bill. No matter which route you take as long as you are preserving the memory of your hunt, that is all that matters!
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Re: When To Mount
Personally Idk what I would do. I have only killed one buck out of my first three deer. And yes I got him mounted. It was a cool story. And I had been busting my but for two years, with many failed attempts to kill a deer. Last year I hunted every single day I had off from september 15th to January 31st. I saw 2 deer all year, and I shot once and missed. Then I blew my chances on opening day this year with a miss. Then a week later got on deer again and my tree stand creeked as I turned around to shoot. Another blown chance. It was a bone headed move.
Then on the day I shot my buck my buddy and I got to the spot and he had to take a dump. So he went to the bathroom near the truck. Then we left. So I got into my tree late, and if I hadnt my buddy would have shot the deer instead of me becasue as he was pulling his bow up the buck caught him and ran right in front of me.
Idk now that I think about it and as I reread my above post I realize a mount to me does not matter about the horn size. Its the story behind the hunt. The Grind and pound each and every one of us went through to get that animal. And usually it is harder to kill a 6 year old bruiser than it is to kill a 3 year old with a decent rack.
For example, a friend of a friend went out to the mid west and killed a 2 or 3 year old that had a crazy rack. I think all the stickers and stuff came to like 24 points. But points off the main beam were like 10 points. He got it mounted because it was the biggest racked deer he had killed. And we asked him how he got it, and he goes oh I just jumped in my buddies pre hung stand on the edge of a field and I couldnt shoot the bigger deer so I took him.
I was super happy for the guy, but he didn't seem happy for himself. Or at least as happy as he should have been. And he was like well I guess I better go to the taxidermist, like it was a chore. IDK in my opinion if a deer was that big but I wasn't excited or happy about it, then I would not really want to get it mounted. Something like that is a waste of money to me. Why would you want to remember a hunt that you didnt even really enjoy? IDK
Every time I look at my small 8 point I am going to remember the day, and all the struggles leading up to that point. And all the funny little things that happened on that day. I mean I show pictures of my deer to people here in RI and people go nuts for it. Like its the biggest deer they have seen in a while. I'm not trying to brag but I tlak to a lot of people and a lot of people admit to poaching deer. Whether it be taking 4 or 5 bucks in a year, but we are only allowed 2 buck tags. So I feel like our buck population is being depleted completely. Anyways.
So I am going to say there is no size limit. I would mount a doe if it had some type of significant meaning to me. But everyone has there own opinion. A lot of people like to show off the bone. But I would rather have someone ask me why I had a specific deer mounted.
I have noticed that people look at a deer with a nice rack and say "oh wow nice deer", but if they look at a smaller deer or one that seems a little out of place, they usually ask why, or ask more questions. Where as they assume you got it mounted because of the head gear.
I like stories. And if I happen to kill a REALLY nice deer and there is a good background story to it then I guess I will get it mounted
Then on the day I shot my buck my buddy and I got to the spot and he had to take a dump. So he went to the bathroom near the truck. Then we left. So I got into my tree late, and if I hadnt my buddy would have shot the deer instead of me becasue as he was pulling his bow up the buck caught him and ran right in front of me.
Idk now that I think about it and as I reread my above post I realize a mount to me does not matter about the horn size. Its the story behind the hunt. The Grind and pound each and every one of us went through to get that animal. And usually it is harder to kill a 6 year old bruiser than it is to kill a 3 year old with a decent rack.
For example, a friend of a friend went out to the mid west and killed a 2 or 3 year old that had a crazy rack. I think all the stickers and stuff came to like 24 points. But points off the main beam were like 10 points. He got it mounted because it was the biggest racked deer he had killed. And we asked him how he got it, and he goes oh I just jumped in my buddies pre hung stand on the edge of a field and I couldnt shoot the bigger deer so I took him.
I was super happy for the guy, but he didn't seem happy for himself. Or at least as happy as he should have been. And he was like well I guess I better go to the taxidermist, like it was a chore. IDK in my opinion if a deer was that big but I wasn't excited or happy about it, then I would not really want to get it mounted. Something like that is a waste of money to me. Why would you want to remember a hunt that you didnt even really enjoy? IDK
Every time I look at my small 8 point I am going to remember the day, and all the struggles leading up to that point. And all the funny little things that happened on that day. I mean I show pictures of my deer to people here in RI and people go nuts for it. Like its the biggest deer they have seen in a while. I'm not trying to brag but I tlak to a lot of people and a lot of people admit to poaching deer. Whether it be taking 4 or 5 bucks in a year, but we are only allowed 2 buck tags. So I feel like our buck population is being depleted completely. Anyways.
So I am going to say there is no size limit. I would mount a doe if it had some type of significant meaning to me. But everyone has there own opinion. A lot of people like to show off the bone. But I would rather have someone ask me why I had a specific deer mounted.
I have noticed that people look at a deer with a nice rack and say "oh wow nice deer", but if they look at a smaller deer or one that seems a little out of place, they usually ask why, or ask more questions. Where as they assume you got it mounted because of the head gear.
I like stories. And if I happen to kill a REALLY nice deer and there is a good background story to it then I guess I will get it mounted
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