anything you harvest should be a trophy. like mrklean said, if you can outsmart one of natures most cautious and smart animals at short range, you should be proud. as far as trophy antlers go, i guess anything that would make books, typical or non, P&Y or B&C.

They are all trophies, that doesn't mean they all go on the wall with a full mount. I have one small buck on the wall because he was the first buck I ever shot and I got him hunting with my grandfather whom I only got to go with a couple years. He's got more memories than all the rest of the deer I've shot combined so he'll never come down. The only other one I mounted was a 165" deer that died about 100 yards away from that first one many many years later. I do keep all the antlers though (or at least all I can).

If I ever do another full shoulder mount, it will either be a bow whitetail that I think is worthy or a legit trophy mule deer, or an absolute BEAST of a whitetail with my rifle.

Great stuff everyone. Great feedback, recommendations, sentiments, etc.

I shot one this year with my dad on the final day that I'm putting on the wall. I scored it, but the memories are the real story and the reason...not to mention it was a decent 8 point and the cabin needs a little something on the wall. Normally we throw in the towel and skip the last day, or just pull stands. I got this one and it was a great day. I don't know how many more years my dad will hunt...I hope a good number more. Lots of great memories this year. I was guiding my brother's 12 year old and he shot a doe out of the same stand the opening day. I've never been so excited after a shot as I was for and with him. It was AWESOME to see that excitement in a young hunters eyes.

Good stuff!!

Lets put some pictures with these scores you guys have

I'd like to see that 160" 8 pointer. We found a dead 8 pointer years ago that scores 160", and that thing dwarfs most 160" 10's. Any mature buck is a trophy, I like the idea of scoring a deer so I can get an unbiased idea of how big the rack is, but score isn't everything. My brother shot a 135" ten pointer a few years ago that dressed at 256#, that buck was never going to be huge buck according to b&c, but a trophy in anyone's book.

Mike

ya, to agree with a lot of you a trophy is solely based on the memory behind it, every deer i hav harvested means something differently to me. A trophy doesnt always mean it's worthy of a full shoulder mount though. however, i still can remember the story of my first deer. after hunting for 2 years and seeing handfuls of deer but rarely getting a shot and missing 2 deer i had shots on i finally got one. a fine 8 pt that just might hav broken 100". It is a respectable deer but the what makes it a trophy to me is the memory definitly. It was shotten from a groundblind that my father and i constructed together in a ravine and worked for several days brushing out and cutting shooting lanes. It was shot with the winchester slug gun that my parents gave me as a christmas gift. most importantly the proud look on my father's face when we found that deer was what i will always treasure. I think he would be satisfied to never shoot another deer knowing that he introduced all his boys to deer hunting, helped them attain their first deer, and helped pass on to us a hobby that we can all enjoy together as a passion. memories like that is what IMO make any ordinary deer a trophy.

all sappiness aside, a "mounter" in my book would have to break 140. I've shotten 9 deer in my short history of deer hunting, being im only 17, but i hav now began passing on small bucks hoping to manage my family's hunting land for big bucks. With some of the pics i've seen on scouting camera i am hoping the 10th deer in my book will be that long desired mounter!

I think it all depends where you are in your hunting "career". If you routinely shoot good bucks I think you could hold out for a good one or fill the walls. If you are an experienced deer hunter and it is your first big deer get it done and enjoy it. All of us have different places to hunt and time to devote to hunting, so what we put on the wall is dependant on that in my opinion. Chances are if you are thinking about getting a shoulder mount getting it done will make you happy, besides they all look nice.

whats a trophy deer?

answer: anything that Tiffany Lakosky shoots!

serious though, I try to shoot any bucks that are over 120" with a firearm or bow. My biggest buck is a 9 pointer from last year that should be ready for the wall soon. I'll post pics when I get it back.

A trophy? For me, it's a dead deer. Period. Can't eat the horns, you know. Not that horns aren't nice to look at either...

Depends what your history is. If you've been hunting for a long time and have taken multiple 120+, then no, I would do a european. If you have been hunting a long time and don't see a lot of big bucks(heavily pressured areas for example) I think a trophy mount would be fine for a score in the 120's. I would probably full head mount 130+, but maybe more or less depending on the particular buck.

I shot my best buck on the last day of ML season last year...I was super excited despite the ground shrinkage when I got to him..I decided to do a shoulder mount and am kind of second guessing the decision..No idea on the score but he was a trophy to me at the time for sure.. [/img]

answer: anything that Tiffany Lakosky shoots!

Coudlnt agree with you more Quackaddict9. I dont even know why Lee even hunts for trophies, he has go himself a trophy rite there

haha, i know!

heres my 2nd deer(1st was a button buck)..this is an 8 got it last year..94 6/8 gross, 89 6/8 final, he had a busted up G3 and one brow tine was deformed, both appear to be from fighting

in the woods


i took it off the wall for the pic

The only one I have antler mounted is my very first deer, 4 points of furry!

I have shot 2 140+ deer and didn't have them mounted. I get a lot of [PoorWordUsage] from my friends for it.