to mount or not to mount...........

Phantom · Jan 21, 2004

How do you decide whether or not to mount your trophys? I took a 187 typical mule buck last fall, and I did not intend to have it mounted. Some people say it should have been, I am beginning to second guess the decision. I can always have it done up at a later date, but I did give the cape from him to a local taxidermist who needed it for somebody elses mount. (he did a great job of fleshing out the skull for me) I boiled and cleaned up the skull like a European mount, but I am wondering how many would have got the mount done, and how many would have used the skull and antlers to decorate the flower bed (I had intended to put them there, the taxidermist warned me they would go missing, but I would know where to find them...with a wink) He was my first mulie buck (one of many I hope), but I didnt think at the time that he was as suited for mounting as some of the others we had seen. What do you say?

sampson · Jan 21, 2004

The Flowerbed? Really?

Dude, if your first buck was 187" typical, it is very mount worthy. It might be a while before you get one any bigger.

nk · Jan 21, 2004

many will say its up to you. do you feel it is truly worthy of mounting. if it were me i would mount it in a second. i mounted my first bull elk that i shot with my bow 5 years ago. he was a 6x6 that scored a little over 300 pts. because it was my first, it was a true trophy to me. i believe its up to you though.
good luck,
nk

ICMDEER · Jan 21, 2004

Save that buck and treasure it. Mount it or at least get a good european or wall mount and keep it forever. It is sacred and you should make sure you keep it with you. I lost my first deer and would love to get it back. And you may never get another 187 buck - that is a dandy.

Q2Dude · Jan 21, 2004

If it were me, there would be no question. It would be hangin' on the wall looking as majestic as he did in the wild. ESPECIALLY since it was your first buck. 187" bucks arent lurking behind every bush.

BigPig · Jan 21, 2004

187"=mounted buck. First buck, and its a good one= mounted buck.

187"+first buck = mount that beauty ASAP.

Phantom · Jan 21, 2004

Well guys, you helped put it into perspective for me. I guess the fact he was my first mulie buck, and not a bad typical score at that (for a girl, my hubby says) I am glad I did the european mount. I guess the only question now, is which wall to put it on. He sets the bar for anything I might shoot in the future, I am sure. This is the buck in question.........

AndymanSavage · Jan 21, 2004

great buck!!! Makes it hard to shoot a forkie next. Display it proudly, most men will never do as well.
I was going to mount my first buck, but there were too many people watching.(old scout joke)

Q2Dude · Jan 21, 2004

That things a beauty! Get him on the wall ASAP! Talk to your taxi and he should have no trouble finding you a nice cape.

kingfish · Jan 21, 2004

Phantom, you need to be careful how you word your posts....MOUNT OR NOT TO MOUNT????. What a question to ask a bunch of guys!!!!LMAO....Just kidding!. That deer would make a beautiful mount and that's really what I go by if it's not huge...Some bucks that are only 25" wide but very simetrical make the prettiest mounts....Nice buck!!.

OSOK · Jan 21, 2004

That is definitly mounting material. You will be hard pressed to ever top that one!!! Sorry to say, but unless you're extremely lucky, it's all down hill from here.

BCBOY · Jan 21, 2004

Phantom,
A 187 typical is a GREAT Buck! I would probably mount a typical that big. But I was in the same dilema with my 190 NT triple dropper from this year. I chose not to do the mount. I've already got a much bigger NT mounted and my 03 buck just didnt come close in standards. I personally like the European look. That's what I did with mine too. I have it sitting on a shelf with some other big racks. Looks kinda neat there.
I definately would advice against the Flower Bed. It doesn't take long for the weather to ruin a rack. If the Flower Bed was indoors it might look kinda neat.

cougarvan · Jan 21, 2004

Nice buck, have it mounted and enjoy...Van

TheKnack · Jan 21, 2004

I was not sure whether to mount my buck from 2002 but sure was glad I did in the end....And it is a whole bunch smaller than that buck.
For a first buck you got an awesome animal there. Congrats.
Go to your taxidermist or call around. You can get a new cape from many of them. Be sure to let them know the size of that buck first so you get a cape matching the rack and body size. A cape from a forkhorn buck would look silly.
No question mount worthy buck you have there.
Congrats again.
Best,
Jerry

Phantom · Jan 22, 2004

>Phantom, you need to be careful
>how you word your posts....MOUNT
>OR NOT TO MOUNT????. What
>a question to ask a
>bunch of guys!!!!LMAO....Just kidding!. That
>deer would make a beautiful
>mount and that's really what
>I go by if it's
>not huge...Some bucks that are
>only 25" wide but very
>simetrical make the prettiest mounts....Nice
>buck!!.

HAHAHA, I thought about that, you should have read some of the other ways I tried to word that, there is really no NICE way to ask.....how does one decide whether to mount? would you mount this? its hilarious!

Anyways, thanks for the input. I did do the european mount for now, and he looks good, but The taxidermist said I can always get the full mount done later, as I will probably never shoot another deer quite like him. (He just doesn't know where to look, I think!) I have been watching this guy, waiting for him to drop his sheds, I hope to be hot on his heels next season...

Smokepole · Jan 22, 2004

Phantom

A very nice buck, congratulations! I went back and forth on getting my first and only shiras moose (Utah once in a lifetime) mounted or not. My biggest dilemma was where to put a 4'x4'x4' mount in my humble home (we have no vaulted ceilings). My choice was more of accomodations, rathar than desire. I decided to sell the cape and just put the antlers on the wall. Like you, I can one day get a cape and have the antlers mounted.

Smokepole

BCbucks · Jan 22, 2004

Phantom -

I know what you mean when you are deciding whether to mount or not to mount.

I am having the same dilemma with the buck I took last fall. Do I mount him or just get a European mount. The logic in the decision is if I get him mounted it costs money whereas I can do the European mount myself and hold out for a bigger buck.......now I don't know if that would be a sign of high confidence or simply "in my dreams". (see link)

http://www.monstermuleys.com/photos/PhotosID2/932.html

So fellas - how about giving me a hand with the decision too.

But then again, if you look at how many years a person has pursued trophy mulies "seriously" as well as friends, relatives and other hunters you know of........you're seriously looking at a lot of man days of hunting to finally see someone harvest a trophy buck.

A net 187" typical might be tough to beat !! And since it is your first buck --- I'd get him mounted.

OSOK · Jan 22, 2004

There's nothing wrong w/ having 4, 5, 6, heck 8 or 10 of em', on that wall either, IMO. Anything in the mid 180's typical "net", for me would go on the wall. And, anything around 200 gross nontypical would join his brothers on the wall as well. I'd say a 220 gross buck, is "Way", beyond question. As well as a 187 net typical. Heck you may get lucky someday! Who cares if you have a couple on the wall. No brainers, IMO...

I'm not sure how much you guys/gals spent on a European. It'd be a wasted, extra $150 down here where I'm from though. Not too mention, You'll have to dish that much more out again, and maybe more to come up w/ the cape that you sold, for what? 25 bucks??? So, now your looking at instead of what could've been a 300 dollar mount, is now doubled. Each to his own I guess. Unless you guys are hunting some sort of game ranch, w/ tame deer! I wouldn't plan on taking one that good, or better the next time you go out! Or 5 years after that... Things change! Trust me, I know. What is phenominal now! Might be nonexistent in the near future. Don't take what you have for granted...

BCBOY · Jan 22, 2004

LAST EDITED ON Jan-22-04 AT 05:41PM (MST)[p]I keep tellin' ya boys, bucks like these are a dime a dozen round here.

For a good mount prices vary from $550-$750 CAN. European mounts are free if ya have a big canning pot and a couple of hours of boiling. That is if your wife is nice like mine and lets ya do it on the kitchen stove otherwise add a couple hours if your doing it on the Colman Stove outside.
One of the best jobs I've seen was one my buddy and I did using a maggot farm. It was nasty and would make most Fear Factor stunts gag but in 3 days it sure turned out good.
A cape will last a couple of years in the freezer before you have to do something with it and enough guys take big bucks around here that just end up in their wood shed it normally isn't hard to find a really good cape for dirt cheap (a case of CANADIAN) LOL!

TheKnack · Jan 22, 2004

BCBOY- Come on now we all know Canadian money is the North American Peso! LOL
Wouldn't that translate into $350-$550 US dollars?
Just messing with ya. LOL.
Best,
Jerry

BCBOY · Jan 22, 2004

Jerry,
Our Loonie is catchin' up to your Greenback.

$550 bucks is still $550 bucks. If it comes to making the mortgage payment or getting a deer head mounted, which one do you think the wife will want you to do? LOL!

huntsonora · Jan 22, 2004

You have to get your priorities straight, there are a lot more houses in this world than there are 187" bucks! LOL, mount that bad boy!

Drummond

Gator · Jan 23, 2004

Did your hunting partner get his buck mounted, or did he go with a just horn mount too. You both got a couple of great bucks, and I have a feeling that you will be back with a few more monsters out of that place you hunt. Answer to your question I would mount it because it is your first, sheds are for the garden.LOL

Phantom · Jan 23, 2004

Hi Gator, we did european mounts of both, due to lack of wall space right now. We can always get a bigger house, I say.

There are great deer out here, I will be learning to bowhunt this spring, Ryan and I will both try our luck in bow season next fall, as we are not likely to be drawn together for mules for a few years.

SPAZ · Jan 25, 2004

First of all, CONGRATS on such a nice buck! He's a dandy and has a very pretty set of antlers. You have several years to decided what to do, but save your cape if you would like to have it mounted with the same one. Of course you can always put another cape on it too. If you have room, and if that's your first buck, I'd think you might regret later not mounting it with the original cape.. even if you take some better bucks in the years to come.

European mounts (if done right) look very nice also, especially with big racks. I have several deer mounted, but I have two mule deer that have gross typical scores in the 190s that I did Europeans on. They look terrific and take up less room in the den.

Phantom · Jan 26, 2004

I already donated the cape off this guy to the local taxidermist who was in need of some. My hubbys cape off his buck went as well. We were not planning to mount them at the time, and the guy needed them to finish some projects ( I have a feeling Ryans best friend will be getting his mount finished with one of those).

He also did a fine job of preparing the skulls for us to do the European mounts, and will be helping us with the whitening. I may regret not having the full mount done, but I am glad I decided not to decorate the flower bed with them. I did not realize at the time that the rack was so nice, until scoring night, when I saw it next to all the others. I know what 'hunters pride' feels like now.

Phantom

Gator · Feb 6, 2004

Phantom I have seen your mount and it looks great, have you posted Ryan's mount yet, Sure would love to see them both side by side. Good luck with the archery hunt next year.