If all of your hunting "trophies" were stolen during your last hunting season.....

Imagine you are a 75 year old man and proclaim prior to the hunting season, that the upcoming hunting season will be your last. While you are out hunting one beautiful October evening someone steals all of your hunting "trophies". They steal all of your mounts, european mounts, racks, sheds, doe mounts, old broadheads, lucky camo hat, pictures, everything.

You return home after a wonderful afternoon in the woods, the kind of nostalgic day that brings back fond memories of years far gone, of friends who shared your love of the woods, and thoughts of supreme adventures that are the building blocks of your soul. You walk into your garage and discover all of your "trophies" have been stolen and will never be found.

How would you feel about your hunting "career" if you had "nothing" to show for it when all was said and done?

 

I believe when I reach that age, I wouldn't care. Sure, I would like to pass them on to my kids, if they want them, but the memories I have of a lifetime in the outdoors is priceless to me.

 

The memories of my hunts can't be stolen

 

I'd have one more trophy to add and that would be the hide of the low life that stole them.

Did they take my pictures too?

They are all etched in my memory and these animals hanging on my wall just add to those memories. If they were gone, the memories are still in tact.

But then again, at 75 maybe my memories will be gone too.

 

Couldnt have said it better. The biggest loss would be if my kids or grandkids wanted them.

 

They would be missed, but what I have as memories inside of me will stay with me forever....NO ONE CAN TAKE THOSE AWAY!!!

 

Thanks for the comments so far guys. I am not a big trophy guy. In fact, I did not even take a picture of a deer kill untill 2007, my 16th hunting season. But, for some reason, the bucks I have taken with my bow mean a lot to me, beginning in 2002. I just have the racks attached to some wood, and have wood burned the "stats" of the hunt on the backside of each one. The smallest racks mean a lot to me. I can envision all of the hunts when I hold those racks. I feel like my hunting memories are strong, but those racks bring back such strong memories, I feel like I would be hurt to the core if I ever had them stolen. Heck, my lucky hunting hat was stolen a few years ago. It was nothing special, but that hat had so many memories attached to it, that it really did hurt when someone stole it and a bunch of other stuff out of my truck one night.

 

Brett....You know I love my room.

But....at 75? I'd be pissed/feel violated. But, I'd get over the posessions being gone. Besides, the bucks will be bigger in my stories than they were on the wall.

 

The mounts of my dad's few deer mean just as much as the 4 of mine that hang beside them. Until I started visiting HNI back around '05, I never bothered taking pictures in the field, usually just a quick shot back at the meat cooler, or in the back of the truck.

As far as my mounts go...yea they would be missed. Would I feel my "career" is a lesser one since I don't have a wall full of bucks to show for it? Absolutely not.

 

Really wouldn't mean that much to me, my career is in my head and in my heart.

 

Not even gonna lie, I'd probably cry! LOL

I'm not the type of person to let that go and say "I still have my memories". Hunting IS my passion in life and I just don't know what I would do if someone took everything that I had to show for that passion.

I know I would NOT just be able to say "Oh well..."

 

Well I doubt I will make it to 75 but if I do and someone steals my stuff... I am going hunting.

Tim

 

id probably be angry now. but at 75 i feel i would have nothing left to prove and the people that knew me would know of the mounts i had so its not like i would be losing respect from the people whose opinions i care about.

 

people can steal objects

but they cant steal memories, photos, friendships

 

First of all the feeling of have stuff stolen from you really stinks! But besides that I wouldn't care that much about the heads, and racks, but the pics would hurt! None of it is going with ya though, its only for here on earth.

 

Hell I just hope that I'm alive at that age, and that my thief wasn't thorough enough to find my external hard drive and hack photobuckets servers to wipe my photos clean. :D

A good photo means more to me than an actual mount....and mine are backed up in numerous ways to insure that I will always have mine.

No matter how good the mount is, they age and begin to deteriorate....photos last a lifetime.

 

Exactly!!! same here!!

 

I'd be pretty pissed. True the memories can't be stolen. But, the mounts, racks, lucky hat, etc... jar those memories of certain hunts. Matter of fact every time I sit at this computer I see my 11 pointer from 06' and always take a quick trip down memory lane. Same walking around every room in my house. Except the bathroom lol.... haven't got the ok on that one yet. My point is, without all the memorabilia around, I'm not sure I'd think about the memories as much. Also it's going to be cool to pass along for generations. So.... Yeah 75 or not I'd go out on one more hunt and mount adventure. Would be my last memory hanging on the wall.

 

Just about every old timer I know has long stopped caring about his hunting career by then and the "trophies" they bagged. I would imagine I'd be very similar. You can always tell stories.

 

Spot on Trev and Ryan.

As I progress, I am finding the experience on the path is more rewarding than the by- products of/from the path. Sure, the by-products are tactile and enhance the memories. But the memories are still there. At this point, I would rather spend my money on more experiences and suffice myself with quality photographs of the by-products (I'm battling with the wife now for places to put things. It's a battle I'm losing).

To answer your question Brett. I'd be pissed-not because I lost the tactile memories, but rather because someone violated the sanctity of my home. I too would go hunting. At 75, what would I have to lose if I rid the world of a scumbag? Ok, that might be extreme, but it might be the way I feel then.