What is your criteria for mounting a buck ?

What public land are you going to that is 5 hours away?

 

For me, its gotta be 150" to shoot it. My thoughts are that if I am shooting a deer, I'm accepting that its going to cost me a taxidermy bill

 

I do euro mounts for every six point or better but if it's a really big one I'll take him to the taxidermist

 

Any buck I shoot I will at least Euro. To do a shoulder mount it will have to be really unique and full of character or score near 180"plus.

 

Shot a basket 6...my first with a bow last year and did a euro mount. Next respectable thing I shoot is going on the wall. Just got my bear back from taxidermist this week. Need to save some money before I start putting other stuff up!

 

New Species for a shoulder (or a ridiculously large whitetail like 160"+).... I pretty much euro mount everything I shoot now. Save thousands of dollars to go hunt more critters with vs look at them in a bedroom and euros are a super cheap clean way to display the antlers anyway.

Moose, Elk, Deer, Antelope... Doesn't matter this season, anything I am lucky enough to drop w my bow will be a skull mount only.

 

Ill mount a buck if the rack is big... other then that I love the European mount... I wanna do one where the skull is dipped I camo...

 

Size isn't everything, story/history can add a lot....pocket book also plays a factor

Euro mounts are a minimum or I won't shoot if I don't see worthy of that....

 

...also of note is Euro's do make the antlers look larger I think No ears to judge width and an extra little bit of bone typically covered by hair at bases :D

 

My family tradition has always been 8 points or bigger. I know that sounds small to most people but I grew up hunting mountain bucks in PA where 8+ points was not even a regular sighting let alone harvest. Now that I have property and hunt in my home state of Ohio, 120" inches or more warrant a mount. But really it's up to the hunter.

 

If I shoot it, is it bigger or as big as my other bucks on the wall.

 

Character and over 150 I thank every deer has there spot on the wall

 

If its bigger than my current biggest on the wall. As of now every whitetail over 137 3/8

 

For me, I would have a deer at the taxidermist if the gross score is above 140, If one of my kids was with me when it was taken. Or lastly if one of my kids was successful in the hunt. And if it wasn't a new bow purchase year....hahahaha

 

When I was younger I had my fair share of young bucks. Now days If I shoot a buck its going on the wall other wise he gets to walk by.

 

I currently have four on the wall, the biggest being 163 5/8. Also have another one close to that. I dont care how big those two are if i feel a deer is worth it, i will mount him too. I got a seven pointer that probably wouldnt make pope and young mounted last year, but he had a 9.5 inch brow tine with a 7" on the other side, and he was aged at 6 1/2. That there was enough for me to consider him shoulder mount worthy

 

If you're mounting the buck shouldn't you be buying the drinks. I mean common courtesy.

For me my first buck I shoot will have to be mounted regardless of score. After that it would have to be a monster with tines going everywhere. Its not that I don't think a lot of mounts I see people have are not nice its just that I'm cheap and it would have to be something really special to pay the money to have it done.

 

If the hunt is something special and has special meaning then I may choose to mount even if it may not be considered "trophy" quality. Like many on here I have been doing a lot of euro mounts in recent years. 150 - 160 and above go on the wall.

 

My general rule of thumb is....if I shoot a buck, I mount it. Only exception would be if I take a old bruiser that just doesn't have good headgear.

 

If ill shoot it, ill mount it.