mount or not


Guest generallee

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Guest generallee

I shot this deer last year in Georgia. It is my biggest buck, and i thought about mounting him, but he was busted up and i couldnt see paying 400-500$. However, recently a freind of the family has gotten into taxidermy and his fees are not that bad. He told me he had a few extra capes if i was interested in having a second chance at mounting this deer. Both brow tines are busted off, and hes not a perfect rack by any means. But he was a pretty old deer and my personal best, and a pretty good deer for the part of Georgia where i killed him. Anywho, i was interested in what yall thought...take the second chance to head and shoulder mount him, or find a nice plaque for him. this is the only pic i could really get of him.

[image]515357737fNfkuk_th.jpg[/image]

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Guest Hunter36

Re: mount or not

I guess its really up to you!!! But, size really doesnt matter to me when mounting things. I have a 155 inch non typical mounted from 2 yrs ago. then this year i shot a deer with my bow that scores around 93 inches. big difference in scores but the story and experience with the smaller buck was just as good as the one with the larger buck. then i ran into another problem when late in the gun season this year i shot 130 inch 9pt. decided to keep plans on mounting the smaller deer from bow hunting and sometime in the future re cape the 130 inch deer is shot late this year.

Sorry for dragging the answer on but my answer is if its your best buck and it sounds like it has some character i would mount it. Just me though!!

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Re: mount or not

I think a lot of people struggle with this. Personally, I plan on shooting probably 30 to 40 bucks in my lifetime and I don't have the money or display space for all of them to be mounted. As a young hunter maybe go ahead and mount this one and then take it one year at a time. Maybe say the next one has to be bigger than the first or if you have plenty of cash and lots of space then mount all of them. Just have to look at your personal situation and make these decisions.

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Re: mount or not

If money is tight I would get him on a plaque. If you dont mind dropping some dough then by all means that is a mountable deer even though he is busted up. You said your buddy is just getting started in this. I can tell you right now your not going to be happy with the shoulder mount if its not done right. You get what you pay for usually. If your uncertain I would just keep the rack, its still nice to look at

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Re: mount or not

That's a nice buck, brow tines or not. I have a similar situation with the buck I shot this year. It's not the biggest deer I've killed, but it is the biggest that's ever been killed on that property by anyone in my family. I already have two others mounted, so that makes it tougher to decide.

It's really up to you. If it were me, and I had a relative that wanted to do it for me, I would let them do it. You said it's gonna be a cape from a different deer, so it's not like anything will be ruined. You could always get another cape and have it re-done in the future if you're not happy with it.

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Re: mount or not

Go ahead and mount it bud. Heck I shot a unique 6-pointer 2 years ago that I hmm'd and haw'd about mounting him. He's at the taxidermists as we speak getting mounted. Probably almost finished. Anyways it was my first really nice deer, old deer, gigantic rack, but only 6 points. Finally my uncle convinced me to mount it. Who knows, I may never shoot a deer bigger in my life, so I decided to go ahead with it. cool.gifsmile.gif

14952meandmick6ptmod1.JPG

(Holy smokes I look young in that picture! blush.gifgrin.gif)

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Re: mount or not

general,

Spending the $$'s to mount a deer is a personal thing. When it's up on the wall, how are YOU going to look at it? A personal triumph? Sentimental? If it's positive to YOU, go for it. If it's just something to show to others as a conversation piece, it's for the wrong reason. I wish to heck I mounted a small rack because of the memories with my oldest son. But I didn't because it wasn't a big rack compared to others. It's in my mind though, just not on the wall. I wish I spent the money and had it on the wall. The deer meant alot to me. I wish I wasn't so **** tight with money sometimes.

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Guest Southgeorgia_Sportsman

Re: mount or not

what part of georgia did you get him from? im from the southeast, about 2 hours from the coast and 1 hour from florida, and a deer like that is mountable down here. Mount him, especially since hes your first good one, which will always have a place in your trophy room 30 years from now. p.s. who wants you to pay $500 for a mount? theyre crazy. i just payed 190 for a 10 pt.

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Guest Hunter36

Re: mount or not

[ QUOTE ]

p.s. who wants you to pay $500 for a mount? theyre crazy. i just payed 190 for a 10 pt.

[/ QUOTE ]

In some areas thats what the norm is for a good mount. the taxidermist i go to is a family friend but happens to be one of the top taxidermists in the state and he charges $500 for a shouldermount and its worth it. When i look at a mount i spend more time looking at the artistic detail in the mount than the antlers on its head.

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Guest Southgeorgia_Sportsman

Re: mount or not

Thats true. but i still couldnt bring myself to pay 500 for a mount. by the time you get him processed and mounted, youll pay over $700. If i shoot him, i want to enjoy him in my freezer and on my wall, not with my wallet. ive seen the mounts from the guy whos mounting mine, and i thought they looked real good. Although, you do have a point with the artistic detail. your right in saying its not all about the antlers. After all, you do have to drag that 200 lb deer outta the woods, and the antlers aint what weighs 200!

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