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How big?

I've had a small tine forky mounted. He ran me over, knocked off my hat, and rolled me on the ground. I then hunted that "Killer" for 3 weeks before taking him. One of my most memorable deer!
Wish you had a video of that. By small tine forky I assume it was a Texas Longhorn. No deer could have run you over. :D
 
Has to be bigger than my biggest one one the wall with what ever weapon I have killed it with or I wont mount it. So with that said, Bow is 146 3/8", ML is 151 2/8" and gun is 156 7/8". Lots of room for improvement!!
 
Considering the last one cost me $550. I'm not quite sure I'll ever do another shoulder mount. It'd have to be something jaw dropping I guess. I can look at a skull mount and re-live those same memories, that's all it's really about anyhow.
 
I wont shoot a buck that Im not going to mount... but thats just me


Thats how I feel in the last 3-4 years. I can kill doe's all day long if I want to shoot something.

Doesn't have to be any particular score at all. If he gets my blood boiling and he what I want, I'll shoot that particular buck and off to the taxi he goes.
 
My management bucks that are OLD but don't score well get Euro mounts, those are generally 155" and below BUT are 5.5 and older deer.

My high scoring deer that are ALSO old all get mounted. Generally 165" and above.

That's all I shoot (now), old deer, it's obviously a management deer or a good genetic deer (ok, some are borderline)- I limit how many of the good genetic deer I shoot too where the management bucks, get as many of them as possible.
 
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My dad and grandpa always did skull plate mounts so that's what I always did with mine too. I have been hunting for 19 years and I have 13 bucks and only one of them 148" buck is shoulder mounted. As I pass on deer and get to know them over the years and build a history and story with them I may mount a few more. Like someone else said...I can still look at the rack, skull or euro mount and still remember the hunt and memories. I don't need a house full of shoulder mounts to make me feel like I am a well seasoned hunter.:)
 
How much space do you have, how many yrs do you figure you'll be looking to fill that space? For some people that's the biggest factor, I'm one of them, I pulled the pin on having a shoulder mount from 2009 did b/c space is a real issue and I had to sit back and ask myself, "Do I really have space to shoulder mount him if in the next 30 yrs I luck out and get some more good ones?". The answer was "NO", you can only hang as many as you have room for, score doesn't matter.

Space can come later in life if things play out well, shoulder mounts can be done long after the kill if so desired as well.
 
if I like him and he represents an awesome experience, he goes on the wall. Every deer I have ever killed has a place on my wall. Some rack mounts, some euros, some shoulders....
 
I always think about this question. I'd say 145" gross for anything that isn't unique. But if an 8pt scores 140" or better, or some deer has unbelievable mass, width, or length, I'll probably mount them too. We used to have a smaller standard because of where we hunted. But our new farm is promising.
 
my general rule for a shoulder mount is 160 for multiple reasons. for one its costs too damn much, two, im 24yrs old and plan on killin alot of good bucks in thenext several years and theres not but 20 women in the world gonna let me hang 20-30 deer heads in the house, three, it kinda makes a goal for me to not shoot anything that im not gonna mount, four, my pockets arent very deep, it costs to damn much! etc etc.
 
my general rule for a shoulder mount is 160 for multiple reasons. for one its costs too damn much, two, im 24yrs old and plan on killin alot of good bucks in thenext several years and theres not but 20 women in the world gonna let me hang 20-30 deer heads in the house, three, it kinda makes a goal for me to not shoot anything that im not gonna mount, four, my pockets arent very deep, it costs to damn much! etc etc.

1 & 4 - very similar.

:drink1::drink1::drink1:??????
 
my general rule for a shoulder mount is 160 for multiple reasons. for one its costs too damn much, two, im 24yrs old and plan on killin alot of good bucks in thenext several years and theres not but 20 women in the world gonna let me hang 20-30 deer heads in the house, three, it kinda makes a goal for me to not shoot anything that im not gonna mount, four, my pockets arent very deep, it costs to damn much! etc etc.

If you let a woman tell you that there is no room for deer heads, good luck getting to hunt!

What do you tell a woman with two black eyes????
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Nothing, someone already told her twice :moon::moon:;););):way::way:


** Totally kidding.
 
For a typical rack, 150 is about the magic number for me. However Im a sucker for non-typs. I helped a fellow bowhunter drag out a really messed up 2 yr old deer out of public ground in 2009. One side was normal, 4 points on it i think, the other side had no brow, and a ball of bone about the size of your fist on top of a 2 to 3 inch mainbeam. The ball had about 6 or 7 two inch spikes sticking out of it going all different directions:way:. it sort of looked like something a caveman would use as a battle weapon:grin:. It couldnt have grossed more than 110, but I would have had it mounted in a heartbeat. Yes taxi can be expensive, but I save $ all year just in case I do shoot a nice one, plus as far as home decor and furniture goes, the 300 bucks I do pay is relatively cheap. A nice print is about the same price, and Id much rather hang a deer on the wall than a painting.
 
I think it should really come down to what the deer means to you in terms of the hunt memories, not the deer's antler size. That's my humble opinion, at least.

I edited this statement to fit my beliefs, but to each his own.

For me the target number is Booner, 170's +. My dad has a 160 on the wall that I need to beat.
 
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I started out with a minimum of 150 net, that was several years ago. I've taken a few 150 inchers and none of them are shoulder mounted. When I look at the 4 shoulder mounts on my wall they all go over 160 inches, so I'll stick with that as a minimum...but I would mount a 155 inch 4x4.
 
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