Question??????

[JKC]

So I shot a pretty good buck last Saturday. It was late in the evening. I found blood and trailed it about 30 yards. But then nothing. Did not find the deer. Fast forward I found what was left of the buck today. I know it was the one I shot because it was in front of a trail cam and it took picture seconds before I shot. The question is would it be stupid to want to mount it? Picture was added below.

 

[Hookem]

Did the yotes or buzzards get it? If not the hide may be messed up from the heat. Sometimes the hair won't stay on the mount well. I would contact your local taxidermy guy.

 

[TDW05]

I think you have to use a tag as well. May check into that also.

 

[Bushape]

I wouldn't let the unexpected twists and turns that go in to retrieving a deer undermine all of the effort and time that I put into harvesting the animal. Now if I got my weapon out and hit the woods with no preparation and the whole ordeal was blind luck then maybe that would prevent me from doing it. My trophies are not trophies because of their score but rather because of what I have invested in them before the arrow flies.

 

[Safari Hunt]

In Tennessee, remember, it's "Tag Before You Drag." I guess if you claim the deer, it has to be tagged before you can do anything.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Several great points have been mentioned to consider....but your question was: "would it be stupid to want to mount it?" My answer would be Absolutely not...nothing stupid about it at all....same thing happened to me years ago.... muzzleloader, unknown to me, had gotten knocked off between time I confirmed it was on and the day I hunted....hit the buck low and back... barely got liver going in and got guts coming out.....found him one week later....zero doubt....had numerous trail cam pics of him.....hated that it happened the way it did but couldn't change the series of events....and yes I got another cape for the shoulder mount...no way I'd trust the hair to hold as warm as it was last weekend..... Congrats!!.....glad you found him!!

 

[Hymie3]

If you know for sure its yours then its your kill... you should be able to get a cape for it or or you can euro mount...

 

[JKC]

Did the yotes or buzzards get it? If not the hide may be messed up from the heat. Sometimes the hair won't stay on the mount well. I would contact your local taxidermy guy.

Yes it was all gone. Hide was messed up.

 

[cbhunter]

If you want to mount it, go for it!

 

[REM7]

Mount it. You put the work into the hunt and kill. You just wasn't able to recover day of. Post pics of rack for us

 

[Omega]

Do a DIY european mount, be good practice.

 

[JKC]

 

[Ski]

You killed it, so yes of course tag it & mount that baby. A good euro mount probably would cost less than $100 or you could do it yourself. Catman has a video on youtube of how it's done.

Everything about that hunt was a success except for the meat. Yes we all want to eat our kill, but sometimes nature wants it more than we do. Wolves steal meals from bears all the time, and visa-versa. Coyotes stole your meal. It's still your hunt, your kill. Mount that bruiser.

 

[Southern Sportsman]

That's an absolute stud of an 8 pt worthy of mounting. If it was me, as opposed to paying extra for a cape off another deer, I'd bleach and disply the skull untill I killed another deer with a beefy neck. Then I'd mount this rack with that cape. Enjoy them both a little.

 

[Pilchard]

Great deer. How far was he from where you shot?

 

[JKC]

Great deer. How far was he from where you shot?

Blood trail was only about 30 yards. But I found him about 75 yards.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Wife killed an old buck during muzzleloader a couple years ago. We had a lot of history with the deer, hundreds of trail cam pics from that year and the year prior. We did not find him right away. When I did find him 3 days later it was a mess. She tagged the deer. Took him to the taxidermist and I later killed one for a cape.

 

[Big Pop]

Good mass on that buck! Congratulations on finding part of him!

 

[cbhunter]

Man i

View attachment 60853

can smell that from my house! Haha, great buck and yes you should mount it one way or the other

 

[Snake]

Wife killed an old buck during muzzleloader a couple years ago. We had a lot of history with the deer, hundreds of trail cam pics from that year and the year prior. We did not find him right away. When I did find him 3 days later it was a mess. She tagged the deer. Took him to the taxidermist and I later killed one for a cape.

This ^^^^ probably some one on here might could donate a cape or like said Eruo .

 

[1jamey]

Mount it, no doubt.

 

[Acorn]

Glad you found him and great buck, Congrats!

 

[MUP]

Heck yea! Tag it, drag it, check it, and mount it! Nice buck for sure!

 

[Racknquack]

Great mass great deer. Definitely not stupid!

 

[Safari Hunt]

Loads of mass on the rack. Yes, mount it. Lots of suggestions of where to take it or DIY.

 

[Labboy]

That dude has some serious mass. Glad you found it.

 

[Ladys man]

Heck yea, id display it on my wall.