48 Years of Memories...

[wsking]

Incredible, what an amazing collection!

 

[MT_elk]

What an amazing collection of animals! You should write a book on all of your experiences and hunts!

 

[TheGrayRider]

Very impressive. Thanks for sharing. I love the pedestals and the red carpet in your trophy room. Your collection offers me continued motivation. Best regards, TheGrayRider.

 

[Kiwi]

Thanks for posting! Did you hunt fallow and tahr in New Zealand?

 

[buffybr]

Thanks for posting! Did you hunt fallow and tahr in New Zealand?

Yes I actually hunted 5 species of game animals in New Zealand including Red Stag, Fallow, Tahr, Chamois, and an Arapawa ram. I'm still waiting for my taxidermist to do my Arapawa ram, and here are some close-ups of the others.

 

[buffybr]

A another update to my Trophy Room is that I shot my Mountain Goat over 40 years ago, and back then I didn't have space for a full mount of him so even though my taxidermist wanted to do a full mount of him so bad that he offered to reduce the cost of a full mount by over 30%, I had him only do a half mount. I have regretted that decision ever since. I was also not fully satisfied with the rock that the taxidermist made for my goat to stand on, so a few weeks ago I ordered a rock and some other supplies from McKenzie Taxidermy Supply, and last week I put my goat on a new rock that I like better, even if I did put it together myself.
My goat on it's old rock... ...and on his new rock that I put together with some canned foam, fake snow and icicles...

So along with my 3 Montana Unlimited Unit Rams that makes this my favorite corner in my Trophy Room...

 

[buffybr]

Christmas comes in many forms. This year my taxidermist called to tell me that he finished my New Zealand Arapawa ram. While he had it hang on the wall in his shop he said that he had quite a few people come in and ask "What is that thing?"

My girlfriend says that it is my ugliest mount, but I tell her that it is just unique, like a sheep with short dreadlocks.

The best wall space that I could find to hang him was in my Living Room where I had my New Zealand Chamois so I moved the Chamois high on the wall above my big elk in my Trophy Room.

 

[Laelkhunter]

What a trophy room !! Only thing I don't see is a Jackalope. I guess that one is on your bucket list? Just kidding- Thanks for sharing.

 

[buffybr]

I've been looking for a trophy Jackalope for years. I've shot a pile of does and have found a few decent sheds, but those old mossback bucks have eluded me .... so far!

 

[CPAjeff]

Incredible trophy room - thanks for sharing!

 

[pilsner]

Well now I know what I want to be when (if) I ever grow up. I wanna be your hunting partner!
Thanks for sharing the pics.
Perhaps you can write out the stories behind some of the mounts as I'm sure we would all love to hear them.

 

[buffybr]

Well now I know what I want to be when (if) I ever grow up. I wanna be your hunting partner!
Thanks for sharing the pics.
Perhaps you can write out the stories behind some of the mounts as I'm sure we wo5uld all love to hear them.

Thanks pilnser I could have used a partner on a number of those hunts....Like one of those moose that I shot 5 miles back in from my truck with only my 2 horses and my dog to help me get him out. Same story with the goat, the bighorn rams, one of the elk (along with many others that I didn't mount), many antelope, and one black bear that were all solo hunts.

I did have a friend one year ask me where he should apply for a moose, he then applied and drew a bull tag in that unit. I then took him in there and opening morning he shot a bull that at that time was the 4th highest B&C scoring Shiras moose from Montana.

I recently saw a forum thread asking "what was your favorite hunt?" I've been fortunate enough to have had dozens of "hunts of a lifetime," and I can't really pick one that I could say was the "best." Maybe I should write a book.

 

[Kandder]

BB,

I just stumbled across this, and what an amazing lifetime of memories. Just lost my dad a few weeks ago and during times like this memories come back from over the years. The most prominent was the younger years in the backcountry. Since then I joined the military and just haven't been able to hunt as we did back then. I've decided to get back to the roots and revisit some of those memories and even try to make some with my own son. Gonna give elk a shot for the first time this year since I am fortunate to be stationed in CO.

I think at the end of the day life boils down to the memories that we make. The memories with those that mean the most, even if it's your dog(they're important too lol). What I would give to sit down with gentlemen like you and just hear some of the stories over a fire. Congrats on such a successful journey and hope that you pick up many more along the way!

 

[Kiwi]

Christmas comes in many forms. This year my taxidermist called to tell me that he finished my New Zealand Arapawa ram. While he had it hang on the wall in his shop he said that he had quite a few people come in and ask "What is that thing?"

My girlfriend says that it is my ugliest mount, but I tell her that it is just unique, like a sheep with short dreadlocks.

The best wall space that I could find to hang him was in my Living Room where I had my New Zealand Chamois so I moved the Chamois high on the wall above my big elk in my Trophy Room.

Great ram! I’ve been bow hunting them annually for the last 5 years without success. I’ve seen them like yours but no cigar yet!

 

[devon deer]

@buffybr and @Kiwi that trophy room is like visiting a museum, amazing!
It never ceases to amaze me the quality of trophy animal in NZ, we rarely see them like the Fallow and Stag you have there in the UK unless they are in a park.

Do you remember each of those successful hunts?

Cheers
Richard

 

[buffybr]

Great ram! I’ve been bow hunting them annually for the last 5 years without success. I’ve seen them like yours but no cigar yet!

With the time constraints that I had in New Zealand, I took the easy route and used my .300 Weatherby.

 

[buffybr]

@buffybr and @Kiwi that trophy room is like visiting a museum, amazing!
It never ceases to amaze me the quality of trophy animal in NZ, we rarely see them like the Fallow and Stag you have there in the UK unless they are in a park.

Do you remember each of those successful hunts?

Cheers
Richard

Thanks Richard,
I've shot several dozen pronghorn antelope over the last 50 years, so other than my first antelope and 1 or2 others that I mounted, the rest of them just kind of all blend in together.

All of the other mounts that I have, I can remember their hunts like they were yesterday.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

Got a good story on the Gulo gulo?

Super neat creature that I have yet to see in the wild.

 

[buffybr]

Got a good story on the Gulo gulo?

Super neat creature that I have yet to see in the wild.

I booked my first guided hunt in 1999 for Dall sheep in Canada's Northwest Territories. It was a backpack hunt primarily for a Dall ram, but I also bought tags for a mountain caribou, a wolf, and a wolverine.

A super cub dropped my guide and me off on the top of a ridge and we hiked up to the head of that valley and set up our spike camp.

After I shot my ram we were packing him and our gear back down to be flown out. We stopped for a break, and that wolverine was coming up the valley toward us.

A 117 grain Sierra Gameking bullet from my .257 Ackley put a huge hole in the middle of Mr gulo gulo, but luckily my taxidermist was able to sew him up.

I was also lucky enough to have seen another wolverine once while looking for a ram in one of Montana's unlimited sheep units.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

Very cool. That's a lot of memories you have in that room(s).