Let’s See Your Favorite Mount
- Thread starter JTHOMP
- Start date
LopeHunter
Well-known member
I actually favor some other mounts but I always smile when think back at this hunt and visitors to my home always notice this mount.
The Coues buck hunt ended up being just one day in late December. I spotted the doe on an adjacent hillside but no buck was feeding. I got the guide's attention and he glasses up this buck bedded. In last hour of the day this buck rose as a smaller buck approached the doe and a few minutes later a 3rd buck charged over the hill beyond to challenge this buck. The three bucks ran all over that hillside for about 20 minutes as the doe fed slowly away. The 3rd buck likely was over 100" and certainly had more mass as a 5 x 5. I was not positive the 1st buck really had a third beam and at 600 yards I was starting to think might be a chunk of wood or cactus skeleton lodged in the antlers. We were now in the shade as the sun dipped behind the hillside. I have seen deer with wire and string in the antlers so know bucks can get tangled up as they rake against stuff.
The doe was starting to feed away from us. We crept up to under 400 yards to attempt a shot over the ravine to the hillside. I passed on the 5x5. The shot connected with the 1st buck and the buck tipped over. I only knew for sure was not trash in the antlers as emerged from the ravine and walked up to the downed buck. Snow began to fall as got the buck ready for pack out. Had heavy snow for an hour which made the mostly downhill hike to the trailhead a mess with dense, wet snow covering up the rock debris underfoot. Lost both big toe nails later from the bruising during the downhill, slippery hike in the dark. Have not drawn a buck tag in AZ since. Maybe this year.
The Coues buck hunt ended up being just one day in late December. I spotted the doe on an adjacent hillside but no buck was feeding. I got the guide's attention and he glasses up this buck bedded. In last hour of the day this buck rose as a smaller buck approached the doe and a few minutes later a 3rd buck charged over the hill beyond to challenge this buck. The three bucks ran all over that hillside for about 20 minutes as the doe fed slowly away. The 3rd buck likely was over 100" and certainly had more mass as a 5 x 5. I was not positive the 1st buck really had a third beam and at 600 yards I was starting to think might be a chunk of wood or cactus skeleton lodged in the antlers. We were now in the shade as the sun dipped behind the hillside. I have seen deer with wire and string in the antlers so know bucks can get tangled up as they rake against stuff.
The doe was starting to feed away from us. We crept up to under 400 yards to attempt a shot over the ravine to the hillside. I passed on the 5x5. The shot connected with the 1st buck and the buck tipped over. I only knew for sure was not trash in the antlers as emerged from the ravine and walked up to the downed buck. Snow began to fall as got the buck ready for pack out. Had heavy snow for an hour which made the mostly downhill hike to the trailhead a mess with dense, wet snow covering up the rock debris underfoot. Lost both big toe nails later from the bruising during the downhill, slippery hike in the dark. Have not drawn a buck tag in AZ since. Maybe this year.
Nick87
Well-known member
Buzz, of all your posts on here I had no idea you were a duck hunter. Buffleheads are one of the prettiest ducks imo.From the perspective of just the taxidermy, not necessarily the story behind it...this bufflehead is my favorite and I have a houseful.
slatebuilder
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2018
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- 629
This is the first gobbler I killed with a call that I made myself, slate over glass in a chestnut pot with a hand turned oak striker. Fall hunt, classic scatter and call back, even in fall the gobblers gobbled a bunch gathering back up. My wife took one look at the bird and said “you should get it mounted”. “Yes Dear, good idea.”
glass eye
Well-known member
Can't answer that. Like asking which one of my kids is my favorite.
Wow! That's ONE way to set off a room!
Western Traveler1
Well-known member
It has to be my Shiras from the Big Hole on a DIY hunt. Only 5 “resident only” tags and the first time I applied for moose. The elk is a bow kill from Arizona. Pretty special to me too
Hawk Tuah
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- Joined
- Apr 6, 2018
- Messages
- 1,609
My lion mount is my favorite. It was 100% unattainable for me until the US instituted an import ban at the end of 2015. The ban went into effect 30 days after it was put in the registry, in late January 2016. An outfitter reached out to me and basically said that the US was the primary market for lions and that land owners were just going to start shooting them because they weren't worth the plains game they kill. He told me the price and I told him he left a zero off because it was cheaper than many plains game hunts. He told me that was the price, I just had to get there fast. I told my wife about it and she asked when I would have to leave....I said, "um, Wednesday." Anyway, I burned some frequent flier miles last minute and it worked out and was a great hunt and memory. I beat the import ban by like 2 days.
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AggieHunter
Well-known member
Could you post a closer up look at his horns they seem to look a little funky?
AggieHunter
Well-known member
I have very little mounts right now but one of my favorites is a turkey fan I tried mounting for the first time
I also really like these European mounts from my first western hunting season paired with the pictures of each animal
I also really like these European mounts from my first western hunting season paired with the pictures of each animal
brushcreek
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2018
- Messages
- 253
If one of my kid’s was a full body brown Bear id make an exception.
SaskHunter
Well-known member
Couldn't decide which one was my favourite so here's my top three:
Nothing special about this one but for some reason I really enjoy the layout, I normally rotate the heads but keep as two whitetails and a mule deer (hanging bear claws on the top right corner).
I also find this Trapper Nelson pack mount really neat, I had seen a similar one and decided to make my own.
Finally this wild boar with a few extras (including my cowboy deer and his fiddlin' buddy).
Nothing special about this one but for some reason I really enjoy the layout, I normally rotate the heads but keep as two whitetails and a mule deer (hanging bear claws on the top right corner).
I also find this Trapper Nelson pack mount really neat, I had seen a similar one and decided to make my own.
Finally this wild boar with a few extras (including my cowboy deer and his fiddlin' buddy).
MLaird
Well-known member
My first (and only) antelope. It was my focus for last fall so it made it pretty special.
I got permission to hunt some private land and to my surprise the landowner jumped in the truck with me to show me around. Well, within 20 minutes we were laying prone on a little hill with a smallish buck in the crosshairs. I asked the landowner if he would be offended if I passed...I really wanted to extend the experience. He was totally fine and we continued driving around. Saw some more antelope but nothing I wanted to go after.
The next day I did some more scouting and asking and struck out. That afternoon I had a friend tell me he got permission to hunt a block management area and wanted to take me. We had only driven for about 1/4 mile when we spied a group of antelope in the distance and it seemed like there was a good buck. We parked behind some hills and put together the game plan for a stalk. We hiked in about 1/2 mile and crawled up to the top of a hill. We saw 2 small groups with several bucks but nothing very big. We watched for about 30-40 min to see if anything else appeared and had decided to leave when I rolled on to my back to pull some cactus spines from my elbow and I saw this buck in a group of about 30 that had come around behind us. We got turned around and set up, it was 550 yards. I took several minuted dry firing and controlling my breathing, then had to wait another couple of minutes for him to clear a doe. I squeezed the trigger and got to watch the bullet hit him...shooting a suppressed rifle is amazing! He ran about 30 yards and piled in.
I got permission to hunt some private land and to my surprise the landowner jumped in the truck with me to show me around. Well, within 20 minutes we were laying prone on a little hill with a smallish buck in the crosshairs. I asked the landowner if he would be offended if I passed...I really wanted to extend the experience. He was totally fine and we continued driving around. Saw some more antelope but nothing I wanted to go after.
The next day I did some more scouting and asking and struck out. That afternoon I had a friend tell me he got permission to hunt a block management area and wanted to take me. We had only driven for about 1/4 mile when we spied a group of antelope in the distance and it seemed like there was a good buck. We parked behind some hills and put together the game plan for a stalk. We hiked in about 1/2 mile and crawled up to the top of a hill. We saw 2 small groups with several bucks but nothing very big. We watched for about 30-40 min to see if anything else appeared and had decided to leave when I rolled on to my back to pull some cactus spines from my elbow and I saw this buck in a group of about 30 that had come around behind us. We got turned around and set up, it was 550 yards. I took several minuted dry firing and controlling my breathing, then had to wait another couple of minutes for him to clear a doe. I squeezed the trigger and got to watch the bullet hit him...shooting a suppressed rifle is amazing! He ran about 30 yards and piled in.
Hem
Well-known member
Two for me.
The whitetail probably my favorite because the taxi rolled the eyes so there is some white showing. Gives the buck an extra suspicious look..dont know if the pic shows it.
The antelope because I'm 99% certain I'll never shoot a 17"/17 1/8" in Montana in the rest of my life.
The whitetail probably my favorite because the taxi rolled the eyes so there is some white showing. Gives the buck an extra suspicious look..dont know if the pic shows it.
The antelope because I'm 99% certain I'll never shoot a 17"/17 1/8" in Montana in the rest of my life.
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Nick87
Well-known member
Hard to pick a favorite but I love spoonies. This is a shitty pic but it's all I have on my phone.
BigHornRam
Well-known member
My first shoulder mount. Montana mountain goat.
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