Whats your favorite trophy ever taken?
General Topic
If someone told you that you had to get rid of all your trophy mounts which one would you keep and why?
Now be honest with yourself, each mount you have has a special meaning and memory...but if given a choice which ONE would you keep, and why?
Out of all mine taken threw out the years it has to be my bear taken this year.
I have a large elk rack and some deer mounts in my living room but am forced to take down my bull and place it in a more inconspicuous place in the house in favor of hanging the bear rug when it returns from the taxidermist. What a dilemma to have!
Now to the why part..for me taking that bear gave me the biggest adrenaline rush I've ever experienced..I've had big bull elk at 5 yards and it did'nt compare to a 300+ bear 30 yards away at ground level!! To top it off the bear made Pope and Young with a official score of 18 14/16ths.
So think a little and tell us about your favorite animal taken!!.
Doug
The first 8 pt. deer I killed with my selfbow and homemade arrows and quiver. I cut the tree (bois dark....or osage) and let the staves dry for almost a year then made my bow. I shot the deer about 400 yards from where I cut the tree and the deer died about 200 yards from where I cut the tree. I was in a tree (no stand just limbs) in a natural funnel.
That trumps some elk and caribou I've taken plus other big game with selfbows cause it was my first.
My bighorn taken back in 1992. 189 5/8
Wow I was young with no gray hair !
My locked set of deer. Supposed to be the largest ever taken by a bowhunter. First big game animal I ever shot was a timber wolf, but my corner mount trumps it.
Eric,
That is a fantastic photo, of I'm sure a fantastic hunt.
If I had to pick one, I'd say it was my DIY Colorado Sheep. I will never get to put a stalk on an animal like I did with those sheep. Under 15 yds, and still had rams in between him and I.
I remeber standing on the side of that hill after the shot as darkness was falling over me and not even caring about the decent I had to make.
15 lb 9 oz walleye. not a bowkill but my favorite trophy nonetheless.
Love those rams! If I ever get drawn and am lucky enough get one the bear will have to find another room;)
Yea, I would also keep my Colorado ram'
Second, my Arizona Coues deer
Elk have been my passion since I was 5 or 6. A neighbor brought one home and I poked and prodded that poor animal for hours. That day, a life-long love affair was born
When I first started hunting, I was happy with any elk. After several years of rifle hunting, I finally took up the bow. Although I killed a bunch, including some nice bulls, I never could close the deal on "the big one." Finally, in my 24th year of bowhunting, the Good Lord smiled on me and I finally had my wallhanger. My impossible dream had finally become reality. Nothing like overnight success!
Although I've bowkilled other elk, deer, antelope, and a moose, none will ever mean more to me than this bull. Not just because of his size, but all that went into those many years that led me to finally achieve my goal.
This one is easy, ever since I was a teenager and watching a video of Fred Bear take a Browny on the beach, I dreamed of someday doing the same. 40 some years later I found myself stalking a big Browny eating blueberrys on the tundra, My guide and I closed the distance to 30 yds in open tundra. As I drew my bow he saw us and turned directly towards us, he advanced very deliberatly, stomping his feet down hard and making a low moaning sound,my pin settled under his chin but that big head kept swinging back and forth blocking any chance of a shot, besides he was focused on us and surely he would have charged if I shot. His mouth was full of froth,blue in color from the berrys. My guide was sitting on the ground with his rifle leveled, I was standing at his side at full draw. The bear continued, my guide held his fire and the bear stopped at 11 paces and just glared at us, I dont know if he finally recognized us as humans, or if he swung to the left to show us how big he was in order to intimidate us, or he was just going to leave, but as soon as I had a clear shot for a double lung, the arrow was on its way. He turned around and ran over a 100yds and died 20 yds inside an alder patch. That was another thrill going in the patch to find him.When we recovered him we were thrilled to see how big he really was. Thats why my Browny is my favorite trophy. Ron
I keep antlers and I do have a few tanned hides that I've taken over the years, but I do not have many things mounted. The closest I've come is a few sets of elk and deer antlers that I simply stuck on display boards and hung on the wall or the back fence. No heads, no taxidermy. I seldom even take pictures.
For me, a trophy is the critter you took, not what you did with it afterwards.
Now, if I were asked to give up, as in "never took", any or all of my trophies, I would never give up the 365 lb tuna I caught on a handline in the North Channel off Corrigedor Island. Mounted? Are you kidding?!! lol I took about 10 lbs to eat and sold the rest at the dock.
Tough choice, but the edge goes to my bighorn ram. Drawing the tag was a long shot (<1%). Ten tags given in the unit. All the other hunters were rifle hunting. After 17 days of hunting and passing several rams, it came together at 20 yards. At 190 0/8 it was the largest taken in that unit that year. Very gratifying taking it with my BIGHORN recurve with the Marv Clyncke inlay scrimshaw of a bighorn ram. Look closely at the photo. Noticed later the rock formation behind. Special.
close between a stalk on NZ tahr, shot Sitting on the ground ( no way to even kneel) that or
Cape Buff that went 180 yards with One arrrow.
Since most have seen the 110 8 /16 Buff
tahr is attached. ( and these 2 are part of 67 book animals and 54 Different Species taken with bow since 1956 )
Have to say this doe that started it all, man the camo budget was sure a lot smaller then :)
article on Tahr will e in April 2012
South Pacific Bowhunter
"Above the Clouds"
had to place bow on chset and Slide down wet grass like a waterslide, so as not to be seen by herd this a shot taken sitting down not kneeling
Maybe this one just because it is kinda unique.
Probably my favorite is this guy because of what I have gone through to get him.
Probably be my Colorado Shiras Moose. I won the Raffle tag and researched the hunt like I have never done before.
A big whitetail I killed in 2009 on public land - saw him 3 times before I finally killed him. Not quite my biggest but my greatest chess match with a whitetail! Don't think I could part with him.
Lee
Man...you guys taking huge rams with trad equipment just blow my mind.
My 2010 mulie would be mine. Got some pics of him throughout the summer, then played a 45-day game of cat and mouse with him once the season opened. Finally closed the deal in mid-October. He was a wise old buck...
Great thread! These are some Fantastic pictures!! I don't think I could pick a favorite if I had to! I love to see pics of lifelong dreams become realities.
My caribou I shgot at 3 yards.
TBB
DIY Michigan Black Bear....21.5" skull and dressed 460lbs. I had never bear hunted before and decided to give it a go. Took me 10 years to draw the tag. Would have been happy with any decent bear...this one showed up first. Thank goodness I didn't know how big he was. I guess sometimes being a rookie has its benefits!
My Waterbuck totally unexpected..saw it was good one but never expected top 10 with a bow. Then my 8 pointer that I killed at 17...
For sure my black bear. Biggest Adrenaline rush I have had!
My roe buck, because it was my dream to take one with a bow for so long and because I have shot him on the ground from 5 yards. He was actually standing only 3 yards from me for a few moments. He is my biggest roe buck and my favorite game animal species.
Janez
Right now it is this big guy! But goat & sheep are on their way so we shall see. JJ
"If someone told you that you had to get rid of all your trophy mounts..."
Shoot the SOB! I couldn't do it. As I look around my room, every one is special in some way.
I would keep the little spike that's in the living room. It was the first deer I ever shot.
My biggest buck with a bow, scoring 167 2/8 P&Y
My 2005 Bull Elk. Scored 361 5/8" P&Y and had a custom form built just for him.
I have not shot him yet. That,s what keeps me hunting.
I would say it's the elk ivory I keep in my pocket from the first cow I ever killed. Killing an elk in the high country changes a man, at least it certainly changed this one.
Great answer bowanna.
If the question is which animal have you taken that provided the most unforgettable trophy, I would probably say this antelope. I've taken a few bigger since then, but this 80 4/8 P&Y buck was my first pronghorn buck with a bow. The method of take (hunting with a decoy) and probably being the first animal I ever saw and then "set my sights on taking" (then eventually took), all come together to make this a favorite trophy for me.
Marvin
But if the answer is truly which trophy mount would you keep if you could keep only one, it would be hard not to say my largest pronghorn which was officially scored after 60 days at 92 2/8 P&Y. This animal and mount has come to mean more to me in the years since the hunt, than he he probably did at the time I took him.
Marvin
My favorite trophy was a black bear taken just outside of Hot Sulphur Springs Co. I was 15
Unfortunately i just found out my father registered it with Pope & Young in his name.
Not only that .. he gave away the rug and collected insurance money
What a P.O.S
brown bear and moose that I took in Alaska
That's an easy one for me. Although I've been very fortunate to have taken some great trophies with my bow, this Canmore Bighorn was the best of the best.
I've always considered a Bighorn at the very top of my list of desired species and just having the opportunity to hunt for this ram was a truly dream come true. I'm not gonna rehash what I had to go through to get him but lets just say I had to go through a lot.
I hate to admit it but a year or so later I really have a wee bit of an empty feeling after killing this animal because I know it's all downhill from here for me.
Super Ram Busta!!!!!!!!! The smile tells it all. Someday for me. JJ
I have been fortunate throughout my life and have been blessed to be able to bow hunt for over 50 years. There are so many great memories through out all those great experiences bowhunting that it is really hard to choose just one. But since that is what you ask for I guess it would be this Bookcliffs mule deer.
A buddy and I backpacked in the roadless area of the Books for 10 days. During those 10 days of hard hunting I did not get one single shot. During that hunt my buddy and I spent several nights away from our back pack camp and slept on the ground with noting more than a garbage bag and a small fire. We worked very hard and ate very little. I had some close calls, but never fired an arrow until the last morning, when I stalked in on 4 nice bucks. Two were monsters and two were good bucks. Long story short I ended up shooting the smallest of the four because they were headed for me and he was first and would cross my wind before the big boys gave me a shot. I arrowed him at just 20 yards and while I gave him time to die, I snuck over where the other bucks ran after I hit my buck and I could have shot anyone of the three remaining bucks at less than 20 yards. I had to pack my buck almost 8 miles to my truck over and out of the deep BC canyons, and although it isn't the biggest buck I have ever taken, it's a memory I will never forget.
Long live that special place---THE ROADLESS AREA OF THE BOOKCLIFFS!!!
Have a great bow hunt. BB
Congrads to all!!!Some fine looking animals each and every one! Keep them comeing..Those big rams make my heart skip a beat or two ;)
Doug
This one. Partially due to his size and the fact a few locals told me that was the biggest bull in the unit.
But more to the fact that it was a great 16 day hunt with a good friend and we were passing bull after bull with some very close encounters-
The best trophy to me is the best memory. My son and I each taking a bear on the same evening is at the top. We had taken them on the same trip, but never the same day. I always wanted a photo of TWO successful hunters.
This is a great thread. I would have to say my cougar, for the same reasons many have said here-the trials and tribulations it took to get there.
Those are the ones that stand out-not the size of the animal, but the effort it takes to get there.
Just had my first son so I am sure that trophy will change as the years go by and he starts.....
Busta-incredible photo man!
Chipmunk sitting on a log !!! Sixty one feet seven inches head shot, was just fooling around stump shooting!! Actual measured distance !!!
Stay well !!!!!
my 2003 Desert Bighorn. not big not well earned after 13 days of highs and lows.
my 2003 Desert Bighorn. not big not well earned after 13 days of highs and lows.
my 2003 Desert Bighorn. not big not well earned after 13 days of highs and lows.
2005 Elk taken after almost 3 weeks of hunting. The best 3 weeks of hunting I ever had.
I have to say that I've been blessed and have taken some great trophies over the past 50 yrs of bowhunting, but to take this Greater Kudu was a fulfillment of a childhood dream to bowhunt Africa. It took another 35 years after my first (tourist) visit to return with bow in hand. One of many great moments to remember. My Desert Bighorn is also one of my greatest prized trophies, no matter that a .270 was involved.
BB looks like a green "Avatar", lol.
I had just go back from my tour in Viet Nam and I had some leave to use before going over to Fort Carson.
I grabbed my bow that I had made in woodshop class a year and a half before and went up and arrowed a 2x2 muley buck.
That started it all for me and the bow.
Good luck, Robb
My club-horned bull from 2004. I worked hard for this guy and grizzlies made it very exciting!
My caribou. It's been 26 years of reading magazine articles, tv shows and dreaming. The dream finally came true this past September. I had to watch him for over 30 minutes trying to peel velvet before working into the correct position for the shot. I couldn't have asked for a better script!
Its almost my 19 birthday...and I still couldn't choose what my favorite animal ever taken was...so I picked 4. All animals are from British Columbia. Top left was May 3, 2004. A family friend and I shot this grizzly together, as we both had tags. He's 8'3" squared, with a 23 12/16 skull, and was between 22-25 years old. Top right is my first ever mule deer, taken on October 13, 2003. Tapes out at 150 4/8, but more importantly, he has fuelled a passion for mule deer within me. Bottom left is my first wolf, taken October 2, 2011...need I say more? And bottom right is my first lynx, taken December 30, 2011. He weighed 34 pounds, and I shot him with my Bowtech Captain at about 9 yards...on the ground without dogs. Hopefully I can add a sheep to this list soon!
Pretty much all of the animals I've taken with my bow are favorites.
This is my favorite photo because it is with my dad on the first morning of our Africa hunt and we were hunting together when I shot this 27" Impala.
This past fall, dad and I both had bighorn ram tags here in Colorado, and being his 4th attempt with the bow to kill a ram, I put him out in front and never thought to "back him up". When the full-curl ram came out at 14 yards in front of him, I was about 18 yards looking at him through my Swarvoski's and waiting for the arrow to take him out.
The photo is from where I was lying and the little tree was right in front of the ram and dad had no shot-he was near the rock to the right of the photo! The ram was between the small tree and the rock behind it, If I had not assumed he would drill the ram if it came uphill, I would have had an open shot at a 170 class Ram under 20 yards, instead my bow was lying next to me and it is a picture in my head I will never forget.
