Selling all your mounts
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: prezboys
31-Jan-17
Possibility of selling all my mounts from my trophy room. Any suggestions on how and where to sell them off???
From: Scar Finga
31-Jan-17
EBAY!
From: MathewsMan
31-Jan-17
Man, looking at your trophy pics you have a ton of things!
Why the sudden change in heart?
From: t-roy
31-Jan-17
Craig's list possibly? I'm curious as to why you're thinking of selling? (If you're willing to share)
From: Charlie Rehor
31-Jan-17
Look on either the SCI or B&C website. There are companies that handle these type of sales! Hope the best for you! C
From: prezboys
31-Jan-17
MathewsMan,
Actually my trophy room cannot hold any more mounts. I'm just thinking an keep 1 or 2 and selling the rest. Using proceeds to do more hunts. Thanks for checking the photos out. It was a great run on hunts so far
From: Overland
31-Jan-17
Unfortunately you will receive pennies on the dollar versus what you paid for them. They are worth far more to you than to anyone else. The one exception is if you have a record-book animal, something truly outstanding (not just P&Y minimum). Cabela's will buy mounts, and the aforementioned eBay and Craigslist options are decent.
I would encourage you to carefully weigh selling them. I understand the allure of funding more hunts, but it may be very painful to sell your $700 mount for $150.
From: EmbryOklahoma
31-Jan-17
I got dibs on the whitetail from 2014!!!
From: BIG BEAR
31-Jan-17
I figure my wife will sell all my stuff in a garage sale when I go.... She'll make about 40 bucks and that will be that.
From: Buffalo1
31-Jan-17
Contact SCI and/or DSC as they have advertisers listed in their publications who appraise and purchase trophy collections.
From: Aftermerl
31-Jan-17
I didn't think it was legal to sell or buy antlers. At least here in my state it is illegal.
From: Adventurewriter
31-Jan-17
I would think out of teh box and contact some Home designers...you won't get much for them on ebay and such...
From: Scooby-doo
31-Jan-17
I disagree about losing a lot of money on them. The question is how to find the right buyer. I have seen some mounts on ebay go for hundreds even thousands of dollars. Saw a 130" 10pt go for $450 not too long ago. You may be able to donate some and use as a write off on your taxes. There are folks out there who buy mounts for decent prices. Scooby
From: TD
31-Jan-17
Exactly why I have mastered the self control necessary to not shoot anything worth mounting.... who needs all that pressure....... =D
You likely won't get what they are worth, but I was kind of surprised there is a bit of a market for them. Mostly commercial decoration and with the popularity of "man caves" increasing, they have a decor value. I've sold a couple of my euro axis, etc. to some stores and bars locally. Wasn't looking to sell em really but had a guy who was opening a clothing store (Yeah, I thought the same thing...clothing store???) who saw one he wanted I had in my shop in the back. After I made my "my animals are not for sale at any price" speech.... made me an offer I couldn't refuse..... $200. OK, I may be easy, but I have my.... well, no.... no standards either.... Then a couple other people called out of the blue. It's helped buy some gear and pay towards some hunts. Now my excuse is I'm building my inventory back up.....
From: Aftermerl
31-Jan-17
Here in my state of Oklahoma buy or sell wildlife prohibited.
From: Paul@thefort
31-Jan-17
To put things in perspective, my wife Tricia stated this recently, "Paul, if you get hit by a bus tomorrow, what should I do with all of your big game mounts."
Good thing to start thinking about these things. I can feel the pain. my best, Paul
From: Paul@thefort
31-Jan-17
Danny, I bet that pertains to only selling wild game meat as being illegal, and not mounted animals.
From: LBshooter
31-Jan-17
Send out letter/emails to as many interior designers, they love to buy mounts to put in homes.
From: Aftermerl
31-Jan-17
Paul, There has been several dust ups here in Okla in recent years about guys selling racks via Ebay or the internet. If I remember correctly (and I may not) if the skull cap is intact it was deemed in direct violation of the law, resulting in huge fines and loss of hunting privileges.
From: Aftermerl
31-Jan-17
From: Hawkeye
31-Jan-17
I gave a bunch of mine to Scheels and they give me a gift certificate every year. Somewhat like a rental. You can share them with more people and they fill space. I'm sure other outdoor stores would so something similar:)
From: Aftermerl
31-Jan-17
Most recently a guy was in possession of a full mount grizzly, he was holding it for a friend. The hunter after a time passed away, several years later the man in possession sold it to get it out of his way since no one had claimed it. Yep you guessed it, in comes the law and he was jammed up. Since Oklahoma doesn't have a grizzly population the Feds may have gotten involved as well, I'm not sure about the final outcome.
From: Chief 419
31-Jan-17
"Actually my trophy room cannot hold any more mounts". I know the feeling. I've also hunted my way into needing a bigger house.
From: LKH
31-Jan-17
Here in AK you can't sell trophies. Survivors can when closing out an estate.
From: APauls
31-Jan-17
Designers love euro mounts if you spray the whole works white. Would also hurt to do, but if a guy somehow shaved a shoulder mount down so it could all be sprayed white and not look "hairy" I'm sure they'd love it too.
From: Rob in VT
31-Jan-17
Your 2016 "Moose" is weird looking :)
From: GF
31-Jan-17
I guess it really varies from one state to the next… You would think, though, that there would be some provision for selling not the animal parts per se, but the taxidermy as a piece of art…
But boy… Talk about problems I really don't have! I haven't mounted anything at all yet… I'm hoping that Someday I'll have one nice specimen of everything that really turns my crank...
From: BIG BEAR
31-Jan-17
In states where it's illegal to sell mounts.... Can you give them away ?? I'll sell you a deck of cards for 2 grand. You can have that dusty old grizzly bear mount in my basement. Problem solved.
From: Jaquomo
31-Jan-17
With a lot of old-timers croaking off now as Boomers age, the market seems to be pretty flooded with mounts for sale unless it is really spectacular. My hunting partner has tried to sell a few elk mounts and the prices offered, even by interior designers, was not much more than the value of the antlers if sold by the pound.
Some of mine are on loan to friends who never kill anything worth displaying. I have visitation rights. Also a couple mounts in a restaurant and a couple in a sporting good store that went under so I have no idea of their whereabouts.
I'm thinking about what will become of mine when I tip over. If my wife outlives me (seems fairly certain given recent near-death events) she'll keep them because she loves looking at them. But after that? Guess it won't matter. They are there for us to enjoy. I'll be worm food.
From: cnelk
31-Jan-17
With the prices of antler hovering about $12/lb, cut them off the mount and sell the bone by the pound.
From: Trial153
31-Jan-17
I actually been thinking of doing the same thing with few mounts. Just not enough room to keep them all. I been doing very high quiaity pictures on acrylic and metal in there place the last few years and I my only regret is that I didn't do that sooner.
From: Quinn @work
01-Feb-17
Unless they are boone and crocket they really aren't worth more than 1/4 of what you paid to have them mounted. With sites like Ebay, Craigslist, etc taxidermy value has dropped significantly. It used to be interior designers would go seeking mounts to buy and pay a good price but now there's a huge inventory out there. I could only get $200 for a 300" 5x5, 3 year old quality shoulder mount. Could barely give away 120" whitetails or 140" muleys to make wall space. Look for somewhere to loan them to for displays like bars, hunting camps, museums, schools, etc. You then could always take them back if you wanted.
From: Adventurewriter
01-Feb-17
hmmmm .......Somebody should start a business a head mount Elk is like 1200 bucks now...get quality mounts and cut the antlers off and then use the detachable antler method to mount the guys antelers...no messing with capes...and the guy gets his head at half price and in a week
From: BULELK1
01-Feb-17
Maybe look at diners, bars and Hotel/Motels as many have mounts in there.
Good luck, Robb
From: BigOzzie
01-Feb-17
I'm with bulelk1 market them with a business or venue that can display them. Personally I see no reason to buy somebody else's mounts. It's like buying used underwear. It would have no significance to it other than some guy shot it. I see them for sale around here frequently often on craigs list or at the pawn shops. Don't see who would buy them unless they were decorating several condo's or rentals, maybe. The only mounts I would have would be mine or my family, anything else would hang in the shop or in the barn just for a place to put them.
oz
From: g5smoke21
01-Feb-17
Try any local sporting good stores. I know scheels for sure will give out gift cards per year for mounts, not sure on the others but that way you can always get them back whenever you want
From: Jodie
01-Feb-17
Call Safari World Taxidermy in Wisconsin, Martin Bonack
From: APauls
01-Feb-17
I was going to say the same as Adventurewriter. I've always kept an eye out on kijiji for a good-looking cheap mount so that I can pull the antlers off and throw mine on.
From: Bigdan
01-Feb-17
A day our two after I'm dead mine will be headed to the local auction But if she has to pay them to come and pick them up. there the only ones that will make any money. I see Stone sheep mounts go for $300 Bighorns $150 same for Dalls. Desert last winter that went for $175 But when your dead it won't matter to you anyway.
From: r-man
01-Feb-17
a fur coat is animal parts . so are feathers for arrows , I am sure there are options and exceptions to laws .
From: Hugh
01-Feb-17
there is a place in Missouri called Lolli Bros that does taxidermy auctions a few times a year. You won't make much, but they will get sold.
From: deerhunter72
01-Feb-17
Bought a house 2 years ago and the guy left 4 WT shoulder mounts in a garage. I never measured them but they ranged from 130-150's. They all had tags. At first I thought I'd keep them, but after a few months they were just in the way. I didn't kill them so they didn't mean anything to me. I asked around about selling them. In the end I got rid of them in a yard sale. People will buy them but they won't pay much. I might've gotten $120 for all of them.
Unfortunately, I don't think you'd get much return. I think the sentimental value of keeping them would be worth more than anything you might get cash wise.
From: TreeWalker
01-Feb-17
Euro mounts on wall for now
Euro mounts on wall for now
That is a dilemma. I vote for a bigger home though we are empty-nesters so down-sizing is more likely. I switched to only Euros a couple of years ago after looking around and realizing I had 10 shoulder mounts in the vacation home so was getting cluttered. Last summer I found beetles eating on two of my mounts. I was upset had not noticed it sooner and I am only in that home 40 nights a year so a lot of damage took place before realized the issue. Will never do another shoulder mount. Takes up more room, costs more and requires more maintenance.
I presume none of my harvested average, mature critters, which mean so much to me, will mean much to anyone else including family. With a Euro, a chance one or two get kept around. The Euros are filling up the garage and next winter will rearrange things so can display them better.
From: Ironbow
02-Feb-17
For you guys that don't know what to do with them, just send them to me. I love antlers.
From: Duke
02-Feb-17
Good luck---I've handled many estates and even insurance work on taxidermy and as pointed out earlier in the thread the value is typically greatest with the hunter and the monetary value is pennies on the dollar. -Yes, there are people who will purchase at good rates here and there, but by far not the norm. The underlying question is how long do you want to hold onto them and are you ok with selling them off piecemeal, which is where you will ultimately get the most for them over time.
Not sure what your financial situation is nor do I care to know, but as pointed out earlier you may be actually best off donating and using as a tax write-off as a charitable contribution.
From: Cornfed 77
02-Feb-17
I could never sell any rack. They are all instant trips in time back to wonderful days. Why not just remove the rack from the head mounts so you can mount more in a given space, turn them into board mounts. Still keep your memories around you.
From: YZF-88
03-Feb-17
YZF-88's Link
You guys need to think "next level" like this guy and lease your mounts! Best of both options.
From: ben h
03-Feb-17
Adventurewriter, that's actually a pretty good idea to swap out horns on an old mount instead of messing with caping, or hauling off the head (this sucks).
From: South Farm
03-Feb-17
Any bigbox outdoors stores going in close to you...I know Cabelas was looking for mounts when they came to town near me a while back.
From: M.Pauls
03-Feb-17
I've done the whole 'buy a mount and swap antlers' thing. Works great. 25 minute mount. Screwed through the back of the antler base with a countersunk hole and the mixed up a colour match epoxy to plug the hole. Added some more colour with paint and you'd never see that hole. Make sure you have an eye for lining up the antlers, they can easily look funny
From: Bowriter
03-Feb-17
PM sent. I may have your solution.
From: SNYPER31
03-Feb-17
i have a friend who sold 10 of his deer mounts to a guy at the harrisburg pa show last year. he got $500 for 10 heads. they were average Va deer. i thought they may go for more but thats all the person offered to him
From: SNYPER31
03-Feb-17
From: MarkU
03-Feb-17
I'm letting the skwerls eat mine. Quit getting anything mounted years ago and have been stashing antlers in this little shed and in the dog kennel and utility shed. This is probably half of them.
Let nature take it's course.
From: Rockbass
04-Feb-17
Even worse up here in Canada! I have made several calls to our Ministry of Natural Resourses enforcement section in Ontario trying to get straight answers as to what is legal and what is illegal to sell. I have a museum quality polar bear, elephant tusks, walrus, etc, etc.. I was going to get rid of sometime and in two years they have NEVER returned one of my 4-5 calls. I put a full mount warthog and bushbuck on a site "kijiji" and they took it off in 15 minutes saying they were endangered and they were trying to protect me from prosecution in the trade of endangered species...what a load of crap!!! I sent them back the true facts on what hunters do for wildlife worldwide. As far as Cabela's and Basspro.....my understanding is that most of their new stores opening up are having Advanced Taxidermy do their work at TOP dollar. As of two years ago there was one guy that does all of their buying for the stores and he was very interested in my Polar Bear until a certain taxidermist whispered in his ear. Good luck....best bet is someone opening a new archery or sports store and wants some quality mounts for display. There are people that want quality mounts out there but hard to find the venue to put you and them together.
From: Keef
04-Feb-17
I've been pondering what to do with mine as I get older. My wife suggested constructing an outbuilding on our farm and let people come and see them. Don't really care for the idea due to the cost. I need to do something before I leave the problem to her. A friend gave his collection to a local non-profit which then sold them. He got a tax deduction (based on an appraisal) and the organization got some money.
From: MWBooner
04-Feb-17
I know a guy who is looking for european mounts and shed antlers and such to decorate his new cabin he built on his lake. He has bought several so far, but I think he is still purchasing some. message me and I can get you his info if you want it.
From: Buffalo1
04-Feb-17
Buffalo1's Link
prezboys,
If you have interest in donating some of your trophies for museum use and getting a tax write off, you may be interested in talking with the attached link. I talked with them recently at the DSC Convention.
From: ryanrc
04-Feb-17
If you can't sell them, could you "lease" them to someone for 100 years?
From: Elkhuntr
05-Feb-17
pet stores sell pieces of antlers for dogs to chew. about $5 for a 6" length.
From: greenmountain
05-Feb-17
I have been thinking a lot about this topic. I would hope to sell my meager antler collection to someone who understands that the mount is but a reminder of a great adventure. My antlers are priceless to me but have little value to my friends. There are exceptions. There is one nice rack that I would love to buy when the owner wants to pass it on. Again it is the memory I would buy in the form of a mount. In my youthful exuberance a good friend and I tracked and pushed a beautiful buck over three miles. We got a glimpse several times but never had anything close to an ethical shot. The adventure ended with another hunter taking the deer. We helped him get HIS trophy to camp and he made the local papers with his prize. The three of us still meet every year at his camp and have a beer together. We all thank God for the hunt that started a long friendship. If you can't find a friend who appreciates the history then I would suggest selling to someone who would display the animals in a way that puts the maximum value on the animals the mount represents.
From: Surfbow
05-Feb-17
Try calling Sportsmans Warehouse, I know the new store in Littleton, Colorado has some big bare spots on the walls compared to a few of their other locations.
From: RelicHunter
06-Feb-17
I am looking for a 1st quality polar bear rug or mount if anyone has one and wants to sell it.
From: Buffalo1
23-Feb-17
2 ads in latest edition of Safari Times newspaper
2 ads in latest edition of Safari Times newspaper
From: Buffalo1
23-Feb-17
From: Butternut40
24-Feb-17
What OZ said. I once helped an older SCI member get rid of his mounts. He ended up going with Lolli mentioned above. The auction brought peanuts. I'm talking huge collection with world class animals. You would be better off selling individually or in lots on craigslist. I just dumped three fish mounts and got more than expected.
