Shoulder or European?

[Doc Holliday]

I would mount that bull because I know it would be the biggest bull elk I would ever kill, but having said that....

Mounts have really lost their appeal to me. If you take 20 elk mounts from taxidermist #1, they are all going to look the same. 20 elk from taxidermist #2, all of his will look the same. Yes, their poses might be different, but their faces, lips, eyes, mouth, etc will be the exact same.

I have had probably 20 different species mounted, and while they are all very pretty and works of art, etc. the vast majority don't look anything like the animal I killed, especially the big game heads. What really iced the cake for me was when I sent my dall ram to a taxidermist that advertises in every issue of Wild Sheep magazine....being from GA and we don't have rams down there, I thought that was a good idea.....boy was I wrong......my ram was killed in september...had a thick fluffy coat, and had black around his mouth and nose. I sent harvest pics to the taxidermist and said I want him to look just like this, they said OK. They call a few months later wanting payment, said everything was done.....I asked for pics and said they would send them, but never did. Mount shows up and they either gave my cape to someone else, or they painted my rams mouth/nose area white....the cape is also stretched very tight, hair slicked down, and looks like a ram shot in late july. As excited as I was to get the mount back, half the time I look at it I get pissed off because it doesn't look anything like my ram. If I ever get another mount done I am going to go with a smaller shop

 

[208Logan]

I would mount that bull because I know it would be the biggest bull elk I would ever kill, but having said that....

Mounts have really lost their appeal to me. If you take 20 elk mounts from taxidermist #1, they are all going to look the same. 20 elk from taxidermist #2, all of his will look the same. Yes, their poses might be different, but their faces, lips, eyes, mouth, etc will be the exact same.

I have had probably 20 different species mounted, and while they are all very pretty and works of art, etc. the vast majority don't look anything like the animal I killed, especially the big game heads. What really iced the cake for me was when I sent my dall ram to a taxidermist that advertises in every issue of Wild Sheep magazine....being from GA and we don't have rams down there, I thought that was a good idea.....boy was I wrong......my ram was killed in september...had a thick fluffy coat, and had black around his mouth and nose. I sent harvest pics to the taxidermist and said I want him to look just like this, they said OK. They call a few months later wanting payment, said everything was done.....I asked for pics and said they would send them, but never did. Mount shows up and they either gave my cape to someone else, or they painted my rams mouth/nose area white....the cape is also stretched very tight, hair slicked down, and looks like a ram shot in late july. As excited as I was to get the mount back, half the time I look at it I get pissed off because it doesn't look anything like my ram. If I ever get another mount done I am going to go with a smaller shop

That really stinks! That would make me so mad.

 

[elkguide]

What a magnificent bull and what awesome memories.

I have elk and deer horns in many corners and on many walls in my house, in my basement and in my shop. They're great. I'd never mounted anything because of the expense and the amount of space that a mount would take up. Then I went to New Zealand for a once in a lifetime hunt and shot a great Red Stag and that same fall I shot a huge black bear. After thinking about it for a while, I came to the realization that I was the only one that would really appreciate them. Now while I really enjoy all of the antlers that I have around along with all of the photographs of my many adventures, it seems like every time that I walk by or into the rooms that have those mounts in, there is just a different memory ignited as I look at and touch them. (My Red is a pedestal mount but it has a bracket so that it could be a wall mount if I so chose. Nice option. The bear is essentially a piece of furniture.)
So once again, very expensive and great space users but for me....... well worth it.

My vote for that elk, with all of those memories, a definite shoulder mount.

 

[Jstady2002]

Nice bull regardless of what you do. That bull I would probably shoulder mount on a pedestal. Looks pretty dang nice.

 

[muskysaloon]

Great Elk!! Shoulder mount all the way. You can't get the true feeling or size of the animal with a euro mount. When people walk in and see a shoulder mount they are awestruck, not so much with a euro mount. IMHO

 

[Mojave]

That really stinks! That would make me so mad.

I have antelope and aoudad mounted. I doubt I will ever do a shoulder mount again.

Thinking about going back to Africa and I'll get a baboon, hyena and zebra rugs. But the rest is going to be skulls only.

 

[JGross1]

Congrats on the great bull! Shoulder mount vote here

 

[208Logan]

Thanks for everyone's input... in the end I decided to get him shoulder mounted. I built my own pedestal. I was hoping by doing this people could get up closer and appreciate his mass and character. I am very happy with the way he turned out. I also had minimuleys make a custom replica so I could still enjoy the euro look and have him on my desk at work.

 

[Catahoula]

No doubt a great bull. Congratulations.

 

[JGross1]

That mini replica is badass

 

[nphunter]

Great bull! I’d have went with a shoulder too and then figured out where to put it. I told myself if I ever kill a net 330+ bull I’d shoulder mount it.

 

[khavok]

Ok so need helping with deciding what I should do with my 2021 AZ bull. I always said that if I got a bill over 350 I would shoulder mount it. I have a European done to it while waiting for the hide and form. The Euro is cool because people can hold it and appreciate it's mass and character but the shoulder would look great in my house with vaulted ceiling. What would you guys do? View attachment 407284View attachment 407282View attachment 407281

I saw one that was European but it included the neck, chest, and a few ribs. It looked like something out of Halloween and would be a huge talking point.

 

[Duh]

I killed a 203 muley a couple years ago with my bow, was my first bow buck actually. I was a bit of a cheap ass and never intended to shoulder mount him. Ended up doing the euro myself and still can’t get over all the character he has on the skull.

Even with extra funds around now, I couldn’t cover up the skull. I only have euro mounts that I do myself and probably will only ever have that type of mount. The character of the skull is just so cool to me.

 

[Elkoholic87]

Which taxidermist did you use?


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[Finn16]

I'd go Euro - I've never regretted doing a Euro on anything.

 

[208Logan]

Which taxidermist did you use?


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Horse Creek Taxidermy in Gooding Idaho