Thinking of tossing my shoulder mounts….

[Mikido]

I’ve got about 7 racks up in my garage, 3 of which are shoulder mounts. I don’t see myself doing any kind of mount in the future (besides antlers or rug only).

I’ve changed my outlook on hunting over the years….and I’m thinking about removing the antlers from the mounts and chucking the rest.

Am I crazy? Anyone else do this and regret it?

 

[sodaksooner]

Ive done it with a few, but really only because I kind of didn't maintain them. I don't have a bunch of big mounts anyway. Typically I just do Europeans or cut the skullplate out and screw them into the wall in the garage. My brother has a bunch of mounts he did over the years, mostly for amateur taxidermist practice. He actually sold a bunch of them years ago and made some decent money. He'll do a rare shoulder mount nowadays, but mostly does Europeans (and likes to do waterfowl now)

 

[WRM]

Don't have the money or the space anymore. Have only kept racks for years and years.
And I threw out some old ones after removing racks.

 

[TxxAgg]

I did the exact same thing. Just keep the antlers now. Not interested in spending money for taxidermy or taking up space on the wall.

 

[Wapiti151]

love a euro for my nicer stuff or just capped w/antlers for everything else....i'll never do a shoulder mount even if it were a record book animal. They cost WAY too damn much, and I would rather spend my money on hunts/gear. LOVE doing DIY euros, yet another part of the process that connects me to that hunt/animal.

 

[shaynew1]

If it makes the cut...clean professional euro in the house. If not, quick and dirty euro on the pile.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Did too many shoulder mounts early on and ran out of room. Fortunately my brother has a big house and more wall space so we transferred a couple of mine and our late Dad's mounts there. I still have 4 in the house- 3 of my most memorable whitetails and the prettiest whitetail a guy did for me. Elk from profile is at taxi and I'm doing pedestal mount. Odds are stacked against me ever beating him and it was an amazing hunt with my brother in the Bob.

I have a bunch of nice homemade euros hanging in my machine shed. A couple that would score with these guys, but just not as memorable or special. These guys go 145, 152, and 161 gross. The 2 on the outside were both spot and stalk bow kills.

 

[Ron.C]

Agree with you Mikido, my outlook has also changed. Have no more interest in large mounts/rugs and prefer a couple select euro's

My favourite trophy is a pile of elk sheds beside my fire place and the Rosie euro from the elk in my avatar. Have a WT mount and bear rug that will probably be going away pretty soon.

At the end to each his own. Your mounts, your trophies, your memories. Do what makes you happy

 

[MuleyFever]

Euros for me. I have 3 some shoulder mounts I have thought about removing the antlers from. Eventually I will.

 

[FLATHEAD]

In the same boat. About done with mounts.
Dont know that I'd destroy the ones I have but probably
wont do anymore except under exceptional circumstances.
I've got to where I can do a fairly decent Euro, and the
mounts have gotten way expensive!!

 

[JBrown1]

I’ve taken a lot of game, but I’ve never had any taxidermy done. Shoulder mounts just don’t do it for me, and I like euro mounts so that is why I do with anything that I care to keep.

Regarding your situation: one thing that you might consider is the reproduction skulls that are available. If you toss your mounts and keep the antlers, you could mount them on a repo skull. I had a neighbor who was doing that and they looked great as I recall.

 

[*zap*]

Do what is right for you.

 

[Trap]

I’m the odd man out on this thread. I have mounted a lot of animals. I love shoulder mounts and have a few life size predators lion,wolf, bear. Etc. I decided I am close to done with new mounts also. Anyways we all hit our limit on how much we want. I wouldn’t destroy a quality shoulder mount if I were you. Doesn’t sound like they are taking much room or wall space in the rafters. I actually sold my unlimited sheep horns when I was in college. I figured I would just get another one and needed money for hunting stuff ha ha. My dad found out and bought the horns back and mounted them and gave it to me on my birthday. It’s a terribly done mount but my favorite. Today I’m super grateful my dad did that. Your feelings towards those shoulder mounts might change in the future. It would be a shame just to trash them and regret it.

 

[MightyWhitey]

Yes, you’re crazy. But to each their own.

 

[slimC]

Euro mounts for me... Feels more natural/authentic.
Why pay so much money for a mount when its all just fake...the mold or stuffing, the fake eyes, glue.. It's essentially just a doll.

 

[Jimss]

I like a diversity of mounts and species. You are right that taxidermy charges certainly take the excitement out of collecting critters for the wall. Also have a gob of the same species. I started doing my own fish and am in the process of doing a gobbler. The new instructional videos and taxidermy supplies make it possible to do a pretty good job if you have a knack for detail and a bit of artistry.

I think it’s exciting to do new species that add flavor to your collection. If it’s not exciting any more maybe try something new?

 

[5MilesBack]

It depends on the mount. If they're decent animals and mounts, I'd donate them before I'd destroy them. I donated one of my 6x6 bulls to a youth camp to put up in their log-built dining hall. They already have some other mounts and stuff, full size mountain lion, etc. I could see donating the rest of mine as well at some point.

 

[FLATHEAD]

I love a Euro cause I'm able to hold them in my hands.
Much easier to admire the horns.

 

[adamkolesar]

Regrettably, all our mounts and euros get sold for pennies on the dollar at the estate sale we'll burden our kids with upon our expiry. So it goes...

 

[Justin Crossley]

I would mount everything if I had the money and space to hang them. I have a mix of euro and shoulder mounts for deer and elk in my office and I like them all but prefer the shoulder mounts. I prefer the predators to be full-body mounts or rugs but bear rugs take up a ton of space.

The only reason I would take a mount apart is if it was really bad, in which case I would probably have it redone by a good taxidermist.