Trophy Elk: What's it to YOU

[GSPHUNTER]

Here's my best bull that B&C netted 366. I shot him on public land in northern Montana many years ago.

My second best 6x6 bull I also shot on public land, in southern Montana, again many years ago.

These are the only bulls that I had mounted. I B&C scored him at 330 net. The antlers from all the rest of my bulls are just collecting dust hanging in the trusses in my garage, but their real trophies were their little white packages in my freezers.

The first picture speaks for itself as for the how long ago it was. Very typical attire for the time. Both great bulls.

 

[bradmacmt]

but their real trophies were their little white packages in my freezers.

For me, it's the memories. Every rack I have lying around brings back the entirety of the hunt that led to the kill.

 

[Ridgerunner338]

Everybody wants that 350" bull on the wall but to me a trophy is the whole culmination of the hunt whether you are successful or not. Sometimes a "Failed Hunt" in 1 persons eyes is a learning experience for another and that experience may lead to the trophy they are looking for.

 

[LongWayAround]

the public land comment is deceiving tho... I hate the shows or pods that say I killed a 350 bull on a DIY public land hunt, but didn't mention they drew a November NV elk tag or 1 of 4 tags on a September rifle rut hunt in UT etc.. big difference hunting a general unit with lotta pressure and killing a toad versus a draw tag

The "worst" shows for me are the ones where some fat guy with a fanny pack is passing huge bulls because "it's just not what we're looking for."

I just saw another one from Crispi where they "weren't sure" the bull was a shooter. Private land in northeast Wyoming. They did shoot it but it was a no brainer.

 

[buffybr]

For me, it's the memories. Every rack I have lying around brings back the entirety of the hunt that led to the kill.

The memories are also very important to me, but over time, memories fade. I remember the hunt for my 1st bull and that it was a 5x5, but now I don't which one of the racks hanging in my garage is his. Other than the 366 bull in the picture that I posted, I can only remember a few details of most of the elk that I shot in the '60s and '70s.

I've kept a one line record in a little book of every elk that I've shot, and other than a few sets of ivories that I had made into jewlery, I've put my other ivories on this board with the year and number of points or C if it was a cow.

In the late '70s I started to have shoulder mounts done of my largest or unusual animals. In 1999 I went on my first guided hunt, a Dall sheep and mountain caribou hunt in Canada's Northwest Territory, and I have since gone on about a dozen big game hunts around the world. I used to have pictures of big game animals on my walls, but now most of those pictures have been replaced with the mounts of 75 of the better or unusual big game animals that I've shot. I can look at and enjoy these mounts every day, bringing back the memories of those hunts.