mounted antlers

[fisher Gord]

I have a couple deer and 1 antelope. they are not quite B&C, and are worth no money now,nor will any of my kids want they when i go. I have a friend that mounted most of his animals, and has a nice bighorn. only the bighorn has sell-able value, but is not for sale. he gave away 10 bird mounts and some big game but his estate will still have 30 mounts to get rid of. While the mount and more importantly, the memories have great value to us, the hunters. They have little value to others. I still like to hunt big antlers but won't get any more mounts done. Do you consider the future value when you mount an animal you hunted??

[W921]

Wife doesnt value them. Funny how marriage ,children and age changes woman. My daughter values them alot. Especially the ones we got together. I always sign hers and my name on back, plus when and where it was taken.
Wish I had my grandfathers horns. They were part of what got me interested in hunting. Have his rifle though. When I hold his rifle it makes me feel closer to him. I think thats the value of horns or pictures of hunts.

[JTRED]

I've never mounted anything, my first mature mule deer has pride of place on the woodshed wall, and my daughters' first buck is on the garden shed. The cost of taxidermy to my way of thinking is better spent on trips, holidays , gear to make more hunts possible.I would probably have a sheep or goat done as a euro mount if I ever get one. No one in family will likely ever keep any of my hunting stuff, unless my girls marry hunters.

[Dewey Cox]

I got a mule deer euro mounted this year, and when I got the bill for $250, I almost had a heat attack.
I don't think there will be any taxidermy in my future. (Although, now that my wallet has had some time to heal, I sure do like it)
I usually just mount the skull plate to a piece of routered plywood and call it a day. Takes up less space, costs less money, and still brings me joy to look at.

[calgarychef]

I do all euro mounts, when I’m gone they can be tossed in the bush and go back to nature.

[Barry D]

If you look in the B&C record book, you will come across a guys name as the owner of many B & C antlers, heads, horns, etc.
Dana Hollinger is his name. Here's the story as he told me when I was extremely fortunate to see some of his collection in a Palm Springs. Back in the 70's he was a bit of an antique dealer, but found that there were some interesting mounts from around the world that sold for next to nothing at estate auctions, or didn't sell at all and ended up in the dumpster when they cleaned up after some old rich guys family didn't want the things. He did a little research and discovered that some of the biggest African game ever taken, were been trashed. Yes the mounts were poor and deteriorated because taxidermy was in it's infancy, but the horns, antlers, tusks, etc were in very good shape. He started to buy up anything that was considered large for it's respective species and has amassed a hug collection. He has all kinds of state records and many exotics too. He has a ryno with a 52" horn, I didn't even know they ever got that big. He has a mounted passenger pigeon under glass. He was one of the bidders of the famous Alberta "Chip Lake buck" still the world champion non-typical mule deer, when it was in the courts back in the 90's (thats another story of a deer that if not for one son, would have been left in the bush to rot away).
For him it was not so much for making money, but he saw an amazing collection of natural history been thrown away and just couldn't let it happen. The last I heard he is still hoping to get a museum set up on the west gate of Yellowstone park so he can let the world see what animals walked this earth, and where they all came from before man destroyed most of it. He doesn't care about the hunter that got the animal, he cars about the animals themselves and thie story. For that reason, I mount any animal I get that is a good example of a large member of that species. I have one of the extremely few white pelicans mounted in North America, (yes I have a permit). When we found it dead on Calling Lake I just couldn't. let it rot, when it could be a great educational subject for generations to come. With todays taxidermy advancements, and with good care (never touch your mounts with your fingers for one, the oils will take it's toll over many years) generations down the road will value them. Remember all the things you threw away in your youth that you wished you could share with others now, this I believe will be the same thing. The only difference is we may never get the chance to replace them. I wonder how many 450" bull elk horns were left to rot on the prairies back in the mid 1800's. Man, I'd pay to see some of them.
If you can't afford the full mounts, at least keep the horns and you can always just give them away when you are done with them. Put the date taken, and where the animal lived on every one of them. Future generations will thank you.

[TrapperMike]

Have a neighbor who pulled 3 elk skulls out of a lake on his property that dried up a few years ago. All over 400 with one around that 450 mark. Figured the drown when they went through the ice. Lake was not completely dried up. Makes you wonder what in those deep holes.

[fordtruckin]

I paid to get a euro mount done last season. Not huge but a nice 3x3 mule deer that was fairly wide and tall. Cost me about 120$ and then I mounted it on a piece of old barn wood I had kicking around. More or less just something for me to dink around with. One day I figure I’ll get a trophy elk or drawn for moose. In all likelihood if it is a true trophy I’d just euro them. Shoulder mounts take up too much space!!