What to do with all the trophies?

[Guy Miner]

What do you do when the house starts running out of room for "trophies" ?

Middle class guy here with average size home. Take a buck most years. Now and again I'll bag two critters in a season. My youngest son is turning out to be quite a hunter, and is starting to pile up deer racks, and a bear skin & skull. He stands a real good chance of tagging another bear this fall.

I figure to keep hunting as long as I can, another 20 years maybe?

Running out of wall space fast and am planning a plains-game hunt for several species in 2014... Bear, elk & mule deer hunting this fall. I literally have no idea what I'll do with the heads if I take kudu & gemsbok in Africa next year.

Building on a "trophy room" is out of the question for me.

What do you do with all these racks, heads & hides that start piling up over the years? It gets a little ridiculous after a while.

Is there a market for tanned bear hides, antlers, skulls, etc?

Guy

 

[Kodiak]

Guy,

Locally, we have a privately owned sporting-goods store, that accepts all over-flow hunting trophies. He displays them on his 16' high wall areas inside the firearms, archery and ATV areas. About every two years he pays a taxidermy shop to come in and clean-up all the displays. I have some things there and they look as new as when I dropped them off.

 

[Hegland]

Donation to PETA and the Sierra Club! :twisted: Seriously, good show Guy. You have a pile of memories there.

 

[Thebear_78]

There is quite a market on antlers, a lot of places buy them by the pound. You can also usually sell them at gunshows and such. As to the bear skull and hides you might want to check the legality of it. Most places won't allow you to sell bear parts. I know in alaska we can sell bear skins and skulls for black bear and brown bear only if harvested in specific areas.

 

[ridgewalker]

I think you should build a cabin in the woods for all your trophies and then invite us all up for a hunt... :grin:

 

[Vince]

Old taxidermy is worth money.
Personally I'm of a mind to keep it and move things out to the storage shed as I get more. Keep the "first" and other treasured mementoes in a place of honor and replace some as needed. You could mix things up yearly, some old some new, and always have an evolving trophy display.
Me, I don't have enough yet to worry about it. I had a friend that donated most of the state game he and his two kids had taken over the years to the local office of Game & Fish. It made their meeting room a lot nicer.
Personally I'd be inclined to keep what I had and "mix it up" now and then. If you want help selling your stuff I can put you in touch with a couple of folks that deal with stuff like that for folks.

 

[cloverleaf]

I think you should build a cabin in the woods for all your trophies and then invite us all up for a hunt... :grin:

Uh ... yup! But since that probably aint an option, how 'bout the "club house" at the local gun club, or the Elks lodge, or similar Org. Local hardware store back home had quite a collection once upon a time. Also what about a natural history or sience museum? My daughters HS science teacher had a MASSIVE pronghorn in the classroom that was a donation... There would be nothing wrong with invisting in a name plate with name year taken for each one. Your Grand kids might get a kick out of going to the local pub to see your buck hanging on the wall some day.... Just some thoughts. CL

 

[runtohunt]

You might consider making lamps etc. with old or new antlers.
View attachment IMG_5956.jpg
View attachment IMG_5955.jpg
View attachment IMG_5954.jpg

 

[Kodiak]

rth,

Now those are pretty neat :grin:

 

[ridgewalker]

Actually cloverleaf is suggesting exactly what I have been doing. A good friend is a biology teacher in PA. I send her antlers, horns, hides, boiled skulls and dried feet from most of the birds I have taken. The kids love them because most have never seen a lot of them and they are good training tools.

She wanted me to take a Kodiak and send it back for her...NOT!

 

[lefty315]

Guy, take some to the office and hang them there!!!!

 

[Oldtrader3]

My wife lets me hang a whitetail and a pronghorn, both shoulder mounts, in the living room. My mule deer shoulder mount is at her son' house mounted on the fireplace.

 

[Vince]

Guy,

I just had an idea that, while not traditional, may get you a little more wall and floor room for mounting. Put the rugs on the ceiling and use the wall space to mount more trophies. The floor rugs could also go on the ceiling and you could mount some skulls on wood pedestals in place of the rugs. Also, some rugs would look good draped over a sofa or chair, depending on chair size and rug size.

Just a thought Guy.

 

[FOTIS]

Donation to PETA and the Sierra Club! :twisted: Seriously, good show Guy. You have a pile of memories there.

Good one!

 

[1100 Remington Man]

You could do what I do just take pictures. I have always planned on mounting a Big Deer but every year I think I can do better I'm a optimist. The only mount is one I did for my Son a Antelope with 15 inch horns & that one cost me a rifle. I did not want him to just shoot any buck & told him I would buy him a rifle & mount it for him if he held out for a buck of at least 15 inches & he did..View attachment image.jpg
He is now the proud owner of a Remington 700 CDL 25-06.

 

[DrMike]

I did not want him to just shoot any buck & told him I would buy him a rifle & mount it for him if he held out for a buck of at least 15 inches & he did..
He is now the proud owner of a Remington 700 CDL 25-06.

It is rough when our children actually listen. :grin: Good job by your son.

 

[Oldtrader3]

My only antelope trophy. Douglas, WY, 1974. Measures 14-1/2 inches.

 

[DrMike]

Fine mount, Charlie.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Thanks DrMike, that was shot with my poor old incapable .270 Win Model 70. Put a Partition in right in the chest under the bottom V about 2 inches, went through 4 feet of antelope and found the perfect mushroom under the skin left of the anus. Talk about great bullet performance!

 

[DrMike]

Wow! I surprised that those .277 bullets didn't bounce off of that 'lope, Charlie. :grin: