Keeping antlers off deer or elk you have harvested?

[spottedhawk36]

I was curious as too how many guys or gals keep there antlers off of elk or deer they have harvested, if you dont have it head mounted? I myself keep all my racks off animals i have harvested just for the memories. i can look at every rack i have and remember how that hunt went and the story that goes with it, so i would say i keep them because they look cool on the wall plus for memories of times i shared with friends and family on those hunts.

[pythonwill]

It really depends on if they were big or not. I have a few 3 point or better racks laying around Dads garage for years. But Im not a horn hunter so they forky antlers have been plenty and I never really kept them much over the years. The dogs chewed up quite a few of them too.

[Eagleclaw]

i'm not a horn hunter either.. the only set i've kept was for rattling and i loaned them to a buddy and he lost them. i just take them up in the hills and let the animals have them.

[spottedhawk36]

i have some decent buck racks and some smaller ones but they just happened to be the first buck i saw so i took him, i wont pass on a decent buck, dont like tag soup lol

[spottedhawk36]

claw,

maybe we can get together and share pics i have some of mule deer i have taken you can bring the ones over of all those huge blacktail bucks you have killed over the years.

[SImudBogger]

I have a couple blacktail horn mounts i did myself



Also have a spike muley (first deer) my grandpa did for me when i was 14. The spikes ended up breaking at a seam in the skull. Still have them lying around, i'll keep those forever.

[spottedhawk36]

i have a home jobby set of a forked horn i took years ago in heppner, they dont have to be big too look cool

[adobe wall]

I have a large box of whitetail antlers, some quite nice, and don't really like the amount of space these take up in the utility building. I've taken that box out several times in the past few years but can't bring myself to throw them away.

Can't eat them, but on the other hand they are all that are left of an animal I shot, and for some reason it doesn't seem right to get rid of them.

regards, aw

[oregonmuley]

I think that except for one set, I have the horns from every buck I have ever killed. Only one mounted, the rest I have a couple euro mounts I have in the house, plus a bunch I have set up in my garage. About this time of year when it gets slow i like to look at them and remember the hunt. I also have a few sets in my office at work - when work gets crazy I like to look at them - helps pass the days until next season

[loper]

the antelope bucks are all horn mounts

the deer antlers are horn mount wanna-be's

except for the blacktail which is a shoulder mount gonna-be

the elk sheds take up enough room laying in the garage

[ThomasHunter]

I keep them all, they bring back good memories of past hunts. My son likes to keep them in his room anyway

[Trick]

I didn't keep any horns until my late teens when I killed a 3-point blacky. The first few were spikes of various size in the mid-80's. Never kept them....kinda' wish I would have, but didn't. Since then I've saved them and have them in my kids rooms, in the garage, in the living room (only my three largest sets). I pulled a 600 series tag a few years back and I shot another spike...was gonna' throw them away, but my kid wanted them.....so he kept them.

I do like horns and skulls for that matter.

[spottedhawk36]

seems alot of guys keep them for the same reason i do, the memories.

[Beamerfish]

I'm with you spottedhawk - I keep every single one. Some are head mounts, some are antler mounts and some are just lined up in the rafters of the shop. I can picture where every single one came from.

[Hornhunter]

It can be the smallest spike toehead or a huge 4x4 I keep everything it all has value to me I even beetle clean all my bear skulls same with elk when I get lucky and harvest one

[westcoastsrt4]

Originally Posted by ThomasHunter

I keep them all, they bring back good memories of past hunts. My son likes to keep them in his room anyway

its all about the memory's, i wish my dad had kept more of his, i would love to have them

[nevermiss]

I've kept all my better racks, and up till about 10 years ago used to let the neighbor kids have the smaller ones. I'm keeping 'em all now, even tho' I well remember every moment of every successful hunt, and some not too lucky ones.

[jokester]

Originally Posted by ThomasHunter

I keep them all, they bring back good memories of past hunts.

Yup...

-jokester

[cwh]

What do you put on the rafters in the garage/shop/barn if you don't keep antlers?

[PIR8 Hook]

Originally Posted by cwh

What do you put on the rafters in the garage/shop/barn if you don't keep antlers?

That's where all my smaller ones are....from my son's first 2" spike to the 3pts.....nailed up on the rafters in the barn.

I make a lot of antler carvings. Knife handles, inlays on pistol grips, belt buckles, shift knobs, key rings, medalions...etc BUT I NEVER use mine.

[Legend21]

Originally Posted by ThomasHunter

I keep them all, they bring back good memories of past hunts. My son likes to keep them in his room anyway

I completely agree here. I keep 'em all too, no matter how big or small. I also make a little 2x3 card or so that I type of and laminate to stick on the horns that includes the date of the harvest, unit, time, and the shell casing...if I find it. Just helps keep the memories fresh ya know. Thanks for the thread, good reads.

[BeaverBoy]

Makes great chew toys for my Dads black lab.

[gweedo#1]

Originally Posted by spottedhawk36

I was curious as too how many guys or gals keep there antlers off of elk or deer they have harvested, if you dont have it head mounted? I myself keep all my racks off animals i have harvested just for the memories. i can look at every rack i have and remember how that hunt went and the story that goes with it, so i would say i keep them because they look cool on the wall plus for memories of times i shared with friends and family on those hunts.

Any pics?

[spottedhawk36]

ive got regular 35mm pics of a few of them in the field, no head mounts here, havent got the big one yet mostley what ive got is forked horns, a few little 3 points and some spikes.

[jnicholson]

I've got to wheelbarrow some to the backyard, I'm running out of room in the garage.

Bucky

[Eagleclaw]

Originally Posted by jnicholson

I've got to wheelbarrow some to the backyard, I'm running out of room in the garage.

Bucky

i'd say so... what on earth do you do with those piles of bones?

[spottedhawk36]

Originally Posted by jnicholson

I've got to wheelbarrow some to the backyard, I'm running out of room in the garage.

Bucky

Wow! i would say you have a few lying around, nice i like it. i wanna do some shed hunting this year.

[Eagleclaw]

Originally Posted by spottedhawk36

Wow! i would say you have a few lying around, nice i like it. i wanna do some shed hunting this year.

Looks to me that you could do pretty good shed hunting in that shed...

[forkhunter]

I have all of mine from the first buck till now. I dig them out with my father every couple years and remember the hunts. 29 deer and one lonely spike elk set and counting........................

[ScottyG]

I've kept them all for the memories. All are plack mounted, with the exception of the four biggest bucks which are shoulder mounts. For me, it also just seems like the right thing to do to honor the animals passing. I do remember the does that I've taken too and it seems a shame to have nothing from them.

What's interesting is that the antlers show a certain progression with the smaller bucks of my life being taken when I was youngster. There is also a progression that you can see when I started hunting Oregon, again starting with smaller bucks and getting larger as I got to know the areas better. The same holds true of my archery bucks with smaller bucks coming earlier in my archery career. Perhaps its just luck, but I'd like to think that it also shows the progression in my skills.

I also made certain that I ended up with the largest set from my grandfathers collection have the largest set that my father has gotten so far is already on the wall.

[STRUTTIN-1]

[quote=ThomasHunter;2330409]I keep them all, they bring back good memories of past hunts.


but all these forks look the same and hard to tell what when and where.

[gweedo#1]

Here's what happens when I horn hunt...They collect dust...Here is some of mine...



My 08' Bull made it into my house only cause my good freind wanted to do his first euro elk mount so I let him work on my bull and it was worth it!!
Good Memories....

[Rank Amateur]

Nail them up in the shop.

[PIR8 Hook]

Originally Posted by gweedo#1

Here's what happens when I horn hunt...They collect dust...Here is some of mine...



My 08' Bull made it into my house only cause my good freind wanted to do his first euro elk mount so I let him work on my bull and it was worth it!!
Good Memories....

Interesting "Euro mount"....something about it reminds me of the the Indian graveyard scene from "Jerimiah Johnson". Looks like it has great mojo.

[hilclimber]

Originally Posted by spottedhawk36

I was curious as too how many guys or gals keep there antlers off of elk or deer they have harvested, if you dont have it head mounted? I myself keep all my racks off animals i have harvested just for the memories. i can look at every rack i have and remember how that hunt went and the story that goes with it, so i would say i keep them because they look cool on the wall plus for memories of times i shared with friends and family on those hunts.

I have all of my elk "horn-mounted" in the house and one solid whitetail buck. Another whitetail is at the taxidermist for my first shouldermount. And 07' mulie is on the back deck waiting for me to finish my first euro. One small buck is in the yard nailed up over the doghouse. THere is only one set over the years that has been lost...little buck...but still wish i knew where it went off too! Even my first bull, Spike, is on a plaque here in the house. Gunna start having to put them up in the garage, cabin, or get a bigger house soon!

[ThomasHunter]

[quote=STRUTTIN-1;2332447]

Originally Posted by ThomasHunter

I keep them all, they bring back good memories of past hunts.


but all these forks look the same and hard to tell what when and where.

they dont all look the same to me, they all have some kind of character. I also keep the punched tags with each set so I can look back

[benny boy]

I keep all of them regardless of size. I haven't killed anything huge but when the meat is all gone I still have pictures and antlers to remember the hunt, along with the memories of course!

[FromTheWoods]

Every buck I've tagged from 1968 to present--antlers are kept to honor the animal and the memory.

[Timber]

I used to keep the antlers and didn't take pictures (Pre Digital days for those of you old enough to remember) And one fine day I walked into my garage and thought something was missing. It took a while to figure out that my crankster neighbor had decided that the horn buyer that frequented town on a weekly basis needed them worse than I did. Now I take pictures as well as keep the horns. I swear the ones they took were this big.

[motcha]

I have six 4 pt or better muleys in my garage hung up, along with a special 7 pt I shot a year after my dad passed away. Other than that, all is never kept. I do shed hunt, so I get a lot in my garage and then $$ for em. Some of my buddies hound me saying I should mount some of my muleys..... they are good in the garage until i get my own man cave some day

[bigbuck2008]

i save all the antlers off the deer i harvest and any i find,i do my own taxidermy work so i have several mounts done and more to do,,here are a few

[Half fast Toyn]

I have a pile of sheds and a pile of skulls out back that I have found in the woods. I keep all my harvested horns mounted in the shop.

[The Bloodletter]

Horn Hunter. Got em' all. Heck, I even save all the skulls and sheds I find. It's good to own more bone!

[Trick]

Wow BigBuck....nice collection and excellent work. Like that black tail with the double throat patch.....nice!

[joebob]

Originally Posted by PIR8 Hook

That's where all my smaller ones are....from my son's first 2" spike to the 3pts.....nailed up on the rafters in the barn.

I make a lot of antler carvings. Knife handles, inlays on pistol grips, belt buckles, shift knobs, key rings, medalions...etc BUT I NEVER use mine.

i know the feeling, i do some carvings but i just dont want to use mine. sheds are a good thing.

[roadsend]

In my garage, machine shed, cellar, and wood shed; I probably have about a third of the racks from critters I have shot starting back in the mid'50s.
Dogs love them for chew toys. Kids give them to friends. I hang them on tree branches to weather off the crud and forget where I put them. Whatever.
I am basically a meat hunter and have never had a head mount done.

[bigbuck2008]

Originally Posted by Trick

Wow BigBuck....nice collection and excellent work. Like that black tail with the double throat patch.....nice!

thanks, im not real happy on how the blacktail came out with the uprite pose but what can you do i actually have to many my wife says.there is another 12 in another room and several in the garage.

[StevenB]

Great question. A lot of interesting answers.

I'm fond of the deer antlers and have all but a few as they trigger memories of the hunts and hunters.

I sold 99% of my elk antlers to Dave @ Artistic Taxidermy when the price was around $8 a pound. They ended up as light fixtures mostly. I just kept a few spikes. Nothing older than a 4 year old bull in the bunch. The check came to over $1000. Enough to pay for a few deer and elk tags.

I think deer antlers are more interesting to study. Not sure why. As for illustrating I've found elk antlers easier to draw.

[pharmseller]

Originally Posted by FromTheWoods

Every buck I've tagged from 1968 to present--antlers are kept to honor the animal and the memory.

Me, too, except for the 1968 part.


P

[tenmile]

Originally Posted by ThomasHunter

I keep them all, they bring back good memories of past hunts.

I can only agree with that!