Trophies?

[renegade19]

At some point in your hunting career, you learn to put away the tape and realize the trophy is in the details.

Perfect.

[Ericbrooks]

At some point in your hunting career, you learn to put away the tape and realize the trophy is in the details.

I think the trophy is the eye be holder, it's what ever makes you happy.

Amen. Who cares what other people think!!


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[appalachianassassin]

I don't shoot jakes and wont let the people I take hunting shoot a jake. but, if you want to give me one ill dang sure eat it.

[MT elk slayer]

It don't matter what it looks like, if it's a life size mounter or a little jake. If it's legal I pull the trigger. Hunting has always been about memories and there ain't a damn animal I have harvested that doesn't have a story behind it. I don't discriminate becuase that wise ol gobbler with the 12" beard has the same opportunity to be killed as a jake does.

[catdaddy]

All longbeards are trophys to me. I never weigh them, or measure spurs or beards. 

[tha bugman]

A trophy is really in the eye of the beholder.  I have seen folks (young and old) be so proud of something (deer, turkey, etc.) only to have a jackwagon degrade it.  Thats just wrong and unsportsman like IMO.

[Rzrbac]

Here's my opinion, for what it's worth.

As long as you kill it (legally) and it's for the right reasons then it's a trophy.

This fall I shot a small 8 pointer with my bow. Maybe 100",but I could have cared less. He was the most vocal buck I've ever heard and he was the first buck I killed on my farm.  I've passed plenty bigger than him but not on my place.  A week later, our firearms season opened.  I sat on my place just to keep people run off and watch for road hunters. Somebody shot south of my place and a few minutes later here comes a 9 pointer (140").  Pretty uneventful but I was glad to kill him. I was much more proud of the smaller buck though.

In 1999, I attended training in South Carolina. I was gone for a couple of months and scheduled to return home on the last day of turkey season.  I drove through storms and had to take detours due to roads closed to make it home. I got home at 2:00 in the morning. Kissed my wife and son, showered grabbed my stuff and drove 2 more hours to get to my lease.  One bird gobbled that morning.  I worked him for about 30 minutes and could finally see him coming up the holler.  I had the safety off and could have killed him much sooner than I did. I was enjoying watching him Gobble at crows darting down at him. At 30 yards he broke into a strut and wouldn't you know it, a jake.  I don't shoot jakes but I made an exception for him. He put on a great show and gobbled like a big bird. I was thankful for him and just as proud as if he had been a longbeard. 

Bottom line is I measure my trophies different than the established standard some use.  If I hunt hard and want to legally kill whatever game I'm pursuing, I will. As long as the man in the mirror is happy, that's all that counts.

[Tail Feathers]

It's all in the eyes of the beholder. If you're happy with him and how you got him, then no need to worry about what others think. Whatever it takes to keep it exciting for you.

Yep.

[richard black]

Too much emphasis on trophies today and not enough on the quality of the hunt and the enjoyment derived. A trophy is what you think it is, not what someone else thinks or does.  If you are happy with your trophy, everyone else should be too.

[kdfester]

Posts like these give me hope for the future of sportsmen and women.  Too many shows on TV showcasing huge unattainable trophies and maxing out on every bag limit.  The common person does not "rate" in their books.  Let's keep our focus on the prep, the hunt, the outdoors, the beauty of a sunrise and birds awaking the woods. 

[Farmboy27]

I absolutely hate the fact that the first thing a lot of guys ask after you say you got a buck is "what did it score". Same with turkeys. I've never in my life "scored" an animal. I killed it, I'm happy with it, so who cares. Scoring = bragging in my opinion. I miss the good old days when you could tell people that you got an 8 point or a nice bird and they said congrats. No question on score or details so it could be compared with someone else.

[beakbuster10]

I don't shoot jakes and I don't shoot bucks that aren't 4.5 or older, because that's what makes me happy. Shoot what makes you happy, unless you're hunting on my dirt. Then you shoot gobblers and 4.5+ year old bucks.


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[fallhnt]

Guys ask ,how long was the beard? My standard reply is ,"the usual 2 year old lenght".

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[Farmboy27]

I don't shoot jakes and I don't shoot bucks that aren't 4.5 or older, because that's what makes me happy. Shoot what makes you happy, unless you're hunting on my dirt. Then you shoot gobblers and 4.5+ year old bucks.


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Lol. On my stomping ground you'd never shoot a buck!  Do you ask for birth certificate before you shoot?

[beakbuster10]

I don't shoot jakes and I don't shoot bucks that aren't 4.5 or older, because that's what makes me happy. Shoot what makes you happy, unless you're hunting on my dirt. Then you shoot gobblers and 4.5+ year old bucks.


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Lol. On my stomping ground you'd never shoot a buck!  Do you ask for birth certificate before you shoot?

Lol no. It's really not hard to tell when a buck is 4.5+. The majority of the bucks we kill, we already know them and have decided to kill them before we ever step foot in the woods. That takes a lot of the guess work out of it.


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