What trophy are you most proud of?

[HankBuck]

17pt buck, public land, something like a 300 yard shot with a 350 legend.

I don’t know how to score a deer and don’t honestly care, so no idea how it officially scores. I’m not really a fan of taxidermy as part of my home decor so the skull is in my garage sitting in a box somewhere View attachment 681811
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Not sure if I have pictures of all of him but he had 2 tines broken off, so would’ve scored better if he hadn’t gotten in so many fights. But still, I’ll probably never shoot a bigger buck, so I’ve given up on “trophy” Deer hunting. As cool as he was, he tasted terrible even though his entire diet was corn, he was just too old to taste good. Seasoned sausage is the only way we could get him edible.

I’ll go for the 1-3 year old does only now thanks, taste way better. But still a cool story, not often are bucks like this on public land.

Not sure I have all the points shown in the pics I selected as he’s very non typical, but you get the idea. He was also incredibly heavy in the body, most I’ve ever struggled to get a deer into the back of a truck

@Rifleman97 that is a TROPHY Buck by any standard ! You should be thrilled - as should any hunter to take a Big, Mature, well racked Buck like yours. He also looks like he was shot near Peak Rut, swollen neck, just a Great deer. “Score” is a recent topic to deer hunting and if you read thru magazine articles from before 1980s you won’t find mention of “score”, rather you will hear “points, deer weight, etc..”. My Fathers generation knew a big rack and a trophy buck “without” needing a mathematical measurement. I think the recent focus on “score” detracts from what a Trophy is - it is an accomplishment of skill, good shooting, sometimes scouting, and always a little luck. A hunter can only shoot the Bucks that live in the area, Bucks like yours are rare - and should be celebrated ! CONGRATULATIONS

 

[Rifleman97]

@Rifleman97 that is a TROPHY Buck by any standard ! You should be thrilled - as should any hunter to take a Big, Mature, well racked Buck like yours. He also looks like he was shot near Peak Rut, swollen neck, just a Great deer. “Score” is a recent topic to deer hunting and if you read thru magazine articles from before 1980s you won’t find mention of “score”, rather you will hear “points, deer weight, etc..”. My Fathers generation knew a big rack and a trophy buck “without” needing a mathematical measurement. I think the recent focus on “score” detracts from what a Trophy is - it is an accomplishment of skill, good shooting, sometimes scouting, and always a little luck. A hunter can only shoot the Bucks that live in the area, Bucks like yours are rare - and should be celebrated ! CONGRATULATIONS

He was actually a bit bigger during rut, I shot him early to mid December during the Iowa shotgun/rifle season. But definitely a huge body, I had to buy another freezer to fit all of his meat lol

I’m definitely of the mindset of your father’s generation, I couldn’t care less about the precise score. I was told by someone who cares about score to send in the measurements to Boone and crocket, but I’d rather not. Comparison is the thief of joy, and I’ve got plenty of joy from that big old guy. I don’t need to see how “small” and “few points” mine has compared to someone else’s making me feel like less of a hunter.

 

[HankBuck]

He was actually a bit bigger during rut, I shot him early to mid December during the Iowa shotgun/rifle season. But definitely a huge body, I had to buy another freezer to fit all of his meat lol

I’m definitely of the mindset of your father’s generation, I couldn’t care less about the precise score. I was told by someone who cares about score to send in the measurements to Boone and crocket, but I’d rather not. Comparison is the thief of joy, and I’ve got plenty of joy from that big old guy. I don’t need to see how “small” and “few points” mine has compared to someone else’s making me feel like less of a hunter.

@Rifleman97 - I like your quote “comparison is the thief of joy”. Also, my thoughts are most of the Best Hunters are NOT in the B&C record books and in fact the WORLD RECORD WHITETAIL was killed by a Saskatchewan farmer — as part of a deer drive - and took multiple shots & misses to kill him. Milo seemed like a good guy, loved to hunt, deserved it as much as anyone - but no evidence he was an above-average-hunter…just Lucky and had an opportunity we would ALL Enjoy !

 

[HookMeUpII]

Killed a banded goose on my first goose hunt. We were calling it quits, and everyone left to get the trucks, left me with the decoys. Got super lucky. There is a housing development in the field I shot that goose in.

Yup. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good lol. Well, you have to be good and lucky with waterfowl.

My cousin shot a banded goose on a lease I secured that we had shot dozens of geese on before. The farmer who owner the land had shot 100's in the past and never saw a band.

 

[fourfive8]

Don’t know exactly how to describe “most proud of”. What comes to mind though is the perseverance, disappointment and hard work involved in some. I know quite a few 7-8 year olds regularly pop white tailed deer from blinds, sometimes over bait. I grew up hunting hard scrabble mule deer mountain areas with relatively low deer densities. Took a lever BB gun deer hunting with my my dad starting at about age 9. Got a real deer rifle from parents, a 30-30 M94 at 13. For 5 years learned and worked my arse off hunting deer. Got my first deer, a young 4x4 buck, hunting solo, after 5 hard years. Far from a trophy in size. No “hi mom” pics. Almost 60 years ago
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