BIG Game Trophies

Infidel 762

Infidel 762

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Staff member
Lets see what ya got.. Not limited to this year but some of your best trophies to date.

This deer is one of mine. I harvested him in 2010 off my land near the Cimarron River in NW Ok. He is a 179 3/8 free range whitetail. The date and time on the trail cam pics are not correct;



He was very nocturnal...





Here he is on the wall 2nd from right;

 
That's a real nice buck, definitely one to be proud of.

For me, it's tough to narrow it down to just one, because I've been pretty fortunate to hunt a variety of critters with lots of good folks. It seems that I'm proudest of hunting when I can celebrate a loved one's trophy. With that in mind, I selected a few that represent several proud/happy hunting moments.

My dad introduced me to the great outdoors, and was my mentor for many of my early hunting experiences. As a "thank you," I took him to Namibia in 2004. His most sought after trophy on that trip was, of course, kudu. After some pretty tough hikes, and a long merry chase, he shot this beat up old bull. One of the greatest moments in my hunting life was seeing him drop this kudu during our grand safari. I am proud to be his son, and equally proud to have been able to enjoy this experience with him.

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A couple days later I got one of my own.

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Another proud moment in my hunting career was being with and helping my wife kill her first bull elk - a nice six pointer taken off public land here in New Mexico just last fall.

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And how could I not be proud of my two oldest kids and their first big game animals - whitetail does in Texas?

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I've had some great hunts for elk, deer, pronghorn, and wild hogs, but a hunt that I think will be near the top of list for years to come is last summer's free range gemsbok/oryx hunt, also here in New Mexico.

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^^^^ how come on your bull elk you count only one antler for numbers of points? (To me it's a 12 point)... You made a good point about your kids whitetail deer, even does being trophies... That pic In the post "that's my girl" with my daughters first is by far better than the deer I posted above... I'm sure you got one heck of a trophy room judging from just the pics you posted above...
 
Originally Posted By: Infidel 762^^^^ how come on your bull elk you count only one antler for numbers of points? (To me it's a 12 point)...
It must be a western thing - we do the same thing with mule deer. I've always heard "four-point" buck and "six-point bull" for mulies and elk, but "twelve pointer" for whitetails. Not sure why, though more and more I hear and have started using "six by six bull" to be clearer.

Quote:You made a good point about your kids whitetail deer, even does being trophies... That pic In the post "that's my girl" with my daughters first is by far better than the deer I posted above...
Yeah, I loved that post. Teaching my kids to hunt is turning out to be more fun than hunting myself.

Quote:I'm sure you got one heck of a trophy room judging from just the pics you posted above...
I wish! The house is pretty modest, thus no dedicated trophy room. There are some mounts scattered all about the house, but mostly Euro mounts and tanned hides. The kudu did get a shoulder mount and hangs front and center in the living room though! Mama's first pronghorn stares down at people when they come in the front door too.
 
Great buck Infidel. I consider any free range Whitetail grossing over 160" great. Netting over that, awesome. Nice photos/trophies Desert. Looks like a lot of good family time. I have to dig up (hopefully) some old pics and scan them when I'm home next. One that pops up is a 210" 4 point Mulie I shot as a teen. Was riding with an old (80ish) friend/rancher who was practically blind. When he said there, on that far ridge, a buck! I knew then it must be big if he could see horns.
 
My best buck i killed in a pouring rain storm. It was on a small slice of state land that a rancher had planted in alfalfa and his cows were all over the field. At the other end of the field I saw this buck trying to cross the fence (from Ted Turners Flying D ranch) but a cow was having a face off with it and wouldn't let it cross. The buck walked down the fence line trying to cross and the cow followed for a bit not letting it come over. I kept thinking the cow is herding this buck right to me! He hopped over 20 yards from me and I nailed him broadside. He ran down a coulee and expired at 100 yds. Not a huge trophy by any stretch of the imagination but pretty good for my general area and public land.


 
Smallest buck I've ever shot ( which is saying something since I'm a shameless meat hunter most times) but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to take a buck with my little man tagging along. Many other great hunting pics/memories but this recent one is right up there for me. He sure tastes good plus he had a cool down turned antler which was a bonus.
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Infidel 762 said:
^^^^ how come on your bull elk you count only one antler for numbers of points? (To me it's a 12 point)... /quote]

Western count you only include one side. 2pt (2x2), 3pt (3x3), etc. no brow tines counted on Mulies either.
Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted By: TheshedhunterNot a huge trophy by any stretch of the imagination but pretty good for my general area and public land.

That is pretty nice... Count the points on the right side
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Originally Posted By: bigsky_songdogsSmallest buck I've ever shot ( which is saying something since I'm a shameless meat hunter most times) but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to take a buck with my little man tagging along. Many other great hunting pics/memories but this recent one is right up there for me. He sure tastes good plus he had a cool down turned antler which was a bonus.


I am a meat hunter too... I wack a few does... I bet you little man got a kick out of that... Starting him very young... Technically he has a drop tine
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Killed this bull this past September here in the Gila in NM. Biggest bull to date!!



This is a P&Y Black Bear I killed last year on my elk hunt in the Gila!



This is my first mule deer taken with a bow....not a monster but special none the less!!



Once in a lifetime Oryx hunt on WSMR....37" bull

 
Thx guys. I killed the bear last September opening day of my elk hunt. Shot him at 50yds and the arrow deflected off a rib and into his spine, paralyzing his back legs. Needless to say, he was royally pissed off and ended up charging me. I tried to get another arrow in him as he was dragging himself down the mountain towards me, but I missed and I left my pistol at the truck! By the time he was only about 5 steps away, I pulled out another arrow and just figured I would stab him as much as I could as he attacked me......but luckily at the last second, I stepped to my right and he went for the tree that was right next to me. Obviously he couldn't climb it, but as he got his front legs up on the tree, I knocked the arrow and let it fly. He was dead in seconds! I'm not sure how much he weighed, probably 400+ cause just what you see in the pic was around 200lbs. Scored a little under 21". That tarp is 6' x 9'.
 
Originally Posted By: Gudfshn3 ...I left my pistol at the truck! By the time he was only about 5 steps away, I pulled out another arrow and just figured I would stab him as much as I could as he attacked me......but luckily at the last second, I stepped to my right and he went for the tree that was right next to me. Obviously he couldn't climb it, but as he got his front legs up on the tree, I knocked the arrow and let it fly. He was dead in seconds!

I can imagine your adrenaline was high... Check out this pistol... It is my main truck gun... I have taken coyotes with SKS, Galil, Mauser, M1 Carbine, and of course AR... I have wanted to get one with this Draco AK... I took this cat at about 30 yards with it... I gave up on coyote after missing a couple only to educate them... I am thinking about taking it out again this year and seeing if I can get it done... This year I will have long gun as back-up and only shoot the AK if it's close and certain;



The Fusion 123 gr. had zero pelt damage, straight pass through without hitting any bone... I know this is not a "big game" trophy but taking him with the AK made him special to me...
 
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Cow elk I took a couple years back with my dads rifle. He passed 3 yrs ago. He got this rifle to go on his first ever elk hunt. That hunt never came to fruition.
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Only coyote taken with my daughter before she quit talking to me. Second coyote I had taken with the G27.

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