2 Cool Fishing Forum banner

What is a trophy?

3K views 19 replies 19 participants last post by  activescrape 
#1 ·
As opening weekend is upon us, I think it is important to remember that one man's cull is another man's trophy. I love looking at all the photos and reading all the stories of hunts on this forum (it has helped me pass the time waiting on opening morning). however, a lot of the members on this board are at different levels in their hunting life. My best deer to date was a 125B&C 3 1/2 year old 9 point. I know many on this board would say let him walk he will really be something in a couple of years, true but I hunt free range in the pineywoods. It was the 1st time I had ever seen that deer and more than likely it was going to be the only time. I know that as hunters we all want bigger and better deer. But if your heart is in your throat when you are pulling the trigger then it's a trophy. Please post all your photos from does to 12 points I look forward to reading the story of your hunt and seeing your trophy. Happy hunting!
 
#2 ·
your 125 9 pt was a good trophy period, I hunted on public land (still do) and the King Ranch, a trophey is a great hunt does not have to be the kill. I have more respect for a child with a doe or 5 point than an adult with a 200 B&C. A trophy is up to each hunter what he or she is after. Keep hunting and remember 1 you cant eat the horns,,,,,,2 they all taste the same 2 mos later ,,,and 3 when the hammer drops, the fun stops.

Here are 2 of my trophies mixed with my nephews trophies from a far away hunting ground
 

Attachments

#3 ·
I just got back (tonight actually) from Mountian Home TX where I took a friend on his first deer hunt. He's 60 years old and shot a nice axis doe and when he took the shot and made a good kill, he was like a little kid. Lots of smiles and pictures. He and I will remember that first doe hunt forever.

Trophy is a relative term. Life is too short to worry about inches...... :)
 
#5 ·
What is a trophy you asked!

To me it's kinda like beauty. It's all in the eye of the beholder. As long as a good time is had hunting or fishing then I feel like it was a trophy trip. You are so right about one mans cull being anothers trophy. I have never killed a B&C class deer and probably never will, Also have never caught a record book fish. However all my trips have been trophy class because I have been with the ones I enjoy the most. All my hunting partners past and present! Being with family and friends is most important to me. Cathching a big fish or harvesting a big game animal is only a plus. To many of us sometimes forgetabout the importance of just having a good time in the outdoors.
With opening week comming up real fast I just want to wish everyone the best of luck and be sure to get the real trophy. Take your family out with you!
 
#6 ·
Great points you guys made . I try and find something new or learn something new each trip out . When it comes to "trophy" class , I had an invite hunt around Rocksprings several years ago . Four day hunt & for three and a half I watch others bring in animals as I passed on several good looking ones . Then on the last hunt I got a beautiful 120 class 8 pnt. , 3rd best of my career . What really made it a trophy was all the other bucks I passed on , taking a chance on going home empty handed . I felt I had taken a step towards becoming the hunter I hope to be . Now I would rather come home empty handed than come home with an animal I regreted taking .
 
#7 ·
I don't have a leese and only get to hunt when invited to some ones elses property. I get to help a friend reduce some doe on an MLB leese and get to take a cull buck from another friends South Texas property. I will try to take a mature doe and the oldest cull buck for each of my host and by that they will be trophies to me.

It is not to say that i won't ever take a trophy buck, but I hope that My carma of helping on other peoples leeses, to take deer others don't want to take, will one day afford me the oppurtunity to get invited to take a true trophy. Besides some of the older managment bucks on both of theses properties would be a trophy to me as well as many on this baord.

As they say, One mans junk is another mans treasure.
 
#8 ·
I, think the word 'cull' is used to much in hunting, I never heard the word used in hunting till 5+ yrs back. How can anyone ESPECIALLY a kid be proud of a deer that has been labeled a 'cull' I for 1 dont think ANY deer is a cull just some better than others. To me its kinda like useing the word harvest instead of what we do and that is KILL. As a ex 30yr Taxidermist my dad has always told me a 'trophy' is whatever comes in the door and never refer to any deer as a cull.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bountyhunter
#9 ·
a trophy

As stated previously, it is similar to beauty-it is in the eyes (or mind) of the beholder! When YOU feed good about your deer (and your accomplishment)-that's all that matters! I started hunting later in life, in the mid 90's when I was in my 40's, and I've had the opportunity to harvest a few every year since then. My best to date was a mature 10 point buck taken in Pearsall. I have a lots of horns hanging on the wall but I have yet to have one mounted by a taxidermist!
 
#10 ·
All good stuff above. I caint say a thing any different. I will say this, when I was a younger man not too young because we (my dad) could not afford a deer lease. I listened to the other kids talk about their deer lease and I longed to deer hunt. At about 21 years old I was able to get my own deer lease (not much of one) in east Texas where if you saw a deer you were lucky and to be legal it had to be a spike. I can assure you those deer in that era to me were fantastic and everyone was proud to get that trophy spike. I remember those days and wish I could spend more of them with my dad who has been gone since 83. Thats what its all about..

Charlie
 
#11 ·
My next article in "Maximum Outdoors" Magazine, interestingly enough is entitled, "Trophies" Hope you enjoy.

Trophies

By Paul Dockery

Bits of leather, feathers and antlers…displayed throughout the house. They lend a certain earthiness to the décor. My office is no exception with antlers and antique fishing lures placed for all to see. The old Daisy® BB-Gun that is a replica of a 30-30 Winchester®, fishing rods, tackle boxes, hunting bags, and hiking sticks all share the space with old hats, favorite photographs, awards and citations from work and community involvement. The trophies in my office are all reminders of pleasant memories… and anticipation.



The twisted old branch that rests on the gun rack above the door reminds me of the time when I found it in the Kentucky hills. It became a hiking stick, with a strip of leather tied into a loop to keep it secure in my hand while walking, and notches carved into the grip; one for each trip I'd taken with it. Two turkey feathers adorn the leather wrist strap; found when Braden and I went for a walk in the Smoky Mountains with our friends. A steep descent down a mountainside broke that old stick, but it could not tear from it the time spent in absolute joy. It would have been easier to just toss it aside than to carry it back home on an airplane. It's just a stick, a meaningless old limb to everyone, but for me it is a treasure that I will not part with because it holds too much of me in it; too many tales, too many thoughts, too many pleasant memories. All of the trophies in my office are reminders of fun times in the past, but they also fuel the anticipation of times not yet here.

Summer has come to a close and the next few months hold the promise of more adventure as there are a couple of coastal fishing trips and some hunting opportunities on tap. My buddies Randy and Bruce will be joining me and my son for a weekend of fall fishing down at Rockport. Randy has the right attitude about fishing and is just looking forward to getting down there and relaxing. If we catch fish that's fine, if we don't that's fine too. Bruce is another story; if we don't get into the fish I'll never hear the end of it. That's alright with me. I really enjoy his dry wit; and I am still working on his attitude regarding whether or not it is called "fishing" or "catching."

The thing that really excites me is the fact that my son has discovered that he enjoys wade fishing and is really pumped about heading down there. The trip happens to fall on his birthday and I can't wait to see his face when I surprise him with his very own brand new pair of wading boots.

My good friend David Mayfield of El Indio Bow Hunting ([url]www.elindiobowhunting.com[/url]) has invited me down to try for my first try at taking a hog with a bow. I've been practicing with some old borrowed equipment and I am looking forward to hopefully being able to tell the story of my first bow trophy. I've also been given the opportunity to take a mature 5 ½ year old buck this season and just the thought of having that chance fills me with anticipation. I've seen some of the deer on this ranch during a severe drought and even then they were something to behold. The rains of this past spring and summer have helped antler production and the deer down there are nothing short of spectacular.

As fall approaches and the home improvement projects of the year are completed I am filled with eagerness for the upcoming hunting season. It will be fun and fulfilling to get out and enjoy Creation. The rituals of the early morning hunting camp coming to life and the evenings around the campfire with friends are some of my favorite. But the trips when my wife and kids load up on a Saturday morning and head out to find a river bank somewhere are the best of all.

We'll have a portable grill and an ice chest full of goodies; the kayaks are on the trailer and ready to be hooked up to the truck and the fishing tackle will be carefully stowed in the back. We'll have some folding chairs and a few other creature comforts but for the rest of the day, we'll just be getting by on what we didn't forget to bring.

I'll hear one of my favorite sounds; the hoops and hollers of sheer delight that bubble up from my daughter as she paddles around. We may stop off for a hamburger on the way back into town; no national chain fast-food heat lamp and stainless steel joint, but one of those little rustic local treasures that dot the roadsides of the Texas Hill Country.

We may not catch any fish; we may not even get a bite, but we will have an absolute ball and may even find another trinket; something to add to my office decorations. More importantly, I will have collected another significant trophy; one of those warm feelings in my heart as we drive home exhausted but content; and filled for a time, from the bounty of nature and another visit to God's Front Porch.
 
#12 ·
One of my favorite "trophys" is a spike buck I shot with my bow....it was my 1st deer with a bow and it was a clean shot, the buck didn't even know he was hit. It might not have been much to look at...but I was as proud of that one as I was my 10pt I got with my 270
 
#13 ·
my trophies are the many nights sitting around the camp fire with grandpaw and dad arguing about how big the deer are and where they will be in the morning. We have killed several deer in the 100 range. Its not about horns for me, its about the family times. I want my kids to be raised around the camp fire like I was and have the same trophy memories I do. Besides Horns don't eat very well
 
#14 ·
wet dreams said:
I, think the word 'cull' is used to much in hunting, I never heard the word used in hunting till 5+ yrs back. How can anyone ESPECIALLY a kid be proud of a deer that has been labeled a 'cull' I for 1 dont think ANY deer is a cull just some better than others. To me its kinda like useing the word harvest instead of what we do and that is KILL. As a ex 30yr Taxidermist my dad has always told me a 'trophy' is whatever comes in the door and never refer to any deer as a cull.
exactly.... Like those "cull" 7 year old 8 pointers you see that acore 155! that's a trophy to 99% of people
 
#15 ·
What he said.......

wet dreams said:
I, think the word 'cull' is used to much in hunting, I never heard the word used in hunting till 5+ yrs back. How can anyone ESPECIALLY a kid be proud of a deer that has been labeled a 'cull' I for 1 dont think ANY deer is a cull just some better than others.
It kinda burns my backside when I hear people refer to someone's deer as a "cull".....especially a kid's deer. I wonder sometimes if people use such terms to sound more knowledgeable. I had a buddy that always had something derogatory to say about my elk each year. He elk hunted elk a lot with guides while our hunts were all D-I_Y and I always assumed he had shot bigger elk than I had. I finally got tired of his smart-azzed comments and ask him if he'd ever shot anything bigger than the one of mine he was talking about......."no, but that's not a big elk". No, it wasn't a 340" bull, but I thought it pretty prickish of him to say such when his best was smaller.

To answer your question, a trophy costs about $6 and every kid gets one at the end of the T-ball season.
 
#20 ·
I definately have my favorite trophies and they are not necessarily my biggest deer. They are ones that are memorable for some other reason, the hunt, the company, the hunter. My son's first deer, the first one he tracked and recovered by himself are trophies to me because of the way I feel when I relive them in my mind. Even bucks we never killed have become legends in our own minds and occupy a special elevated status. I love the double bearded gob I shot back in the 80's on the Dudley Bros. ranch near Coleman. I got him mounted flying and have lugged that wall gobbling bird from house to house. My plaqued first 8 point I got still hunting near Ballinger. The "Canyon Buck", the "Locker Buck", a snow goose mount that always reminds me of a hunt on Dec. 23rd near Midfield of just me and my sons. What a great Christmas that was. ......
I remember about 5 years ago it had been a bad deer season for me. I had passed up too many deer waiting for the one I wanted. It never happened. I was facing a year without enough venison to last me till Feburary. That was the first year San Saba county had the special expended late season for does and spikes. I went down my little place, alone, to see if anything would come to the feeder. It had been painfully slow. On the last day of that late season, the evening hunt, in a steady drizzle, just before last shooting light a little spike buck stepped out. I squeezed off the shot and he dropped in his tracks and the commotion caused a doe to run out into the open too. I shot her too and loaded them up and went back to camp. I got out my favorite knife and as I skinned those two little deer in the rain I was so thankful for them and so happy inside that the season had ended on a perfect note. I slept like a baby that night at the camp, all was right with the world. Those deer are trophies to me.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top