The simplest and cheapest way to get a good animal trophy is to go down to the taxidermist and buy one. There are always a few people that leave off a head to be mounted then for whatever reason can't come up with the thousand plus dollars to pay for it. Interior decorators are well aware of this source and make use of it to create instant "hunting lodges" for gazilionaire clients complete with inoperable doubles mounted above lintels.
Buying a trophy eliminates all the time and effort of shooting one. Those years of traipsing around in the snowy mountains getting lost and cold, learning to shoot accurately when tired and winded, the thousands shelled out for guides and licenses.
In the real world taxidermists have more heads than customers. Why? It's because there is more to a trophy than possessing it.
"Trophy Hunter" is a term of disparagement used to denigrate hunters as somehow being motivated solely by the desire to put a dead animal head on the wall. In truth, it's a common practice across all cultures and peoples to keep a physical reminder of the animal hunted. Hunting usually involves many different motivations often complimenting each other.
Above are the jaw bones of large animals in my friend Laopaw's house. I don't know what the plants tied onto the bones are all about, my friend's people believe spirits inhabit both live and inanimate objects, maybe it's religious. When I asked about horns he said he sold all his muntjack, sambar, and pig tusks at the market in town. Sambar horns fetch over a hundred dollars, more than likely to be made into folk medicine for export. The two white disks are rounds of deer lard used to add grease to food, for light when there are no batteries for the LED lights, and by some as the least harsh fuel with which to cook the ball of opium.
Above a photo of Jim Posewitz from his article HUNTING AND TROPHY GAINING HONOR THROUGH EFFORT If you look carefully you can see the drag marks. A nice 3 point muley to be proud of. Jim is one of the most respected old time conservation hunters on the planet. Besides founding Orion he wrote the book Beyond Fair Chase and priced it at $1 so that it would be read as widely as possible.
Every animal is a trophy
Above Laopaw's third son proudly showing his morning's hunt. The squirrel is kind of mangled. They don't know what they are going to shoot when they load the black power gun. A usual load is a lead shot slightly heavier and bigger than our 22 caliber and some bits and pieces of scrap lead. If shooting at a bird one of those tiny bits might be enough to bring it down. With the same load people shoot deer, large wild pig, and rarely much larger and more dangerous animals.
The squirrel along with other constant sources of wild meat provides the protein and vitamins to supplement the diet of rice, corn, peanuts, wild greens, pig, and chicken. Rural Akha unlike those relocated to the road grow up large and strong.
The Boone and Crocket Club is the organisation in the United States which determines the scoring of animal trophies and also did little things like decided to make Yellowstone and a National Park system etc.
Last year I read a list of largest elk racks and the caliber of rifle they were shot with posted in Field and Stream by the Boone and Crocket Club. In response to comments the club representative said that the overwhelming majority of record trophies are shot by regular hunters who just happen to shoot a big one. I know that of all the hunters I know everyone shoots the first animal of the species and sex that they are legally allowed to. Chances are that they won't get another opportunity for years. Of the hunting tags issued in my state the majority are for females of the species, used to regulate populations.
Last year I tried to figure out the scoring system for a buck I shot, too technical, I couldn't figure it out. I will say that deer was pretty big and heavy, all we could do to wrestle it up onto the pickup and we were two big guys. Filled the freezer.
What about you? Hunt for heads or sheds?
If you've enjoyed this please take a look at the group Hunting and Fishing Kos: Hunting and Fishing Kos is for anyone who has an interest in hunting, fishing, fieldcraft and, the preservation of these traditions and America's hunting and fishing grounds for future generations. We are a diverse group of individuals who fall to the the left on the political spectrum but represent the entire range of America's outdoors community. All are welcome here.