Bad Attutde Buck?

[wildcat junkie]

Well the wife left for Florida so I decided to go get my 2014 buck from the local taxidermist & hang him on the living room wall. Maybe she wont notice when she gets home?

 

Any way, when I shot the buck he was strutting around a bend on one of my horse trails. He was about midway between 2 scrapes he had been working pretty hard. There was about 100yds between the scrapes so he seemed to be pretty worked up from his body language & the way his neck hair was bristled.

 

I wanted the mount to reflect his aggressive state so I had the mount done with an open mouth, kind of a panting pose. When I spotted him he had caught a glimpse of my movement but he hadn't nailed me down. Had did have his ears erect, probably trying to hear what he couldn't quite pin down visually..

 

Not sure if the attitude came through, but it definitely doesn't seem to project the same demeanor as my 2009 buck that is right next to him (left) on the wall.

 

 

It's hard to see the way his neck hair is bristled in the pictures but it comes through pretty good in person.

 

 

The mouth didn't come out quite the way I had envisioned, but I think it still conveys a dominant, aggressive mood.

 

 

Both bucks were aged @ 3 1/2 years old but while the racks are close in overall score, there was quite a difference in body size. The 2009 buck was shot on November 15th & dressed 142# while the 2014 buck shot on November 29th dressed 190#. You can see the difference in size of their neck/shoulders in the picture below. If I had shot the bigger buck in early November I think he would have went over 200# by a pretty good margin.

 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2016 by wildcat junkie

[Lawdwaz]

Looks like a winner!

[Red]

very unique and cool looking mount congrats a nice buck

[Paula]

Looks nice. He blends in so the wife just might not notice. Lol

[wildcat junkie]

Looks nice. He blends in so the wife just might not notice. Lol

 

If I get her drunk on the way home from the airport, maybe I can convince her she's seeing double?

 

[Paula]

It would work on me!

[Zem18]

Both mounts look great. Congrats on 2 fine bucks.

[NYBowhunter]

Nice, mount and buck look great.

[chas0218]

Cool, I like them both!

[grampy]

Both very nice bucks! The one looks like he is smiling. I have seen many bucks over the years smiling at me. Usually after I do something dumb. If I ever decide to have another mount done, it will be like this.

[wildcat junkie]

One of the things I find interesting when looking at both side by side is the difference in the overall look of the 2 bucks that were killed from the same stand albeit 5 years apart.

 

 

Both deer are 3 1/2 years old & both have nearly identical over all score on the racks. Neither rack is "trophy" size but are better than average for the area. The buck on the left has a pristine cape while one can see a couple of battle scars on the bruiser on the right.

 

When the buck on the left was killed he weighed 242# dressed & it was 11/15, just about the peak of the chasing phase just before breeding. He was calmly feeding when I shot him.

 

In contrast, the big guy on the right was actively working scrapes & he has some shredded bark on his antler bases. His neck was extremely puffed up from the thrashings he was giving to the trees in the area. Some of hem had branches ripped off & were totally trashed. The hair on his neck was also bristled when he was shot.

 

The 2014 buck was still very actively rutting even after the peak of the rut on 11/29. He still weighed 190# dressed. One can only speculate, but it wouldn't surprise me if he had lost 30# or more over the month of November given his active roll in breeding. We had seen his rubs & scrapes along the horse trails all through the last 3 weeks before his demise..

 

Taking all this into consideration I think the big guy was a bada$$ while the smaller buck was somewhat of a wuss. Overall body mass probably had a lot to do W/that.

 

I think the over all appearance of the mounts convey that difference. That is what I was looking for when I discussed the mount W/my taxidermist.

Edited February 22, 2016 by wildcat junkie

[Tughill Tamer]

I would consider both bucks trophys where I come from, congrats