We all got high hopes of getting a “good one” going into the season.
I know guys who got big ol gorgeous racks they just sawed off and put in a tub. Other guys mount almost everything they shoot.
What will it take for you to shoulder mount a deer this year?
I’ve got a couple around 115-120.
It’ll take a 125-130 for me to mount another one, preferably a 10 as I’ve killed spike through 9 but not a 10. I might skull mount something smaller. What’s the threshold for you guys?

125-130 range will get a spot on the wall.

Bow kill - 130+
Rifle kill - 140+

Probably a 140 class plus...

130 give or take a inch
110+ will get skull mount

130. Less if it’s a unique rack. I’ve got a pretty good twin beam buck roaming around that I would put on the wall. He’s a 5yo prob 120 or so

I like antlers with character, drop tines, split brow tines etc.

Nice I got one but it's just single beam under the main no extra points...that one will go 130 gross

150”+

About $400-$500

For a shoulder mount, 140 or better. Euro mount, any good racked buck. $40.

As good or better than my first buck. I'm a fan or european mounts.

I mounted my first bow buck. 100" 8 point. I only bow hunt these days. Dont plant on slinging an arrow unless its a deer im targeting, if so it will get mounted.

ill never shoulder mount another even if he scored 180

I'm about to this point as well......I might though if he was over one fiddy and had a really impressive looking rack. I'll likely just skull mount any I kill from here on out though.

150"+ for shoulder mount and 130"+ for European mount. I don't have a lot of room to hang them nor do I have a desire to have one hanging unless he is a real eye catcher.

I euro all racked bucks that we kill. It would take a lot for me to shoulder mount anything i kill. I have one kid who has never taken a buck and one that has only killed a small racked buck. When they kill a good buck, i will shoulder mount theirs if they want - but i am partial to euros now.

I'll probably shoulder mount my first "good" one whatever I feel that is. I like euro mounts though.

It really just depends on the deer as well as the hunt for me. I have one on the wall that's just a few inches over 150 and another that's in the high 130s, but I also have one that is maybe 120-125 but I shoulder mounted him because he was a special deer with a good story. I don't shoot bucks unless they're grown nowadays so if I shoot one then in my eyes it deserves a spot on the wall. Right now as it sits I have four shoulder mounts, six European, and I think 5 skull plates.

Shoulder mount somewhere around 140"
Skull probably anything else that I would pull the trigger on.

Y’all must hunt out of state a lot.the biggest deer I’ve ever killed is 118 5/8” and i have a lot of folks who have hunted all their life tell me that deer looks huge and think he scores 140”. I’ll shoulder mount anything 115”+ but i do mount my own. I euro and shoulder mounted probably 15 deer from Alabama for other folks last year and some were some sho nuff bruisers and never had one break 120”. Hell I’d be willing to bet that 60% of deer in Alabama never break 120” in their lifetime.

I had to mount the one I killed during bow season because he was 1/8 inch shy of club minimum.

Has to make minimum or go on the wall, or $250 fine.

130+ for me Ive lowered my standards since I started bow hunting

I am getting one mounted now ...675.00 for the mount. My little boys first buck and I don’t care if it was 1000.00. Awesome story behind us finding that deer after the shot. And I know that there will never be another first buck for him, and 20 years from now when I walk in his house I will be able to see that deer and remember how it all took place. Or I can think that one day my grandkids will ask their dad ....where and when it was killed and the story gets passed on. Hunting to me is no longer judged by what I kill, but it is now judged by spending time with my kids at the hunting club and making memories. So when a big buck walks out, I can promise one of my two kids will be behind the trigger. And if they want it mounted....well it is my obligation to make it happen. They are 13 and 14 now ....and I would still do the same if they were 30

140+ to shoulder mount. I won't shoot a buck unless he is a Euro qualifier anyway.

What in the world are you getting done that costs $675?

A gofundme account

I hunted a place once that the rule was if you shot a buck, no matter how big it was, you had to pay $350 to have it mounted. Really cuts down on the number of youngins that get taken out lol.

That was a good one what did he score?

it'll take something special for me to shoulder mount another deer; most of mine these days get the skull mount treatment

About a 3" wood screw is all it takes for me to mount one.... right to the side of the barn.

Big deer on the wall don't impress me. 75% of that is having deer that big to shoot at..... I know all kinds of people with a couple big deer on the wall and all they did was shoot it out of a greenfield. That don't impress me - that just tells me that you and your neighbors have some trigger control. That doesn't tell me anything about how good a deer hunter you are.

Truest statement I’ve seen posted on aldeer.

Most will never see 120” at maturity. Most deer hanging on walls in AL are 110-125.

Guess I could answer the question. It all depends. I skull mount everything. A few get shoulder mounted depending on several factors.

Over 150

That’s what it takes for A shoulder mount from Joel Stone

Joel does the best deer mounts in Alabama....period.

That’s what I have been told, and just talking with him he takes a lot of pride in his work

I carried a 10pt to a guy I know 4yrs ago, biggest deer I had ever killed, not tv show worthy but a good buck for where we live. I paid him $200 down, he said it would be about 3months. 2years, 50phone calls, and about 100lies later I went and got my 10pts rack that had been cut off the scull. He had skinned the head out, thats it. Didnt give me my money back. Did not understand why people get so worked up over deer. I told him it wasnt the deer, it was all the lies he had told me over two years. Anyhow after that getting a deer mounted has kindof lost its sparkle.

To each his own. First rule of killing bugs bucks is hunt where they are. Yep a lot are shot on fields. Go to Kansas or other places in the Midwest with scattered woodlots and start tripping around in those woods and you won't see any deer for a few days. They'll leave and go to the next woodlot which may be 5 miles away. Sit on the fields and be patient. Hunt smart.

I like to look at the few I have mounted and reflect on those hunts. They're not there to impress anyone. JMHO.

+1 i could give a rip if anyone is impressed with my mounts ... they're mine to enjoy & reminisce about ... some were gotten by hard/good hunting tactics, & to be completely honest, some were just pure damn dumb luck (being in the right place, at the right time) ...

We have a taxidermist in our club and I let him have the head and cape the next day so I never had a chance to have him scored. I'm going to guess he was in the 120' range. He was 14 7/8 wide and club minimum is 15.

160 or better. I probably never will shoot one so I'm not concerned about it. My "respect for the deer" is eating it.

The only mounts I have are my first buck (forkhorn, on a Western Auto cheapo plaque), 51-inch muskie replica, pronghorn from Wyoming, a boar in the garage, a Euro boar on my desk and some ducks including my first one from 35+ years ago that somehow still is in good shape.

130”

It’ll have to be a mature buck and have antlers that are good to me. That’s about the only requirement I have. I fully intend to kill a mule deer within the next 5 years. Antler size won’t matter on that one, nor will it with any other non-whitetail I happen to be lucky enough to kill.

Mounted two. Two biggest I have shot. The first one was a heavy 8 and the other one was a decent 10. Cost about $ 325 each. Have no plans to mount another one unless its a monster. Never had them scored but they are special deer to me.

Bigger than what I already have which is a 125 10pt. (main frame 8 with 2 kickers) I shot in December of 1992. I'm due.

Dr. B

I’m getting my first shoulder mount of my best buck yet, which was also my first bow kill. We’ve had him on camera for 2 years now and I started bowhinung because I wanted to kill this deer.

I have a 130 3/8 and money is tighter than ever this season so it would have to be a beast. I've been doing Euro on all the decent racks since that one in 2000

This rack would do........I'd mount it.

Best answer yet

Yessireee!!!

Anything bigger than 151” or if it’s a unique deer like a piebald with a weird rack or slmethimg

Yep, his are the best looking I have and seen.

I'm late to the deer hunting game....and fiddy years old. For me it will be a "know it when I see it" deal. Don't care about the measurements...

I don't care to mount any of mine. I didn't even cut the antlers off the 10 point I killed Monday.

IMO to many people get hung up on the "number of inches". Mount what makes you happy. I have 3 deer mounted and a bunch of skull mounts. I kinda like the skull mounts more these days but wouldn't hesitate to mount another deer.

Oh ok inside spread. It was a nice deer anyway.

I likely wont mount another until I develop a history with another deer. The last one I mounted was a 5 pt I hunted for 4 yrs. If the kids kill one I will mount it for them if they want

I have a 135" shoulder mount on the wall now. I guess it would have to be a booner or close to it for me to shoulder mount. I prefer euro mount until that time.

Hell of a lot bigger than the ones I have now. I’ve had a bunch of people ask why I didn’t mount the 12 point.

So this is my first post after “stalking” a while. It’s interesting to see the range of score or inches everyone uses as a baseline for getting a deer mounted, and it should be based on what someone wants to spend their hard earned money on. For me, however, it is more about the hunt and the anima regardless of score. I’ve been blessed to kill and mount a number of 120”+ deer in MS and AL over the years. That said I have several mounted that are less, including a 13” 8 point that I hunted for two weeks straight and had a couple of opportunities before I killed him. That deer means a lot to me. I’ve never regretted getting one mounted and I can tell you the story on everyone, including the full date. I’m reminded of the hunts every time I focus on them.

Welcome to the site, BAR II .270!

Uhhhhh....my smallest..125in 10pt is shoulder mounted an it cost $475 dollars......so far ive kill 3 more a wayyy yunder bigger than he was an i boiled an pressure washed them....prolly a big bammer buck to make me spend the money again...an i mean a dang dandy.

bigger than my current biggest or it gets a european mount my shoulder mounts are like timelines working their way up from smallest to largest.

When I kill a buck and think " I may never kill a buck this big again" he gets shoulder mount. Only Have one so far. All other good deer get euros. And If I mess up and get a yougun. He goes in the pile.

I have a 125" 8 point I killed when I was young. I have a 140 inch velvet Kentucky buck. I have a 163" buck from 2008.

I have 24 European mounts of bucks 115-150." It'll have to best 160" for me to shoulder mount another.

Unusual rack or 145 or better. Anything else a European mount will work.

I’d say 130+ or a really unusal rack gets a shoulder mount for me. I’ve got two shoulder mounted now and I’d like to have a couple more and then probably just skull mount everything. If I killed a really good one with my bow I’d probably shoulder mount it too. I’ll just keep skull mounting everything else though

No number. Bigger ones antlers go in the dog chew pile, smaller ones end up on the wall. My memories of the hunt drive my desire to hang it up.

A bigger house.

Welcome! Good first post

Thanks...I appreciate the welcome!

Bigger than 150 no matter what shape. Could be a while.

I mount the horns off every buck I shoot on a wood plank from Will Foster but it will have to be bigger or an absolute reason for another shoulder mount.

I agree with you. I hear people talking all the time about deer scoring 130, 140 etc. When you actually measure one strictly by the rules it’s just very hard to break 120 here. I know it happens but I think it’s much more rare than people think. Unless I see it with my own eyes I just assume people are exaggerating when they claim their deer scored 130.

130 is a stud in my town however theys always one every year that around that gets close to 150 most good ones are 110-120 tho

none of mine are exaggerated, 20 er so from al over the state over the last 50 years. 130" is a good deer anywhere.

LOL. I'm gonna mount one some day

I can tell you my house ain’t big enough either.

And yeah a 130” in AL from Huntsville to Mobile is a dang good deer. 140”+ is a deer of a lifetime for ost in our state. I know a lot of people who hunt very hard and are great hunters and don’t have many over 120”.

Hadn’t thought about it a whole lot lately, but I guess a big ol buck would have to at least buy me a nice dinner before I would mount him??

I'll play. I've got one shoulder mount hanging up in my office. Nothing spectacular - just a decent 8 point that happened to be my first buck. The rest are euro mounts hanging up above my tools in the garage - a big 4 point, a 4x2 split 6 point, a small basket 8, a wide 7, another standard 8 and a 9 pointer that I shot in Texas. I like the look of skull mounts. For me to get another shoulder mount done it'll have to be a really impressive rack. No set qualifiers...I guess I'll know it when I see it. Good thread.

Edit - My main objective now is to put my son on something with decent headgear. He killed a tall spike last year that we got skull mounted. First antlered rack he can drop, I'll get a shoulder mount done.

I have 10 shoulder mounts in the man cave. Been doing a lot of Europeans for a while. I really like them on barn wood from Stones. It would have to go 150+ or something nontypical for me to do another shoulder. I hope to do several more shoulder mounts! I really enjoy the memories those mounts bring back

He wasn't from Trussville and named Todd was he?

I look at mounts in general as a form of artwork. I absolutely love taxidermy and have all sorts of things mounted. Probably enough to open my own natural history museum lol. I like to occasionally reminisce on the memories, which includes looking at the mounts or pics in an album. I’ve never mounted anything to impress anyone. I’m just amazed at Gods creation and the uniqueness of every individual buck. I’ve never placed my hands on two sets of antlers that were even remotely close to being the same.

It'll need to be a 130" deer for me to mount another one. I've got 4 on the wall from 110- 125" maybe one day I can break the 130 mark.

He'd have to be stranger than this one:



or bigger than this one:

Dang Dave.... What is that base 14 inches... I like strange...