What does you Trophy Room mean to you?

06 May 2010, 08:04

Steve Ahrenberg

I have been overwhelmed at the kind words from forum members in response to my trophy room photo's. I was rather hesitant to do so as I'm a very private and personal fellow.

It got me thinking just how important mine is to me and how spirtual my hunting is to me as well. But how do others feel about theirs?

Nganga

06 May 2010, 08:17

safari-lawyer

Mine is very important, but the more that I hunt, the less (relatively speaking) that the mounted trophies mean to me. Don't get me wrong, I love to show them to my friends and I love to look at them and remember the hunt and the land and the people, but they are possessions of sorts and in that way, they are secondary to the unequaled experience of the hunt.

06 May 2010, 09:03

zhaba

EVERYTHING!!! It holds some of the best adventures and memories of my life so far and can be a great retreat when the rest of life isn't so good

06 May 2010, 09:25

Mike Smith

For me it acts as a memory enhancer. I will look at an animal and it will trigger memories of the hunt. It will often bring back things I had virtually forgotten. I get enjoyment from just looking at the animals. I find myself mounting less and less as the years go on but that dosnt mean I value them any less. It was never about displaying a trophy for me.

06 May 2010, 16:16

Die Ou Jagter

My office is my trophy room and on occasions when I am strugling with a clients problem I take a break and look at a trophy or two and remember the hunt and that gives me a bit of relaxation and refreshes my mind to again tackle the problem. I guess you could say they are therapy for a tired brain. Of course like most therapy it ain't cheep!

06 May 2010, 18:17

Dutch44

Mine as well. I just dodge the animals on my way to my desk. I spend more time in my office than home anyway and I get to have the pleasure of my memories at work. Clients don't seem to mind.

Dutch

06 May 2010, 18:29

OldHandgunHunter

I think that it's a wonderful way to honor the animals and to record the memories of the hunt.

Nobody but the hunter can really appreciate a trophy room -- it's a personal thing.

06 May 2010, 18:42

Dall85

Serenity and memories of my trips to Africa, Alaska and elsewhere. The older I get the more I value the times I took my children on safari and the memories of their first trophies. I hope my children will keep some of the trophies after I am gone and pass them to my grandchildren.

The key to the future of hunting is those we share our trips with, in person and "on the wall". Take a child hunting, it will be the most rewarding memory you will have.

07 May 2010, 08:46

buffybr

quote:
I think that it's a wonderful way to honor the animals and to record the memories of the hunt.

Nobody but the hunter can really appreciate a trophy room -- it's a personal thing.

These are my feelings exactly.

I was once confronted by a co-worker, who was a hunter, but he disapproved of my mounted animals. I basically told him that this was how I felt, and that even though I hunted for the older animals with the largest horns or antlers, that I brought out all of the meat and ate it.

I then asked him what he did with the skins and antlers of the deer and elk that he had shot. Like many "old time" western resident hunters, he basically hunted for the meat, and the skins (and sometimes the antlers) would go to the dump, and the antlers would either end up on the roof of the back shed or he would sell them for so much a pound to the local horn dealer.

So I showed him that the animal parts that he threw away, I would have mounted into a beautiful replica of the animal that I would enjoy long after the rest of the animal had been eaten.

Pictures are good and help provide lasting memories, but many of them get buried in albums that are eventually put away. And a picture just can't compare to a well done mount of the animal. My taxidermy is out where I can enjoy seeing it and it instantly brings back the memories of that hunt.

07 May 2010, 09:53

DLS

The animals in my room evoke the some of the best memories of my entire life. I have memories and find meaning in those mementos of hunts across the world that even my wife can't fully appreciate.

Oldhandgunhunter said it perfectly.

07 May 2010, 12:55

megsdad

Thanks to my wife my trophy room is the great room in our log house.

07 May 2010, 18:31

Die Ou Jagter

Dutch, living in rural Pa. normally the first question out of a clients mouth when they come to the office "Well, what's new." and then they want the whole hunt story.

08 May 2010, 03:22

CaptMike

Looking at my trophies on an almost daily basis is what keeps me going until the next hunt.

08 May 2010, 06:08

SBT

Growing up as a young man in southern California, I was not exposed to much hunting. However, I had the privilege of knowing Dr. Loren Lutz through his son and visiting his trophy room frequently. I was enthralled and it had an impact on my life. Actually, it changed my life and is the reason I live where I do and why I devote most of my free time to hunting.

While I'll never have a trophy room like Doc's, I do have my own and it brings me great pleasure and comfort.

09 May 2010, 00:31

CharlesL

Hopefully someday I will have a trophy room to share. At this time about half are in my office at home, but the rest are scattered where ever I can put them around the house.

Each one brings back very specific memories and can evoke a day dreaming state. They and my photos (love my digital photo frame) often remind me why I work the way I do and give me encouragement to keep going.

Charles

09 May 2010, 02:06

Badger Matt

My modest hunting room is a box full of memories. I can smell the campfires, taste the whiskey, and remember the compadres... I need it.

09 May 2010, 04:02

CharlesL

Nganga

I visited your trophy room posts and your trophy rooms are spectacular. I would be happy with much less.

Charles

09 May 2010, 08:53

RBHunt

My trophy room is my "man cave" and I like to go there after a hard day at work. It has everything I need, a fully stocked bar, bathroom and kitchen, TV with lots of recorded old western movies, just a place to relax. It is a seperate building, away from the house.

09 May 2010, 09:03

Steve Ahrenberg

quote:
Originally posted by CharlesL:
Nganga

I visited your trophy room posts and your trophy rooms are spectacular. I would be happy with much less.

Charles

Charles,
You know what, so would I. My room just sort of "happened". I really had no master plan at the time. But Bwana, whew!! I've got some plans for the new house!!. And thank you.

Nganga

09 May 2010, 22:47

larryshores

Mine is a special place I go to clear my head from the rigors of a very stressful profession. It gets my mind off work and takes me to a far away place for a lot of good memories. I honestly don't think that I could work as much as I do without the trophy room.

10 May 2010, 04:28

billrquimby

It would be interesting to have an AR member who is an accountant knowledgeable with the U.S. tax laws discuss what our trophies might cost our heirs after we are gone.

There have been big changes in the laws governing hunting trophies in the last few years, but the estate tax consequences used to be considerable for the heirs of hunters with trophy rooms.

I personally know men who had 200-300 heads and lifesize mounts who donated, sold or simply gave away nearly all of them for this very reason.

Bill Quimby

10 May 2010, 05:08

larryshores

Bill:

The estate tax laws are in a state of uncertainty. Over a 10 year period, estate taxes were whittled down under a law passed when GWB was president. In 2010, the estate tax is zero. Unless something is done, these cuts will expire at the end of this year. The estate tax laws will reverts to the old law. Under the old law, the maximum rate was 55% of taxable estate. Will they extend these or modify them? Your guess is as good as mine.

10 May 2010, 15:01

Gracedog

My trophy room is where I go when I need a moment of calm. It's where I go when I am aggravated about some petty thing going on in my personal or professional life. It reminds me of what a great life I have had, and how lucky I am to have had all of these incredible days afield in all of those amazing places. The room is an extension of my dreams that have existed since childhood, and being there enables me to dream some more about future adventures. Ego has absolutely no place in my trophy room. It is about the animals, the places, and the adventures. When I fix my gaze on a particular mount, all details of that particular hunt come flooding back. The weather, the smells, the feeling in the air when that animal stepped into view. I remember the highs and lows of the hunt. It's funny how looking at a particular mount can transport me back to the day when my path crossed with the animal, and the stress just falls away. Most of all it reminds me that no matter how humble my beginnings, I can still attain dreams, even on a working man's budget.

10 May 2010, 15:52

Die Ou Jagter

I would think the value for estate tax purposes would be the same as the tax value for those same trophies would have as a charitable donation. In light of the recent attacks by the IRS on valuations of donated trophies I would say the estate value should be minumal. Of course I own no trophies, but my son has a decent collection.

11 May 2010, 00:07

billrquimby

I was aware of the 2010 exclusion, but this only works for me if I were to die this year. We can be certain that our tax laws are going to change for the worse starting next year.

It was my understanding that the IRS has two methods for assessing trophy value. One is the recently "reformed" value of donated trophies; the other is the value the IRS places on the trophies in the hunter's estate.

I've only 63 shoulder mounts and two lifesize mounts, which is nothing in compasion to those of a great many hunters today.

Unlike others on this thread, as my collection grew my trophies came to mean less and less to me. I certainly don't value them enough to want to saddle my daughter and grandkids with the tax (whatever it might be) if the IRS were to appraise them at just their taxidermy replacement cost.

Bill Quimby

11 May 2010, 04:03

Alaska Hunter

Currently my trophy room is under construction and at this point represents a big pain in my butt. It's getting close but running very late and very much over budget. Can't rush quality, I guess.
When it's finished it will represent a lifetime, my lifetime. Regardless of what I was doing in my life, I was always a hunter. From the first frog I shot with my BB gun to the 564 point Stag I just killed last month. When my wife and I first married and in college, we were on food stamps, but never used them for meat, that was mine to bring home. When we first migrated to Alaska and I could really bring home the bacon (Moose). When the first profits from my fledging company were used for avgas so I could fly North to Grizzle hunt. From the first out of State hunt I could afford, to the up coming Tanzania hunt. From the time I had a Buffalo come, to the time a I searched for a wounded Lion with a flashlight.
Through all the failures and all the successes I've seen in life, through the births of my 4 childern and 4 grandchildren, the one constant I've always had is hunting. That's what this room will mean to me, a lifetime.

11 May 2010, 06:20

Steve Ahrenberg

quote:
Originally posted by Alaska Hunter:
Currently my trophy room is under construction and at this point represents a big pain in my butt. It's getting close but running very late and very much over budget. Can't rush quality, I guess.
When it's finished it will represent a lifetime, my lifetime. Regardless of what I was doing in my life, I was always a hunter. From the first frog I shot with my BB gun to the 564 point Stag I just killed last month. When my wife and I first married and in college, we were on food stamps, but never used them for meat, that was mine to bring home. When we first migrated to Alaska and I could really bring home the bacon (Moose). When the first profits from my fledging company were used for avgas so I could fly North to Grizzle hunt. From the first out of State hunt I could afford, to the up coming Tanzania hunt. From the time I had a Buffalo come, to the time a I searched for a wounded Lion with a flashlight.
Through all the failures and all the successes I've seen in life, through the births of my 4 childern and 4 grandchildren, the one constant I've always had is hunting. That's what this room will mean to me, a lifetime.

Well said,
Just curios, have you been to Jack Frost's TR?

Nganga

11 May 2010, 06:35

blaser93

Mine means that a Lower middle class, barly scraping by did something most people dream about . Alot of hard work Blue collar type
scriping and saving , extra hours of work
Husling all most anything to save a Buck.
Paid off while never touching money that paid normal bills. They were some of the best times I had in my life . I think of myself as a very lucky man to have done these things.

11 May 2010, 08:27

AnotherAZWriter

When I was younger I loved my trophy room. I still do, but now I wonder if it isn't too cluttered. Nothing is worse that an animal crammed into ever square inch.

I put up some 8x10s this past weekend, and as time goes by, the photos are the way to go.

I definitely do not like animals crammed into every room in the house. Somehow, I want the pics of my daughter to be on display without any distractions.

I just got done spending a ton of money on a custom house. I was told over and over my TR was a huge room. It seems quite small now, and gets smaller every time I hang another head.

My TR is mine. It is very private. Unlike some other post here or on another thread, I don't need to impress other people by wearing Rolex watches, etc. I could drive any car I want, but our newest car is a 98 4 Runner. Tonight I am on business in Texas and took one of my employees to dinner. Even thought we will bill our client we went to Applebees, just because it is unpretentious and close to my hotel, which by now you might surmise is a Holiday Inn Express.

11 May 2010, 09:08

Alaska Hunter

Nganga,
Jack is a legend up here, but I've never had the pleasurer of seeing his TR.

11 May 2010, 09:24

Sevens

My trophy room is something uniquely my own; full of memories and experiences. It is my place to escape the world and just relax.

11 May 2010, 09:34

Steve Ahrenberg

quote:
Originally posted by Alaska Hunter:
Nganga,
Jack is a legend up here, but I've never had the pleasurer of seeing his TR.

I have, I had a down day after a Kodiak hunt with an archer that knows him very very well, he's awesome and what a storied guy. The Bongo with no nose ?????

11 May 2010, 09:38

Sevens

quote:
The Bongo with no nose ?????

Any further info? This sounds interesting!

11 May 2010, 09:54

jetdrvr

quote:
Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
Mine is very important, but the more that I hunt, the less (relatively speaking) that the mounted trophies mean to me. Don't get me wrong, I love to show them to my friends and I love to look at them and remember the hunt and the land and the people, but they are possessions of sorts and in that way, they are secondary to the unequaled experience of the hunt.

Agreed. I don't have the luxury of a trophy room, but I have heads on the walls, mainly European mounts. The photos of the animals bring back the memories and that is what is important to me.

I have very few living friends and no one to really share mounts with, although I have my last safari at the taxidermist's now, but I'm in no rush.

So to me, it's all about the memories, not the mounted trophies.

11 May 2010, 10:05

Steve Ahrenberg

quote:
Originally posted by Sevens:
quote:
The Bongo with no nose ?????

Any further info? This sounds interesting!

Tha story as told to me was, He shot a bongo with a bow, it charged and the PH blew its nose off at a pace or two.

11 May 2010, 23:09

Use Enough Gun

Our home and my law office are tastefully decorated with African and North American trophies. I enjoy my African trophy room at home as I find it very relaxing and calming. I spend quite a bit of time in it reading, watching t.v. etc. Guests to our home overwhelmingly enjoy the trophies and the stories behind them.