The question about record books got me thinking about what I personnally consider a trophy animal. The eland I shot in South Africa has what are to me the "ideal" charactoristics of a trophy animal.



He weighed 2,048 pounds (931 kg), was estimated at 17 to 19 years old, and had worn his horns down to where they were rounded on the ends, and flat on the fronts. He does not make the "book", thought I would bet he did five or ten years ago. He was with two younger bulls that were "book" bulls in the horn department, but he was much bigger bodied.

[ 10-11-2002, 08:36: Message edited by: loud-n-boomer ]

Now all I have to do is figure out how to make the picture show up.

For me...If I kill it,it is a trophy.
Jeff

A trophy to me is simply the physical embodiment of effort on my part. I might shoot a 70" Kudu (we can all hope ) but if all I have to do is step out of the vehicle and shoot it, it won't mean as much to me as a 55 inch kudu that I had to hike for.

I also firmly believe in the virtues of taking OLD animals. Man is the only predator who seems to consciously seek out those animals in their physical prime. That, in my opinion, is not truly the most ethical form of hunting and, therefore, does not yield up the most valuable trophy which is simply the knowledge that you are playing a role in and encouraging the elegant operation of natural forces. The real objective of hunting should simply be the proper and full utilization of animals who are no longer breeding and may, in fact, fall to less humane predators in the near-term future.

JMHO,

JohnTheGreek

[ 10-10-2002, 22:37: Message edited by: JohnTheGreek ]

l-n-b,

That picture is on Webshots and they do not allow you import individual pictures to other websites, you can only link to an album. That's why I now use www.imagestation.com

Regards,

Terry

Good question, and one I think about from time to time.

I suppose a combination of a lot of things: method taken, physical effort required on my part, unique circumstances (such as late on the last day..or 10-minutes of opening morning), horn/antler size and mass (length, bases, etc), uniqueness of the horn/antler, age of the animal (worn horns, teeth), condition and distinctiveness of the cape, difficulty and circumstances surrounding "the shot" (or shots...), quality of the cape/hide/fur including manes, rarity of the animal and/or uniqueness in area hunted, body mass, how it tasted when cooked(!), adrenaline rush experienced and related potential danger, difficulties experienced in transporting meat, reaction of the PH/guide and trackers, time spent hunting the animal including long tracking, etc...

Every trophy is "special", some more than others for highly personal reasons that at least for me may or may not be related to the actual mount hanging on the wall. Difficult if not impossible to explain to a casual visitor who just sees perhaps a "dead animal" from some "far away land" that they think they saw something about last week on The Discovery Channel...

Bill

To me a trophy is measured by the strength of the memory created. It has nothing to do with "book" score.

Jeff

Very Good, Skibum.

The animal is a 'trophy' if it is better than 'representative'. Whether I am proud of it or not depends on the quality of the experience while hunting it.

If it came easily, that shouldn't cheapen the animal. I would not mind shooting a 50" sable 1.1 kilometer outside camp. It's still a trophy, albeit an easy one.

Who here wouldn't shoot a 50" sable or 70" kudu that made itself a 'gift' to you?

George

The hunt is what makes the trophy the more enjoyable the hunt the better the trophy. Sure I like shooting good respectable heads but if a big head came to easy it dosen't mean as much as one that took some work to get.

The trophy is the experience, the book it makes will be the memories that you will share forever.

Joe

The over all experience of what you did to take the trophy.

Mid 20's, blond, buxom, legs that go from here to there---oops, sorry---"What makes an animal a 'trophy' to you?" Next time, I'll read the question more carefully before answering.

Regards,

Terry

[ 10-11-2002, 03:38: Message edited by: T.Carr ]

Any animal I take is a trophy, even if Im only meat hunting. It is the respect for the animal that matters. I like a great set of horns as much as the next guy but it is not why I hunt.

Personally, it is the hunt and the circumstances surrounding them. A friend has a 7 point Roe buck which I had been chasing for 18 months but for a couple of reasons I ended up taking him to the spot and putting him onto the buck. He took the buck cleanly with one shot and has it on his wall and he even has a couple of pics I took of the beast the day before. Now it might be "his" trophey physically, but in some respects it is "ours" and the story surrounding the head is what makes it stick out.

I think the easiest way to answer this question is too distinguish between trophy and record book trophy.

For an example I asked Saeed about his 49" buffalo and to me it sounded like a record book trophy and not trophy they saw them didn't walk far and he got him not a very exiting hunt. But It sure made the book by quite a margin. I hope Saeed doesn't mind posting his story.

Then if I take one of my own hunts where I hunted an old kudu bull for 3 years 3 years this old bull as eluded me and I finally got him after 3 years he was only 50" but that was my trophy a huge bodied bull that slaughtered out over 200 Kg.So I feel the same about that kudu as Loud-Boomer does over his eland.

I think as a hunter before you go into the veld you should aks yourslef do you wnat a trophy or a record book trophy ?

[ 10-11-2002, 12:11: Message edited by: Safari-Hunt ]

A TROPHY to me is a ONE SHOT KILL.

T.Carr.....now you are getting into the area of really "dangerous game".

With respect to GeorgeS...a trophy might be a representative animal if it's something I don't hunt very often if ever again. The involved expense of a hunt sometimes comes into play. A friend said if he saw a leopard (any leopard) he was taking a shot. I completely understand that philosophy. If you hunt leopard every year then you can "afford" to be picky. Most of us don't have that luxury and really should take the first good shot they have on a hunt of a lifetime. Too many people have stories of passing shots on the first day and they never see another one no matter how hard they hunt. Holding out for "big heads" is ok but it's not realistic for most guys day in and day out.

In Alaska, a trophy moose to nonresidents might be 65" plus...to the resident, a trophy moose might be the closest one to the road, ATV, boat, etc.

Your own experience decides how to value your trophy. I went to RSA hoping for a big Kudu and had a great hunt and a small trophy in measure but the biggest so far for for my mind, all species counted.



In 300 yards he was looking at us quartering so we could not move, I took aim and shot. He dropped dead on the spot.

Notice the bullet hole betwen the eartip and the ammo on the gun.

[ 10-13-2002, 00:37: Message edited by: cchunter ]