I used to have a good chunck of wall of the living room, for some horns and mounts, before we moved. It all started with a little corner above my desk in the living room (we had a small house) and expanded into that wall section, and some antlers and a jay mount above the tv. Then some art (chamois charcoal drawing) by other. Our place here is rented, so I've been holding off on elaborate hole drilling, but there are antlers and mounts in my office on the main floor, and same in the living room. We talked about where to hang the sheep mount (THAT I CAN PICK UP NEXT WEEK!) and the living room was part of the discussion, as was the stairway.

She draws the line though at rugs. Funny, eh? I told her I planned to put a bison rug across the couch, and she didn't like the thought of that. Once belonged to an animal. Like the mounts and horns didn't.....women!

Frans

Lois, you go, girl!

Hey, finding guys who like to hunt and fish and not be useless, boring, metrosexual milquetoasts are as rare as us "normal" girls.

I am normal, really.

People like us just KNOW HOW TO LIVE.

I think I will take some photos of my trophies and post 'em. Hell, my rifles LIVE in my living room. All of them! It's easier to show them off to company that way. Plus, they are always near and warm for the straying varmints out back.

I just wish my taxidermist would finish some more of my stuffed animals so I could cover up some paint around here.

Sir,
You need to whip her more, any indigenous African would advise you of this for surely she will become worse as she ages...

Just curious, when you come in late do you put your leg in the toilet and piss down it so as not to wake her up?

Just kidding!!!

The surly belligerant sneer on the face of the Cape Buffalo shoulder mount, paled in comparison to the malevolent stare on the wife's face when I mentioned it would look good on our living room wall.

She looked like I owed her money.

So I'm thinking I might just want the horns and the photographs of our planned african trip. Has anyone done this? Do you still pay dipping and packing etc... for kudu, gemsbuck and possibly buff.

Elmo

My wife gave me the entire basement with 2 trophy rooms, 2 bedrooms, and a reloading room to do with as I please. I also managed to get 2 deer and a fish into the home office upstairs. There is even an antelope and a Texas whitetail in the bedrooom. BUT-----

Mention putting anything in the living room besides flowers or grandchildren's pictures and she goes to the Yellow Pages for divorce lawyers!!!!!!!!!

A man's gotta know his limitations. Just accept the fact she is letting you go, and decorate the basement.

Yeah, still have to pay dip/pack on the skull and horns an that is the more expensive charge (all of my Namibia PG were $35 each).

Hey Elmo,

A Cape buffalo shoulder mount is really a impressive mount! Think hard on just doing a "horn" mount! I'm divorced but I do have to say one thing about my ex, she was good when it came to my mounts, the deal was I hunted, mounted my critters, and hung them in the house. She loved her horses, and exotic birds, and cats. I made sure she had what she needed for them. What I'm getting at is work it out with her, don't not mount a trophy like that because of the hanging location. Work it out.....

I'm also a USDA clearing agent, and a Importer/exporter, yes you still have to pay the dip & packing fees. I was charged $300.00 for 10 to 18 trophies from Zimbabwe.....

Good luck!

My wife was extremely put off by the idea of having "dead heads" in the house -not even horns were allowed! But after seeing the articles she placed the impala in the livingroom, the wildebeest hornmount in the dining room and warthog tusks on a plaque above the living room door. My kudu resides with me in my home office and she�s looking forward to the zebra rug that should be arriving in Febr.-March.

I don�t know what got into her and I ain�t askin�too many questions...

personally, I really don't like mounted heads all that much. Unless it is Alpine game (sheep or goats) I just boil the skull. I prefer it it that way, but it is a FOrd vs Chevy thing. But there is a small group of people who are mor eput off by a skull than a shoulder mount, so it may not help you in this situation

I'm confused! I always thought my home belonged to both my wife, and ME! What do you think would happen if I wanted to tell my wife she had to use kelly green in every room in the house? I can tell you she would hit the cealing, but the same goes for my hunting trophies, they are not going to be shouved into any damp basement, or out in the barn, but in the den, where they belong!

FOLKS, A marrage is a 50/50 proposition, as is any home belonging to both halves of a marrage! Put your trophies where they belong, along with everything in your home that says who you are! Do you have a HOME or do you only pay the payments, and visit there?

Maybe that is the attitude of a 67 year old man, but fair is fair, no matter the age of the couple, NO?

My house is my trophy room. I have shoulder mounted bison and caribou and several African antelope skulls in the living room, skins for rugs. Bare spots waiting for more mounts.

My bedroom has my first bear stapled to the wall, a warthog skull, an Axis skull. The other bedrooms are so decorated as well. A big wall of horns and skulls in the kitchen. Here and there a painting or drawing hangs....

I have to say, everyone who has ever been in my house loves it. Whether they are hunters or not.

A cape buffalo head and shoulder mount is enormous. It will dominate any normal wall (unless high ceilinged) and reduce living space in any normal room by a significant amount. It must be seen to be believed.



As to whose house it really is--I'll leave that to the philosophers!

My house has 14' celings, and it is the reason I picked this house. I am a bachelor, so my trohpy room is my whole house. If you could hook me up with the right red head, I would gladly limit my dead stuff to just one room though! Seriously, give her my email if you know of any one

MacD37,

Excellent remarks! I agree 100%, Mac we need more "men" on this site! A home and a marriage is a 50/50 deal!!

Years ago when I owned my taxidermy shop I had a client bring in a beautiful whitetail deer that he had taken in Iowa and was wanting an antler mount on a plaque so he could put it in his garage. As we got to talking he said that his wife wouldn't let him put it in the house so there was no need spending a lot on a shoulder mount.

This deer had 20+ points and probably scored 180 or more and he was gonna put it in his garage!!!!

I told him that I would do what he wanted and asked if he wanted my opinion. He said that he did.

That's when I told him, "You can get a wife in any bar, but that's a once in a lifetime deer!" He thought about it for a couple of minutes and ordered a pedestal shoulder mount, complete with custom base and habitat scene! When it was ready to pick up I didn't have the guts to ask him if he was still married!

Good luck!

JDS

Ann
If my ex have had a fifth of your positive attitude, I guess I would still be married.
Yes...you are definately a gem

Is lawndart a smart guy or what?

Actually, he didn't know if it was a good cup of coffee or a bad cup of coffee, but he doesn't take undue risks in life....

This is a man who has 9 - count 'em NINE reloading setups. One is in the bedroom (handy) and three are in the kitchen. You can't change 'em at this age, and I wouldn't want to anyway. I confine my fru fru stuff to the bedding choices. I like the sound of Ann's decor. Very cool!

Last night we were out till 10:00 p.m. in the Idaho cold dark night, making sure the chronograph was doing its infrared thing. Is that romantic or what?

I am a bit amazed that some folk's spousal units would squelch the trophy hanging and rugs.

lawndart showers regularly, reloads ammo for me to shoot, and buys/builds me guns. He takes me with him to go places and shoot critters. He helps with dishes. He takes good care of me. I want him, not House Beautiful. He drives a beat up (and shot up) truck, and won't wear a tie to his own funeral.

If your wives don't want a real man, just send them packing. Life is too short. There are women out there who would be thrilled to have you.

Just my $ .02.

Lois

Our whole house is a trophy room!!!!! Sounds like my place.If you have to ask if you can hang it then your in the wrong house.

Wow!

That got a rise out of the curmudgeonds

Reminds me of the Congo in '34.... Silvertip Gorillas in the mist, beating their chests and proclaiming their majesty to world. MacD37 was right about one thing....



It is a 50/50 deal.

What's mine is hers, and what's hers is hers too!



The opener for this thread was just fresh cut Ruark bait . Actually, my wife is an angel who's forking over half the money for our upcoming safari.( How do you like that 50/50 MacD) She's not a hunter yet,but she does like to shoot her revolver. After she goes to Africa she might get motivated to get that hunting license.



My real issue is 8 ft ceilings in the house. And the individual rooms are not exceptionally large. A buff shoulder mount would just dominate any room in the house. And a kudu or gemsbuck with decent horns would be sniffing the butts of my guests unless I cut holes in the ceiling. Shoulder mounts just ain't gonna work.



I'm just wondering if anyone has come up with a tasteful display of horn and photograph.



Regards

Elmo



See you at Reno SCI '05

hey Elmo, I have a idea for you, instead of mounting the trophies for the wall and worring about the "8foot" ceiling, do pedastal mounts, have them custom done to fit in a certain place in your room. I do that alot for my clients, with a little thought and artistic ability you'd be surprised as to what you can place in your home and the little bit of space it takes up!

I hate to see a beautiful trophy not done to show it's best! i think it's a insult to the animal.

Thanks Ann, hey, post those pictures! I will get some of the reloaders in the kitchen.

As for others who must skirmish over decor issues, bless those who are able to negotiate compromises. I realized very quickly with lawndart that this was not an area to even attempt to make inroads. So, I bundled up my two oriental rugs (I think I will sneak one of them into the x ray room, and lend the other to a friend). I used my peacock feathers in the waiting room, and changed the curtains there to african themed ones, and put up a large map of Africa on one wall. Will get a large kudu print matted up one of these days for one of the other walls. I can probably sneak in a little more fru fru there without too much resistance. I also insisted on the really good cottenelle toilet paper and kleenex instead of the cheap rough stuff, in the clinic and the home. C'mon, this is important, if you think about it!

Now, as long as there is sufficient lime diet cokes in the fridge and high grade chocolate in the freezer, I can deal with lawndart's heavily armored lifestyle and normal male moodinesses. I split the wood for the wood stove, so I can feel all self sufficient, and he lets me alone and doesn't laugh too loudly when I miss with the axe. He works hard saving lives, so I take care of the little things, making some of his phone calls for him, soothing ruffled feathers, dealing with the bills and office personnel issues. And because he is a tad wiser now about wimmin, he notes that contribution. His older friends tell me he never had to break up with his girlfriends, they just left screaming or quit returning his phone calls. I am the first one to hang with him through two hunting seasons.

I think animal mounts can work with lots of decor themes! Or time for an addition.

Again, my unsolicited, undesired $ .02.

Lois

Jeeze Lois, you sound like my twin.

Actually, I do have a lot of "girly things" but I feel they blend quite nicely with the rustic hunting stuff. For instance, my bison head hangs above my antique armoire (real and it is the rifle home) in my living room. There is a giant antique crock next to it with a large display of dried flowers in it, in this case, common mullen stalks, which are 6 to 7 feet tall and it nicely balances things.

So you can be creative with all types of decor and look real good. I think those weirdo gals who tell their men not to hang their game mounts are plain looney. These things are just too cool to not show 'em off. That's provided you have quality taxidermy work done!

I've got some oriental rugs, some real nice original art work all mixed in. My big warthog skull sits on a nice lace doilly as well.

Hey, I HEAR you on the TP, it's Cottonelle here as well!!!!! I do still need to decide where to put my reloading set up. I think it is going to end up in the kitchen. It is safer in there, away from the woodstove and furnace.

Seriously, there has not been one person in my house that has not gone home liking it at the end. I have had many offers to buy.

Guys, go hang your taxidermy mounts with pride!

Ray,
Thanks for the tip about pissing down my leg, it will save me from having to lay on my back & pissing on my belly like a blue heeler when I get caught coming in late!! maybe I take this "professional little boy" stuff a bit too far.
Actually she puts the christmas decorations on the current collection of ibex in the living room & we have christmas ibex instead of a christmas tree.
She does on occasion kinda throw her horns back and gives me that "dagga boy" look, but at least it isn't about hunting or shooters or mounts. I usually desrve it when it happens... the old road to hell paved with good intentions scenario.

Mike