There are some animals that a shoulder mount just don't do justice:
Bongo
Bear
Cats
Musk Ox

What are some others?

If your budget could stand the cost I would say a real good sheep. Dall, Big Horn to name a couple. Probably if the budget could stand to get one could afford the life size mount.

Sometimes it's not the budget. I had a life size of a bongo I took. THEN got married. Mr. Bongo is no longer with us.
Nothing like a small horse sized mount in your house to get the new wife questioning your interior decorating.

quote:

Originally posted by 3Timer:
Sometimes it's not the budget. I had a life size of a bongo I took. THEN got married. Mr. Bongo is no longer with us.
Nothing like a small horse sized mount in your house to get the new wife questioning your interior decorating.

With 60+ mounts in my Trophy Room (including life size Musk Ox and Leopard mounts) and 9+ mounts in my living room (including life size Tahr and Aoudad mounts), I often wonder what the wives of my friends say to their husbands on the drive home from my house.

Years before I built my Trophy Room I shot a large billy Mountain Goat late in the season so he had his long winter coat. I didn't have room in my living room for a full mount, so I had him done in a half mount. My taxidermist so wanted to do a full mount of him that he offered to knock 50% off the full mount price.

I've kicked myself ever since for not having the full mount done.

The problem with life sized mounts is clutter...I can't wait to build my new vacation house in Colorado so I have more room. At some point a TR stuffed to the brim just doesn't do it for me.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
The problem with life sized mounts is clutter...I can't wait to build my new vacation house in Colorado so I have more room. At some point a TR stuffed to the brim just doesn't do it for me.

Where in Colorado are you building your vacation house?

quote:

Originally posted by 3Timer:
There are some animals that a shoulder mount just don't do justice:
Bongo
Bear
Cats
Musk Ox

What are some others?

For me this is a very easy question. It is a mountain goat!

quote:

Originally posted by robncolorado:

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
The problem with life sized mounts is clutter...I can't wait to build my new vacation house in Colorado so I have more room. At some point a TR stuffed to the brim just doesn't do it for me.

Where in Colorado are you building your vacation house?

We have 50 acres of land bordering landlocked Natl forest between Villa Grove and Bonanza. In addition to hunting, I can do long range shooting as far as I want to shoot.

Ms AZW's sister lives in Durango; her hubby has a hugely successful internet marketing business.

Second with AZ Writer on the clutter issue. Any interior decorator will tell you that clutter is an eye soar. You need to have adequate space for the trophy.

I agree that a shoulder mount of a bear, or any carnivore seems to be inadequate in capturing the essence of the animal.

I tend to like them as rugs with heads. Full body mounts seem a little over the top to me, but JMO.

I think shoulder mounts of wild sheep are spectacular, but goats might be better displayed as a half mount as minimum.

I wouldn't give a plug nickel for a shoulder mount of a moose or a bison, but again, a matter of taste, not judgement.

And ellie and giraffes shoulder mounts are just plain ridiculous looking IMO.

And the most ridiculous looking group of mounts I have ever seen personally, was a bunch of full body mounts of baboons sitting at primary school desks.

There must have been a dozen, and I would hate to think about how much they cost, but IMO, that was some weird thinking to spend that kind of money,

But to each their own.

BH63

Is this cluttered?

No, that is not cluttered - cluttered is when you trip over yourself avoiding mounts that are crammed into every square inch. For example, you could have put lifesize mounts around the sofa but did not. I wouldn't give a plugged nickel for a lifesize muskox - look at all the room he takes up! Agree with sheep: they don't need to be lifesized - maybe a Marco Polo. Cats for sure should be life sized.

Interesting comment about a moose shoulder mount; my biggest moose is a shoulder mount above the fireplace in my TR. The rest are skulls. I stopped at three shoulder mounts for elk (they are now Euros), but even then, if they ain't at least six on both sides, out to the garage they go.

quote:

Originally posted by buffybr:
Is this cluttered?

Since you asked-YES!! The floor area is OK but the walls look like you tried to cover every square inch of space. Everyone’s taste is different but that looks like a mess to me. Of course, it’s your house and the only opinion that matters is yours.With my last move into a smaller trophy room, I gave away a full body warthog and steenbok plus shoulder mounts of kudu, gemsbok, nyala, blue wildebeest, bushbuck, buffalo skull. I simply didn’t want the room to look like it collapsing on me. And I havent brought a trophy back in 6-7 years. Buffalo, hippo, elephant, kudu, gemsbok, eland, and wildebeest were left to the outfitter/PH. But again, it’s YOUR house and the only opinion that matters is yours. Mine is just background noise. Congrats on a lot of fine trophies!

Ahh shucks just stand back and look at all those holes a couple more heads would fit in nicely.

Hell of a collection, bet you taxidermist loves you!

George

I wouldn’t call that cluttered, but I know my wife would.

Very lifelike looking dog mount on the sofa too.

Bison was always an animal I thought didn’t look great as a shoulder mount. Seen some great pedestal mounts of them, but it needs to extend the top so you can see their ridge line on their back.

quote:

Originally posted by buffybr:
Is this cluttered?

Yes, but in a way I would love to have! LOL

Looks fantastic.

BH63

Those pesky wives

I had two trophy rooms in my basement, and the wife was always commenting on how tight and cluttered they looked. I solved the problem by tearing out the dividing wall and doubling the size for a more open concept. By removing one kudu shoulder mount and simply rearranging them she now likes how much better it looks.

Someone explain women to me!!


https://i.imgur.com/KLQt8tS.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/70k5Nsb.jpg

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:

quote:

Originally posted by buffybr:
Is this cluttered?

Yes, but in a way I would love to have! LOL

Looks fantastic.

BH63

I agree, it may seem like clutter to some! I think the collection was well done for the space available. However my only objection to that much taxidermy is the cost of shipping, and mounting that collection would have paid for about four more safaris.

Less shipping and taxidermy means more hunting, but that is not my business to tell others what to do with their trophies, and like others when I retired I gave several mounts to a friend who owned a gun shop because we down sized and I simply did not have room for some of the duplicates!
The OP's place looks very cleanly done, with nothing blocking floor space.

……………………………………………...Opinions are somewhat like A-holes, everybody has one!
……………………………………………………………………...

Have you ever seen a shoulder mount of a walrus? Looked like a giant pimple on the wall.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana1:
Have you ever seen a shoulder mount of a walrus? Looked like a giant pimple on the wall.

Sable makes a spectacular full mount.

All the crap we catch from wives about
what WE like. Makes me wonder why we
even bother getting married.

Hell of a lot cheaper to hire a street
whore if we want to get laid.

George

quote:

Originally posted by georgeld:
All the crap we catch from wives about
what WE like. Makes me wonder why we
even bother getting married.

Hell of a lot cheaper to hire a street
whore if we want to get laid.

George

There are mounts and skulls kind of scattered all over my house. Every room is a trophy room.