Who keeps all their heads?

As I have shot only half a dozen roe to date and am new to stalking. I am very keen to get every head, be it good or bad mounted.

So... at what point do you draw a line and only keep the best heads? (also when heads are mounted to shields, who keeps the bottom jaw)

Cheers
 
I think much of the answer to your question depends on your living conditions and, most importantly, the frame of mind of your other half, if there is one.
Half a dozen, conveniently scattered around the house, was fine... but then the pushback comes...
So, unless you have a shed/mancave/gun-room/dungeon it might not be easy.

Personally I have kept some of my first bucks and, since then, either the ones that have a good stalk/story or were different or of interest in some way.

Good luck with the journey!
 
what dosnt go in the house goes in the shoot room on the shoot at home ......great topic of conversation on a game shooting days lunch .
 
My better ones go into the hallway, as do the ones that have an interesting story to go with them, regardless of their size
 
I think much of the answer to your question depends on your living conditions and, most importantly, the frame of mind of your other half, if there is one.
Half a dozen, conveniently scattered around the house, was fine... but then the pushback comes...
So, unless you have a shed/mancave/gun-room/dungeon it might not be easy.

Personally I have kept some of my first bucks and, since then, either the ones that have a good stalk/story or were different or of interest in some way.

Good luck with the journey!

I keep the best of the last and current year normally so it increments slowly. Also only have two on the wall that are best of last year and current year if they are worth it. The rest sit in a box on the top shelf in the kitchen.
I do have a dungeon but it's to cold and dark down there. Not to mention creepy and only gets opened up for a viewing on occasion.
 
Last edited:
I regret not bringing home the head of the first deer I ever shot, a wee muntie buck. It was nothing special, but would have been made special being my first. I've since kept my first and only roe buck head, a 5 pointer, and my first and probably last CWD head. I've shot a few fallow but never bothered with the head as they've always been young bucks with very small antlers.
I've been told not to mount any for the wall, so they just stay in the cellar with my other stalking paraphernalia. For now...
 
I have most of the ones I have shot barring a few which I gave to others. I now boil out and keep every one as a record of what came off which ground. Medals come in the house. Others go in the garage. Started doing much more stalking in the last couple of years and it is starting to show. No way would she let me have them all in the house!
View attachment 71907View attachment 71908

Medals come around very rarely for me so just as well there is plenty garage space!
 
I keep the oddities (short nose on a plaque) and ones with a particular story.

Others that I have had measured are kept as upper/lower skulls (helps me with ageing from the teeth), the rest given away to non-stalkers that want.
 
First I shot is at my brothers house, one is now a fishermans priest and another is a knife handle, the rest I just gave away or leave up trees, I always took photos of them since I had a camera on my phone, to see the difference over the years.
 
No longer keep the heads unless it strange, a medal or a first .

Did go through a period of keeping all the roe buck heads of one farm for many years, was a good reference for looking at how the quality was improving in line with my cull policy and the improvement of the farmland.
 
I used to boil out and keep every head for quite a number of years, it got rather ridiculous over time so I gave hundreds of them away.
I have a ten point red over the front door, a not very good but very old fallow on the shed and the old roebuck show in my Avatar is in the conservatory.
All very memorable stalks, can't now see the point of keeping any more as I motor on towards my eighties.
 
I don't keep any of them they are either given away or go in the bin. I shoot to eat not into trophies.

Crazy, isn't it, that while shooting for sport is considered "good reason" for grant of a FAC, shooting to eat is not!
You'll have to put a few sporting trophies on the wall just to convince the FEO that your motives match the guidelines in his book of rules!!!
 
I keep all mine, bear in mind I shoot no trophys so only cull animals, each one a different memory taking the rifle for a walk ❤️
 
Back
Top