Tim squinted his eyes against the wind and rain; the bull that stood at the edge of the bog was not big. In fact, it didn't have much width and the paddles were small. The fact that he had passed on bigger bulls earlier in the hunt was not part of the current thought process. This was the eighth day of his ten day Newfoundland Trophy hunt and he and his hunting partners had been beat-up by the rain, wind and sleet every day for over a week. The young bull was unaware of hunter and guide as the duplex of Tim's scope centered on the animal's left shoulder.

We were sitting at a diner in Rutland discussing the trip over coffee and I was impressed by the fact that Tim had obviously reconciled that given the endurance test that his hunt had become, his moose was indeed a trophy and a symbol of significant accomplishment.

The word "trophy" may well be the most overused adjective in the outfitting industry. It used to imply an animal that met the minimum standards for the Boone & Crockett record book but in today's sportsmen's vocabulary it's acquired a considerably broader connotation. Does this mean it's lost its descriptive value? I don't think so. Clearly in this case, one man's ceiling can be another man's floor.

Beyond the figurative however, the word "trophy", can and does have very specific meanings. Trophy Hunts, for example, usually are longer in duration than a non-trophy hunt because they theoretically give the hunter more opportunities to harvest bigger game. The more consistent implication is that this hunt package is going to be more expensive and usually for good reason. The biggest animals are usually the oldest and the greater the expanse of wilderness, free from pressure, the more balanced the age distribution of the species - more older, bigger, true trophy quality animals. The cost for the outfitter to get you into such places as well as the expense of maintaining camps with guides, horses, etc are naturally going to make the trip more expensive.

Trophy can also mean there are pre-established standards as to what size animal may be harvested. Most mid-western whitetail outfits fall in the category of trophy hunts by virtue of restrictions on minimum antler widths and the imposition of financial penalties for shooting a sub par animal. While in other cases fish & wildlife laws protect minimum harvest standards. A good example is the 50 inch spread minimum for Alaskan moose. Shoot a 49 incher and you're breaking the law.

Everyone quests for a quality animal and this is especially true when you are paying an outfitter for your trip. Interestingly enough however, based on my observation, it doesn't seem to matter whether it's an $800 Pennsylvania whitetail hunt or an $8000 elk hunt, the weeks or months of waiting for the dates to role around will be filled with dreams of bagging the biggest, most awesome, tallest, widest…well you get he picture.

In reality, whether or not the trophy you harvest is a "booner" often has more to do with how many animals you are willing to pass on first. If you are a veteran of adventure travel then you know the first step is to choose the right destination but beyond that it is up to the individual to decide when to pull the trigger. Unless you are hunting at a high fenced zoo chances are the first animal you see may not be the biggest you will encounter during your hunt but then again it may be. You must decide and part of that decision must be balanced with whether or not you would be willing to accept going home empty handed. Although we may all dream of shooting a trophy, as in the case with Tim's Newfoundland moose hunt, at some point, if you are lucky, you may have the option of choosing a lesser animal over going home to a still empty freezer.

For all of these reasons and many more, today's traveling sportsmen (& women) are as inclined to chose outfitters that offer high success rates on representative animals with the occasional client scoring on something special. As an example; let's say you want to shoot a big muley buck. Do you know that trophy quality mule deer with scores in excess of 150 inches Boone & Crocket are one of the most challenging quarries to harvest? There just aren't very many of them around anymore and those outfits that have that kind of quality often get $6000 or more with no guarantees of success. Compare that to destinations where you are guaranteed a shot at a 4x4 or better for under $4000. In fact, in many cases you can shoot both a mule deer and an antelope for that kind of money with both animals covered by shot opportunity guarantees. Does that mean we are shooting "dinks and rag-horn bucks"? No way! This class of mule deer can easily have 10 points and a 24" or better spread and look mighty impressive on the den wall. When the goal is representative quality, not B&C trophy class, success rates go way up as does customer satisfaction.

The word trophy can mean many different things but the only interpretation that really matters is that of the hunter who decides to pull the trigger. It also may have as much to do with circumstance as trophy characteristics. When, as an adventure traveler, you get to a point where the experience, start to finish, is balanced with the desire to be successful, you will start having better hunts. The only thing that matters is that the mount on the wall is a trophy to you and one that you are proud to display.