Personally, big antlers are fine, but where I come from a REAL trophy is measured in body size and weight. Maybe a Maine thing? Because to get one into the barn you gotta know what you're doing and how to do it. Not many kill truly big bucks every year around here and those are mainly hunted via tracking in snow. Some of those buck hunters will go 10-15 miles in a day if the deer knows it's being followed and eventually the deer is run down.
Maine state record stands at 355 lbs dressed from Bingham, ME in 1955 or so. Deer don't get that big unless they live a long time and they are smart. So, to me chasing a head or big horns is fine but chasing the animal they're attached to is even greater and is a greater trophy.
