Drive home from a hunting trip with a deer strapped to the hood of your car.
Once when in the 1st grade, we went to New Mexico for deer hunt. Stayed with my uncle. Just drove the roads until we saw a mule deer
and my mother shot it. We drove all the way home to Fort Worth with that buck strapped to the hood of our car. Got it mounted
and I still have that buck on the wall today. That was 68 years ago this Sunday. Was on my birthday, October 22, 1955.
My mother and father are both gone, but I have the memory and the mount on my wall.

Different era for sure.

People mostly had cars and made do with what they had. Most of my family did not own a truck until the 1970’s.

I have had to bring a deer out on top of the back trunk of a Volkswagen Jetta once. I’m 38

My grandfathers and uncles always had pick up trucks by the time I was born so their deer where always in the bed of the truck by then. I would imagine the correlation of the pick up truck being more common place over time with the disappearance of hood decoration.

Went with my Father to New Mexico in 1968 to hunt mule deer. .We drove home with 2 mule deer on top of his Tornado using my surf board racks. He did not buy a truck until 1973.

Was on the way from the ranch and a Blazer passed me on I-45 in Conroe, the 4 guys all had matching flannel shirts in 2000. The air temp. was in the 80's and on the hood of the Blazer was an ungutted doe. To say it was bloated is an under statement. Folks wonder why deer meat has a strong taste.

My parents bought a truck the month I was born, so I never did one that way on a family trip. But I did haul a few in the trunk of my Datsun 200SX while in college.it had a nice rubber mat in the trunk with raised sides about 2 inches tall so it was easy cleanup in the trunk. Never had one in it for over 25 miles though.

I do remember quite seeing quite a few strapped on cars growing up.

Took several home in the trunk of a car. Never put one on the hood. Never done it nor would I, but don’t they get hot on the hood?

Yes, they do, but that is how we showed them off back then. Lots of horn honking and waving from people with thumbs up. Different time back then. Most
people who hunted who did not have a truck. Cars had the trunks full of clothes, guns, tents, etc.

Yep hauled them on the hood of a 66 Chevy impala station wagon.

I'm old enough to remember them coming off the Ark.

The stories of the ancients tell of shooting them two at a time back then.


I remember when it was not impolite to look in the beds of trucks to see a good buck at a gas station; have a pic somewhere of my grandfather with (what is now) a dink 7 he was extra proud of strapped to the hood of a station wagon.

my dad had a pickup for his work dating back well before I was born but anytime we killed something, we left the tail gate down or propped up the head so the antlers could be seen. We would always stop at several places around town to show it off before going home to process.

I still recall stories of how much of a illegal hunter my dad was during their poorer days, just feeding the family. He said you could put a deer on each side of the old straight 6 engines and close the hood ... game wardens never would look there.

but yes, I recall a lot of deer tied to the hoods of cars growing up when a pickup was a true work vehicle and were very few owned by the general population.

We used to strap our deer on the trunk of my dad’s car until i bought my first SUV.

Got a picture of my dad and uncle with 4 bucks laid out across the tailgate of his old pickup from opening weekend. One with my dad and uncle and me and my brother sitting in the deer too. Good times and good memories.

I still look at the deer in truck beds, pay them a compliment hope nobody finds it offensive.

Nope. Closest was when we quartered out a deer and put it in the trunk of a '66 VW Beetle.

Late season elk hunting in Idaho, with a small Jeep. Half in the back, half in the front!!

I’ve wanted to post this pic on here for a long time but the pics so poor I haven’t. I’m hoping the paper will have archives I can get a good copy of some day.
It’s my Dad, Moms brother and one of Dads best friends. Front page of Williamson County Sun from 1959. Five bucks etc outa Pagosa Springs. It was an annual trip. Dad owned the cotton gin and Uncle owned the grainery so I guess it was a time they could get away. All that’s piled on a jeep and I think it’s being towed so maybe that’s not like on the hood of a running car.

That’s about the closest I’ve come. The pipeline was real muddy so one of the guys on the lease come got me with his jeep.

I had to put a mule deer buck INSIDE of my Jeep 3 years ago. I just folded down the back seats and put some garbage bags down. Couldn't get rid of that stench for 2 weeks.

Wow, I got a cabin in Pagosa Springs. No wonder I can't find any deer to shoot. lol, That looks like some very happy men and I bet they talked about that trip for the rest of their lives.

I’ve told this before, but when I was maybe 12 or 13, I was the wash windows/check oil/pump gas guy at Dad’s Esso station. A couple of guys from South Louisiana (we were in NE La) drove in for gas with a goat across the hood. I yelled at Dad to come see this, and he said to not point out that it was a goat, not a deer. They were happy that they got a spike. I just smiled and nodded and pumped gas.

I remember as kid 50 years ago my parents would take us to northern Wisconsin during deer season to see the grandparents and we would see all the deer on hoods of cars. Thanks Tommy brings back memories.

I remember my dad and other people doing that even on the hood of a truck just so they could show it off. It was more like a lookie what I got thing. Lol

Early 90s I brought a doe to the processor strapped to the roof rack on top of my white minivan. The red blood running down the white paint made for a sight for sure.

I remember my dad and other people doing that even on the hood of a truck just so they could show it off. It was more like a lookie what I got thing. Lol