The way the mounts are designed (the angle w/ rubber bumpers,) physics itself, etc. the force is on the screw (lagbolt, big drywall screws, etc.) which has a shear modulus strength much higher than the mount weight, and the bulk of the mass is pulling straight down (on a vertical board which helps hold your house up, strung together with others, plus additional support by wallboard. Due to the bumpers, some of the weight is distributed across the surface area of the back of the mount. So long as you review the weight rating of the screw/bolt you use (most use a lagbolt for that duty)-meaning the weight it can handle based upon its installation depth and number of threads into the wood, you'll have no problemos. My 1/2 mount Aoudad is heavier than anything else hanging around (buffalo, elk,) and with a 3/8" lag bolt, never an issue. You could get away with less...In an active fault zone, you may wish to consider alternative hanging procedures! We had a small earthquake here in 2010. Luckily it ripped the weakest point (the drywall between 2 studs holding a sheep and a goat!) LOL left it there as a trophy (as my freaked out son was home at the time. He thought someone was trying to knock down the house.) Drywall screws alone range from 90-180 lb strength, but that's cutting it for a big mount. The wall structure can hold much more. If I were designing a trophy/gun room from scratch, it'd be all steel frame construction, both for strength and security.
