![]() ![]() The more mature the deer, the "heavier" the rack. It's almost always associated with older bucks. To me this is the most appealing and exciting thing about a trophy whitetail. These include inside spread, main beam, length of tines and mass, which is measured at four locations on each side. If you have time after your initial quick "guesstimate," begin analyzing the four measurements that are included in a B&C score. If you hunt in northern Canada, the large bodies make the antlers look smaller than they actually are. Darker antlers also look larger than whiter ones. A buck from the back view always looks bigger. Then try to "burn" that image into your head so you have a concept of what that type of deer appears like.īe aware of some potential pitfalls, though. Is it a 110? 120? 130? Look at other bucks and illustrations online or in books with scores included to get a rough idea of what such an animal looks like. Four measurements needed to get a Boone & Crockett score are inside spread, main beam, length of tines and mass. Frame, tine length and mass are the three things my mind instantly focuses on. And it's no fun to find that out after you pull the trigger.īefore trying to analyze a bucks' rack, make a rough, ballpark estimate of the score based on your initial overall visual impression. It's probably smaller than you first thought. Use your best judgment, and if in doubt, pass it up. Other times the animal may just give you seconds. Sometimes you may have long minutes to study a buck as it feeds in a field. I've hunted with some biologists and guides who could pin it down to within 2 or 3 inches almost every time, but if you can get it within 5 inches, you're doing well. You want to be able to come up with a "guesstimate" that is within 5 or 6 points or inches of the actual score. So how do you quickly judge a deer's antlers in the field to estimate a rough score? Three things help with this task-study, practice and experience. (The net score is mainly of interest if you plan to enter the buck in that organization's record book.) How to Figure the Score of Deer Antlers ![]() There are many scoring systems in use, but the favorite of most hunters is the Boone & Crockett method, with the gross score the one hunters use commonly to describe a buck's antlers. And that is something particularly important to many of us as we become more and more serious about the sport. Though score cannot be directly correlated to age (see sidebar below), a deer that scores higher usually represents an older animal. When you take a whitetail that scores above average, you have successfully outwitted one of the cagiest of big game animals-a specimen that has likely survived at least three or four hunting seasons. The score of a deer is also important for what it symbolizes. If you manage your local population by trying to pass up young bucks and take enough does, scoring deer you harvest can help you monitor the progress of your program. Genetics, age and nutrition all are involved in how an animal develops. The score of a deer is also a useful piece of biological information. It's another physical trait that can be used in addition to weight to paint a mental picture of the animal. Why is Scoring a Deer Important?Ĭiting a score pins down the description much more precisely. On the other hand, it could be a five-year old with massive, dark horns and 5-inch bases that weighed over 200 pounds. That deer could be a precocious yearling that probably should have been passed up, unless you are a young hunter. If you say you shot "an eight pointer," it really doesn't tell a person much. TIP: Shop deer hunting gear here, shop hunting clothing here. For one thing, a buck's score is a valuable way to describe how large the buck is. Hunters, while it's a mistake to become obsessed with what a deer's antlers would score, there are many valid reasons to be interested in this measurement of the rack an animal carries.
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