scoring?

[tim]

how important is score to you? where would you draw the limit on passing due to a potential scoring default. example if a monster ten had his g2 broken off or would it take both g2 or both brows ,part of a beam? i guess for me it doesnt matter if they are broken for score purposes but i might pass if its missing an entire side. ive watched in videos where a buck gets passed due to a broken brow thats is a monster and cringed in dsibelief

[Black Squirrel]

I'm not good at scoring and kind of keep it that way on purpose. I judge my deer by how well they would look on the wall to me. If I ain't going to mount it, I ain't going to shoot it. That may change after a few years of going deerless, than I may shoot a smaller one, an do a Euro mount. I passed on a what I believe was a 3.5 year old 4 point, he had one main beam completely broken off. Had he had both side he would have made me think real hard. I got a good taxidermist, and if I have pictures of a buck before it breaks a tine, I would have it rebuilt, but not a whole side.

[Brandon]

I dont care about score and most guys around my area dont either...

mass, spread and number of points is what you would hear most guys talk about.

I passed what would have been a nice 8 point because his G3 and 1 main beam was broken a few weeks ago.

[Beauford]

I'm not a trophy hunter, I could give a crap about scoring on a buck. I do like to hold out and try not shooting the first buck that walks by. But I am not in that league of shooting that size of bucks. Even if I was I think scoring a deer for the sake of shooting is wrong.

[dan]

Even if I was I think scoring a deer for the sake of shooting is wrong.

I somewhat dissagree... Anybody who holds out for something bigger is in fact "window shopping" for the right size buck. Score or number of points, or width of rack, all the same to me... Since when are we required to shoot everything we see? If we pass a deer cause our challenge is to get a certain buck I see nothing wrong with that.

With that said, I am not concerned much about score, but certainly would start getting concerned if something world class showed up where I could hunt...


What does trip my trigger is big racks... Whether it scores out or not don't matter much ( unless its world class ) I really like racks with junk, I don't care if a drop tine or a sticker is a deduction, I like it.
All old bucks seem to have cool looking racks how ever they play out...
But getting back to the broken points and mainbeams... That looks crappy and the buck usually gets a pass from me...

[JV NC]

I passed on my 1st (been hunting whitetails for 7yrs) mature buck, last season. I typically see 1/season, on average.

Anyways....I had a mature buck dead-to-rights @ 15yds.. He had a perfect 5 point RT. side (1st one I'd ever seen at the time, here)....and nothing but a brow tine on the left.

I killed a main-frame 10, THIS year. Karma?

If I ever see a REALLY old buck, it won't matter what he's sportin'. He's gonna get shot (at).

[Schultzy]

I like Inches, not going to lie. Up till this year I've always had the 130 minimum but I've since changed and will take the next best thing as long as It's a 3.5 year old or older buck.

[swamp-assassin]

im not so worried about score at all..i am not even really sure exactly how to score a buck..i mean i get the idea...and i know about what a 130 is and a 160 and a 200...i mean i can guess and if im within 20 points thats fine..i dont use it for myself its so others can tell about how big a particular animal is that im talking about...for me....as many of you know i shot my first buck ever this thanksgiving..decent 8 point for public land...but ive passed alot of bucks in the last few years because their racks were not big enough...i mean lets face it...we all like big racks...some of us have a particular knack for certain ones....my dream buck is a typical 10 pointer with 2 drop tynes....i love drop tynes..if i knew of a buck that had that particular characteristics id do anything to get onto that buck and have a shot at at..(a fair shot)
point being, unless you have the "if its brown its down" mentality, then all of us are worried about score to an extent. i think dan touched on that....its just one guys prize is the other guys butter. ( ) im rambling..uh oh

[BigHunt]

i could care less what it scores ..........

i dont shot bucks for what they score


obviously guys want big racks, but i shot them because of the challenge......
getting close to them is hard enough for me so when the moment of true comes, im not looking at it like well he dosent have this or that or this ..i have all ready made my descion buy looking at trail cam pics and shinning vidoes ... ...it dont mater what he looks like how many points he has, or how wide , or how much mass he has if he getts me going thats the one

[Brad]

I don't really care about the score, for sure not the net. I would like to kill a pope and young deer someday but even if I do I use lighted nocks so it wouldn't count anyways. Both of the bucks I shot this year got the same look over, about a half second through the binocs and I said big buck (to me a 15" spread and 7 or 8 points or thereabouts qualify). I was not disappointed in either of them, the first was with a bow and he would have been an 8 (7 the way it was) had he not broke off his g3 on one side, with a 16 inch spread, probably a 125" gross buck or close to it(not that I care either way). The second was a 8 point, 16.5 inside and probably in the same gross score as the other. They both got my blood boiling for the few seconds it took me to shoot them as I didn't have either one of them in front of me for long. That is how I judge a buck, not the score. I find this way leads to less ground shrinkage, as both of these bucks were both larger than I had originally looked at. I pass up the year and a halfs and the 2.5 and 3.5's become targets although I have a 4.5 too. I will always shoot a unique buck regardless of its size, an example being I shot a 1.5 year old buck with a scrubby but semi normal antler on one side, and the other side grew straight down towards his nose( a true drop beam) and was all black and had a solid ball of antler on it. The way the score was figured put him at 16" at 1.5 years old because inside spread counts weather it grows up or down or any combination of. Now if I could find one thats similar only on the other side, I could have book ends!

[Brad]

if he getts me going thats the one

That is exactly what I was referring to only said much better by Bighunt. There is never ground shrinkage if your heart is in your throat and you can feel your heartbeat in your forehead and arms and toes as you squeeze the trigger. That is how I judge a buck. I don't think I have ever shot a buck and known how many point it had until afterwards and I kind of like that!

[Dewey]

I use scoring to determine if a buck is at whatever standard I set for the season. If a buck walks by and has a tine busted off but he still is near the low limit of my standard I am still shooting. I guess when I start shooting Booners every year then score will mean much more!!

One thing I won't do is shoot a buck with one main beam completely broke off no matter how big he is. Sounds stupid but I like to have a whole rack if he is a wall mounter. If I want one side of his rack I will just pick up a shed in spring.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Stanley]

I have passed many bucks over the years that were busted up. A buck has to tickle my fancy for me to kill it. One beam busted off gets a pass every time no mater what age. I have passed busted up bucks and have killed them a couple years later older and whole. Score isn't that important to me but a big rack makes a better display piece that is for sure.

[hunt n nut]

I guess I am intrigued with score to a point. I am more into the age structure of a buck though and I wouldn't shoot a busted up buck. A heavy mass 150 class buck to me is pretty cool, but a 190 or 200 inch buck would do the trick too

In the old days an 8 point or a 10 point was bragging rights, seems like hunters have evolved into the scoring system. I also care more about gross score, but I do understand how the founders of the scoring system came up with net score for the books. Its their books they can count them how they like I guess. Guess what I'm trying to say is when someone describes a mid 150's buck to me its easier for me to picture than if a guy tells me he saw a 10 pointer.

[Kodiakman]

I am still a rookie when it comes to "Beast Mode Big Buck Hunting Strategies" and have realized a ton of my past mistakes over the past 4 months. So..... anything bigger than a basket is getting smoaked bow hunting. I have passed and passed on deer all my life bowhunting, to the tune that I have not, ever, killed a buck with my bow. Not one. Gun deer, oh yeah, plenty. But never one with my bow. The first buck that finally comes into range that isn't a fork, spike, or basket I am taking. It just hasn't happened yet. But it will, I know it. I think once I finally get one or two for my wall then I would maybe take it a step further, but that is a long way to go still.