Deer hunting leaves hunters with numerous questions. Was that a deer’s hooves we heard in the rustle of the woods? Oh! It’s a buck that’s looming in large in the shadows! Does it look like a white-tailed deer entering the frame of the trail camera? Can we book it easily; is it large enough for the purpose? What about the antler score? Is it okay for the outfitting entity that’s accompanying us? The management rules and standards of restricted properties are also questioned in the process.
There are questions galore!
The answers to these queries have to come in fast in big game hunting. This is because the prized catch will keep coming closer and closer to the shooting window. If you are a serious hunter wanting to add another deer to your book, you need to think fast.
When you start your game hunting training, it’s important to learn what 170 -inches and 125-inches bucks appear like. According to Larry Weishuhn, nicknamed “Mr. Whitetail”, it’s quite possible that you have designed flashcards from images of mounted heads to remember and recall the dimensions of different racks. In a nutshell, the main goal for most hunters is to ensure that they do not antagonize the owner of the property where they are hunting. All penalty fees for killing bucks that are smaller in size than what’s permissible should be avoided at all costs!
Scoring White-Tailed Deer as Fast as Possible
More often than not, soon after you get a buck within range, you have just a couple of seconds in hand to assess its antlers. The time you have is that short! Therefore, the system you choose to apply has to be the fastest one. Here’s how you can go about the act.
PRO TIP: Before hitting deer hunting trails, ask the outfitter or your host about the average, permissible “frame size” for grown-up bucks in the beat. You will get your answer if the people you question are fielding quality deer management. Do know that you are querying for a base number that shows the mass and length of the primary beams as well as the average spread.
Weishuhn opines that you may desire to use the above-mentioned method while hunting on an unmanaged property. Notice the average body size of the fully-grown bucks in the area. You may assume that the base frame measure will be about 90 inches if the bucks are aged 4.5-6.5 years and weigh in the range of 190-200 pounds.
- Are the fully-grown bucks weighing 125-150 pounds? If yes, use 80 as the base.
- While hunting in Prairie Canada, the base frame may be notched as high as 100. This is because adult bucks weigh approximately 300 pounds in the region.
You may want to sum up the length of individual antler tines to the suggested base for computing an approximation of the gross antler score.
It’s essential to know that you are observing a “fully-grown” buck. In the case of aging deer, you have to include other management skills as well. You may have to use your discretion when it comes to ascertaining the antler size of this category of deer. On the other hand, young bucks generally have thin basket racks and horns. For bucks in the range of 160s and beyond, you will face a tough time focusing on the accuracy of your shot; take care!
Read about 5 Deer Scouting Tips for a More Successful Hunting Season.
Whitetail Deer – Scoring with the Base Frame System
The scores get difficult for the horns in the middle, which are generally 130-150 inches in length. Here, you will find it helpful to use the base frame system. For instance, if you are trailing white-tailed deer along the waters of River Ohio in the western Kentucky region, you are likely to come across big bucks weighing 200 pounds or more. The same is true for Illinois beats running along the western bank of the River. In these regions, the frame number can be taken as 90.
Say, you are on your deer hunting spree and a buck comes within range right next to your stand. The filled-out brisket, blunt nose, characteristic neck, somewhat swayed backside, and gait would suggest that the deer is at least four or five points – when it’s an eight!
Get the sum of the following (135 inches)
Brow tine (right) – 4 inches
Brow tine (left) – 6 inches
Right and Left G2 – 10 and 11 respectively
Right and Left G3 – 6 and 8 respectively
That’s a good enough buck!
However, the buck is still a few inches short of the minimum 140-inches norm that the property has listed. Let go of the deer.
In such hunter memes and graphics, for fast scoring white-tailed deer, A, B and C = tines. The length of the beam relates to the distance from the tip of the primary beam to the base of the burr.
It’s important to ascertain the length of tines in perspective. Typically, the ear of a whitetail deer is about 6 1/2 inches in length. The distance of its eye is about 2 inches from the rear of the socket to the preorbital gland. There’s a 10 inches gap (or so) between the tip of its nose and the base of the antler.
Another Tip: Shooting for accuracy!
To do this analysis, it is recommended that you have a good set of binoculars or a spotting scope. Getting an idea of the score as a close up is vastly recommended by the hunters at Farwide.com. Alongside, the proper magnification of optics would allow for estimation from a distance. This is useful as you can plan to shoot or not shoot much before the deer walks into your range.
As per experts at Farwide.com, it is now possible to procure videos and books that teach how to calculate age and deer score according to the norms set by The Quality Deer Management Association. You may want to check out taxidermy stops to roughly score the deer heads exhibited there. Once you have made a rough estimate, check out the actual score to understand the accuracy of your judgment.
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