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Scoring deer on the hoof
#5385747
10/29/14 01:51 AM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,035
tlk
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,035 |
A lot of hunters I have been around will mentally tally up the inches on a deer - they are quick and good at calculating tine length, mass, spread, and beams and then come up with a total estimated score.
I tend to look at a buck and get a general overall feel for his rack and then estimate his score without adding any measurements. Most times I get pretty close to the actual score when the deer hits the ground and actually has a tape put on him. Neither way is right or wrong but I am curious if anyone else out there doesn't do the math but rather goes by feel?
My guess is that the "feel" approach comes from seeing a massive amount of deer live, video, pictures, etc. and then being able to guess their scores.
You can't fix stupid
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Re: Scoring deer on the hoof
[Re: tlk]
#5385757
10/29/14 01:54 AM
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 10,466
DQ Kid
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 10,466 |
tlk, I go by feel and yes I've seen thousands of bucks live and dead in my nearly 40 years of hunting them. Knowing the methodology of B&C measuring also helps with measuring by feel.
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Re: Scoring deer on the hoof
[Re: tlk]
#5385780
10/29/14 02:02 AM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
If you have seen enough bucks alive and then dead on the ground you can get a real good feel for deer on that ranch. Much harder to do on unknown body sized deer out of your area. I score both ways. I usually just look at a buck and give him a frame score(85,90,95 or 100) then add up tines when I score on here. Sometimes I will just take the time and add them up. Sometimes you hit and sometimes you miss badly from pictures. Scoring deer on the hoof is another whole new ball game when you have never seen those deer before also. When you have history on a ranch it helps to call a sight score when you found sheds from the year before on a buck and know what they scored. What I have learned also is people guess scores based off the way that they score. If they score wrong the guess wrong. If they have a very loose tape when they score then their guesses will be the same way. I also see many people who score giving the deer the largest mass measurement they can find inbetween tines, measuring tines from the bottom or middle of the beam, adding in tip to tip or outside spread into final score, measuring points that should not be scored, etc.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Scoring deer on the hoof
[Re: tlk]
#5385809
10/29/14 02:14 AM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,466
Jkd106
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,466 |
I agree with Stx, hunting can be as bad as fishing, when it comes to stretching the measurements. You see pics all the time with someone holding a 16" 8 point, with 8" tines and calling him a 150. Back on subject, I score by feel on live deer, because of time. Usually on trail cams, I use the ears and try to add measurements, then I deduct 10 inches for camera tricks. This has worked well for me.
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Re: Scoring deer on the hoof
[Re: tlk]
#5385815
10/29/14 02:18 AM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 60,464
BOBO the Clown
kind of a big deal
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kind of a big deal
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 60,464 |
A lot of hunters I have been around will mentally tally up the inches on a deer - they are quick and good at calculating tine length, mass, spread, and beams and then come up with a total estimated score.
I tend to look at a buck and get a general overall feel for his rack and then estimate his score without adding any measurements. Most times I get pretty close to the actual score when the deer hits the ground and actually has a tape put on him. Neither way is right or wrong but I am curious if anyone else out there doesn't do the math but rather goes by feel?
My guess is that the "feel" approach comes from seeing a massive amount of deer live, video, pictures, etc. and then being able to guess their scores. I go by feel but it's also cost me a deer or two that just didn't have that look and then later went back to my camera or mind and started tallying it up, and then that what was I thinking comes... But also depends on the ranch I'm hunting, if there is a hard fast I'm figuring in my head. But those ranches I also ask them there averages on mass and beams too.
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Re: Scoring deer on the hoof
[Re: tlk]
#5385971
10/29/14 03:23 AM
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 35,891
txshntr
T-Rex Arms
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T-Rex Arms
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 35,891 |
I use a combination of both. I can add fairly quickly in my head but also use the frame and look of the deer as a reference. Sometimes it works...sometimes I just look like an idiot
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Re: Scoring deer on the hoof
[Re: txshntr]
#5386149
10/29/14 10:54 AM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,035
tlk
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,035 |
yeah I am sure we have all been fooled at times - and you are right - pictures can both help and hurt scores. I have seen deer in trail cam pics look young in one pic and then old in the next and the same with horns. On the hoof, if I have time, I usually try to determine spread and tine length - beams are the most difficult and seem to fool the most. But usually I don't have enough time to add numbers so I usually get pretty close by feel
You can't fix stupid
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