Founder
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What do you think of this buck?
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BrowningRage
Long Time Member
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Utah, general season, especially archery, I'd be after him...
"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24
"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24
sageadvice
Long Time Member
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Not a young buck, maybe just not the best genetics. i think he'll be a nice mid 170's type a buck before it's over.
Joey
"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"
Joey
"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"
W
Wildman
Guest
First of all, you have to start with how wide is he. It is actually kind of hard to know exactly. I have always heard that an average deer will be about 18" from the tip of one ear to the tip of the other. If you take that as the starting point, a deer has to have six inches of horn past each ear to reach the magical 30" mark. Although it is hard to tell, it doesn't appear that this deer has quite that much bone beyond the tip of his ears. So, using the 18" standard, he appears to have 4-5 inches beyond his ears on each side putting him somewhere in the 26-28 inch range. But the 18" thing is always a little iffy. If you look at this deer's body, he's a big bodied deer. If he happened to be a little wider from ear to ear, it could change things significantly. The reality is sight scoring bucks like this is not an exact science, because it is very easy to be off a couple of inches on both sides, and that can turn a 26-27" buck into a thirty incher. The buck also appears to be growing a little nub on the right G3 which could be interesting depending upon how much growth he has left.
In the end, if a guy is a hard core score fanatic, this is one of those deer you may pass up because you're not sure he will meet some arbitrary minimum score. And that's fine. If a guy is dead set on getting a thirty incher or a 200 incher, he may have to pass on a deer like this, because he is border line.
I personally spent many years hunting with the arbitrary score limits, and I found that I was losing the enjoyment of hunting. Personally, I think if you look at a deer, and he is appealing to you, you should take him. In the end, you are the only one that matters, and if you're happy with a buck what else matters. I look at a buck like this, and the first thing that stands out for me is the big ol' body. Big mature bucks have that appearance where if they didn't have antlers growing out of their head, you might think they were a horse, because of the big long bodies on them. That's appealing to me. Mass is also appealing to me. I have a deer hanging on my wall that my dad shot years ago. He only score about 185, but he has more mass than any other deer I have ever put my hands on. In my opinion, B&C doesn't give mass enough credit.
This deer has that boxy mature deer look. When I look at him, he just appeals to me, so yes, I would put him down if I had a gun in hand and it was open season. And who knows, he might just surprise us when we got him on the ground and put the tape to him. Big ol' bodied bucks like that have a tendency to do that. One thing's for sure, if we don't put him on the ground, we'll never know. He's the type of buck that may not get a whole lot bigger.
Chasing 200 inchers has a tendency to lead to long dry spells unless you can buy the right tags each year. I think a guy who can take a buck like that home will end up enjoying hunting a lot more than the guy who passes him up looking for something better and comes home empty handed year after year. Because, in the end, if you're not enjoying it, you're wasting your time time- in my opinion.
Wildman
"Hoss you convinced me what day are we packing up and leaving this Mormon hell hole for California?"- coondog 5/13/15
In the end, if a guy is a hard core score fanatic, this is one of those deer you may pass up because you're not sure he will meet some arbitrary minimum score. And that's fine. If a guy is dead set on getting a thirty incher or a 200 incher, he may have to pass on a deer like this, because he is border line.
I personally spent many years hunting with the arbitrary score limits, and I found that I was losing the enjoyment of hunting. Personally, I think if you look at a deer, and he is appealing to you, you should take him. In the end, you are the only one that matters, and if you're happy with a buck what else matters. I look at a buck like this, and the first thing that stands out for me is the big ol' body. Big mature bucks have that appearance where if they didn't have antlers growing out of their head, you might think they were a horse, because of the big long bodies on them. That's appealing to me. Mass is also appealing to me. I have a deer hanging on my wall that my dad shot years ago. He only score about 185, but he has more mass than any other deer I have ever put my hands on. In my opinion, B&C doesn't give mass enough credit.
This deer has that boxy mature deer look. When I look at him, he just appeals to me, so yes, I would put him down if I had a gun in hand and it was open season. And who knows, he might just surprise us when we got him on the ground and put the tape to him. Big ol' bodied bucks like that have a tendency to do that. One thing's for sure, if we don't put him on the ground, we'll never know. He's the type of buck that may not get a whole lot bigger.
Chasing 200 inchers has a tendency to lead to long dry spells unless you can buy the right tags each year. I think a guy who can take a buck like that home will end up enjoying hunting a lot more than the guy who passes him up looking for something better and comes home empty handed year after year. Because, in the end, if you're not enjoying it, you're wasting your time time- in my opinion.
Wildman
"Hoss you convinced me what day are we packing up and leaving this Mormon hell hole for California?"- coondog 5/13/15
fullthrottle
Very Active Member
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I like him, appears to have a huge body. I'm a believer that most bucks are basically done growing by the last week in July, but for some reason I think he has a few more weeks to grow and decent amount of bone to come, I would guess around 4" or so on most his tines. Hard to say, but he would be on my radar. Very good specimen of a muley rack. And you can bet your ass his ears are over 20".
Roy
Moderator
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"23 inch dink"
Geez Homie - who do you think you are, some kind of B&C official scorer or something??
I like this buck. He is pretty and symmetrical but I am not sure he is going to get much more tine length, which will kill his score and make him appear wider than he is. I say he will end up in the 25-27 inch width range, maybe a 160-170 buck. It depends on what unit you are in. If it is an LE unit, pass. If it is a general open season. BOOM. No hesitation.
HOOK 'EM!
_______________________________________
Since I am frequently asked about my religion on this site and others, I have created a profile that explains my beliefs. If you are interested in finding out more about my faith, please visit the link below:
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Geez Homie - who do you think you are, some kind of B&C official scorer or something??
I like this buck. He is pretty and symmetrical but I am not sure he is going to get much more tine length, which will kill his score and make him appear wider than he is. I say he will end up in the 25-27 inch width range, maybe a 160-170 buck. It depends on what unit you are in. If it is an LE unit, pass. If it is a general open season. BOOM. No hesitation.
HOOK 'EM!
_______________________________________
Since I am frequently asked about my religion on this site and others, I have created a profile that explains my beliefs. If you are interested in finding out more about my faith, please visit the link below:
http://mormon.org/me/6RNQ/
L
LUCKYHUNTER
Guest
Looks like a great buck to me. I would guess him to finish in that 170 range. Looks to me like he still has some good growth ahead of him and I'm thinking he will probably be just shy of the magical 30" mark, maybe 28ish. I would have to be seeing a lot of other comparable bucks to even think of passing on him. Four of the last five deer that I have taken have tip to tip ear spreads of 22" on average. All four are matured bucks 4 years or older so I tend to think 20-22 is a good estimated range on ears.
Fun seeing big boys like this one though.
Fun seeing big boys like this one though.
W
Wildman
Guest
LUCYHUNTER,
Thanks for the info on the ear measurements from your deer.
Wildman
"Hoss you convinced me what day are we packing up and leaving this Mormon hell hole for California?"- coondog 5/13/15
Thanks for the info on the ear measurements from your deer.
Wildman
"Hoss you convinced me what day are we packing up and leaving this Mormon hell hole for California?"- coondog 5/13/15
