What is a big buck?
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elkassassin
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In Today's World any Buck Older than 2.5 & 14"-20" Wide goes on the Wall!
SAD!
I know so many people in so many places
They make allot of money but they got sad faces
It Ain't Easy being Me!
SAD!
I know so many people in so many places
They make allot of money but they got sad faces
It Ain't Easy being Me!
heywouldya
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I think it depends on who's hunting, their age, and their success/ past experience. What I think is a big buck is way different than many on this site.
hwy
hwy
liecabucks
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You got a few in miss Bess?s house that fit that discription Elk?
Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high, keep your eyes fixed to where the trail meets the sky...
Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high, keep your eyes fixed to where the trail meets the sky...
littlebighorn
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Jack O' Connor used to say, when you see one that's Big, you know it's Big.
In that line of thinking, if you have to question whether or not to shoot, it's not Big!
In that line of thinking, if you have to question whether or not to shoot, it's not Big!
My Dad met the legendary Fantly Sawyer once in Ely, Nevada. He had a 43 inch buck and some other monsters hanging on his wall. Fantly said he used to hunt the Arizona Strip and other good areas back when it was easier to get tags. He said he could still take you to the strip and show you 2 or 3 "big bucks" any day. My Dad asked him "how big is a big buck". Fantly said 35" on up. He said he used to winch his jeep off a cliff south of Colorado City and drive a few miles from there and he never saw a boot track in that area. (I think the area is a wilderness area now, so that plan wouldn't work out too well anymore). Fantly said he had a shed in Las Vegas with over 50 sets of big buck antlers in it.
Sadly, things have changed. Here is the current definition of a big buck:
Utah general season hunts: any buck with at least 2 points on both sides.
Utah limited entry hunts: 28 inches on up
Wyoming Region G before 1985: 34 inches on up
Wyoming Region G now: 30 inches on up
Wyoming Region G near future: 26 inches on up. (30 inchers are rapidly becoming extinct there)
Sadly, things have changed. Here is the current definition of a big buck:
Utah general season hunts: any buck with at least 2 points on both sides.
Utah limited entry hunts: 28 inches on up
Wyoming Region G before 1985: 34 inches on up
Wyoming Region G now: 30 inches on up
Wyoming Region G near future: 26 inches on up. (30 inchers are rapidly becoming extinct there)
legacy
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I agree that the definition of ?big? is circumstantial. My wife killed a 24? buck last year that green scored right at 180?. It was her first animal that she has ever killed. Would SHE define her buck as ?big?? I think so! I even think it was a big buck (especially for her). Had I had the same tag the buck might not have met my own personal definition and expectation of ?big?. My hunting buddy had the same tag as my wife and he ending up killing a buck the last day of the hunt that taped out almost to the inch as my wife?s buck. He was extremely disappointed. I think it all depends on the circumstance.
roadrunner
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For starters a buck that tapes 175 (or 176) is big. Anything above that is just bigger.
Most good 4 point bucks are in the 160 range.
Most good 4 point bucks are in the 160 range.
A big buck is defined by the area your hunting. In some places a splindly horned 3 pt is big... because it's the largest buck in the unit. In others it's 150?. Very few people ever take that into account when they look at a deer.
On the other side of things though basically if a buck makes book... he's big.
On the other side of things though basically if a buck makes book... he's big.
NVPete
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I don't know why, but I've been FOREVER obsessed with this big ol' muley I downloaded years ago now. I must have looked at thousands of big buck pics, harvested or on the hoof, but in my mind's eye, he is the biggest I'll ever see: Awesome mass 'n' trash antlers, huge neck from full rut, and IMO massive body conformation!
HIcountryman
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He s a big un for sure! I like mass, thick bases w junk around brows (not that they can always be seen), a couple extras somewhere to indicate some age on him. But a big long tined typical is nice too!
There s all kinds of big: a wide one w short forks can still take yer breath away! A big nasty three point, etc... there is lots of good bucks that scores dont account for. U know em when u see em!
There s all kinds of big: a wide one w short forks can still take yer breath away! A big nasty three point, etc... there is lots of good bucks that scores dont account for. U know em when u see em!
LAST EDITED ON Nov-21-18 AT 08:51AM (MST)[p]I think anything 160" to 170" are good bucks. 180" on up to 200" are great bucks... above 200" are phenomenal. That being said... score isn't everything and there are great bucks that don't score well. If a new hunter kills a 170"+ buck... that's phenomenal to me.
