gznokes
Very Active Member
- Messages
- 1,322
What do you consider an acceptable margin of error when field judging animals? What margin of error would you accept in an outfitters judging technique?
I was just asking myself this in the context of two experiences.
1. I field judged a bull I shot last year at 330 and it "ground scored" 310. I misjudged by 20 inches or about 7%.
2. On the recent score contest I judged buck #1 (the wide one) at 168 and buck #2 at 173. Combined I was over 3% of the actual scores.
If you are field judging and end up guessing "over" should it be like the showcase showdown on the Price is Right where the guess doesn't even count? I'd rather be a little under than a little over. I kick myself when I overjudge.
I remember reading about a guy who killed a 400 inch bull. supposedly he was known for never even using the words "400 inches" when describing what were obviously 400+ inch elk. He was unwilling to overjudge any animal.
I was just asking myself this in the context of two experiences.
1. I field judged a bull I shot last year at 330 and it "ground scored" 310. I misjudged by 20 inches or about 7%.
2. On the recent score contest I judged buck #1 (the wide one) at 168 and buck #2 at 173. Combined I was over 3% of the actual scores.
If you are field judging and end up guessing "over" should it be like the showcase showdown on the Price is Right where the guess doesn't even count? I'd rather be a little under than a little over. I kick myself when I overjudge.
I remember reading about a guy who killed a 400 inch bull. supposedly he was known for never even using the words "400 inches" when describing what were obviously 400+ inch elk. He was unwilling to overjudge any animal.