Scoring BS

[schmalts]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-15-09 AT 03:42PM (MST)[p] Have you ever seen pictures in advertisement that say a bull scores something that makes you think "no frigging way"?
Seems you see it a lot in outfitter advertisements, am I the only one that underscores that much on bulls?
There is a bull in the MM odds web page that say it is 370 but I cannot think the bull would even come close.
Not saying it isn't a nice bull but just wondering if my judging is that far off.

 

[HuntinFoo]

I agree 100%, most people are either full of crap, or have no idea how to score something. I would say half the stuff I see people put scores on is off.

 

[ruttinelk393]

I would caution everyone who thinks they can score from one or even a few pictures. It is real easy to make an animal look bigger by repositioning and sitting behind him etc. Pictures can also not do an animal justice and it just seems to fuel fire among people who consider themselves "scoring experts". It really isnt worth arguing about or second guessing someones trophy whether it be a spike or 400 class animal. If a guy inflates the score to feel better or simply just cannot score correctly, a few points really does not matter.

 

[HoundDawgJr]

I know absolutely NOTHING about scoring elk and don't really care enough to learn. I guess I kind of agree with my buddy when he says, "The guys worried about big scores are always the ones with little ******."

But here is what I learned about people scoring elk this year when I killed my bull. I just looked it over, decided it was good enough for me and killed it. Nobody in my ear even guessing what it might have scored. For all I knew when I pulled the trigger, it was a 230 bull.

I had a bunch of people look at the bull and "score it" for me just by looking. Their scores ranged everywhere from 300 to 370+.

I guess you can interpret that however you want, but seems like a pretty wide range of guesses to me.

These days the only scoring I care about is when Bobcatbess heads up on the mountain. I figure I'll swing by his house and got a pretty good chance at scoring!! ;-)

 

[schmalts]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-15-09 AT 05:30PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jan-15-09 AT 05:27?PM (MST)

y
>just cannot score correctly, a
>few points really does not
>matter.


This one just looks like about 30 points short, more than a few. I am really wondering because if I had a premium tag I would think twice about shooting one like it on the first few days, and now I wonder am I that bad a judging? A buddy of mine shot a bull very similar and it scored 340

 

[bobcatbess]

EASY HoundDawgy!!!

HOPEFULLY YOU'LL DO BETTER THAN I DO???

I STILL AIN'T GOT THAT SCORING THING MASTERED!!!

BUT BY GAWD Dawg!!!

I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT ALL YEAR!!!

STILL CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TWO DOGGERS PULL BIG STINKY TAGS ON THE SAME YEAR???

I STILL THINK IT WAS BIG COMPETITION BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU???

TELL ME HOW YOU PULLED IT OFF Dawg???

TIS ALMOST THAT TIME AGAIN!!!

"I'M NOT COMPLAINING,I'M TELLING IT THE WAY IT IS,SOME OF YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT,THATS O.K.,SOMETIMES THE TRUTH HURTS & YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT IT,OR YOU FIND OUT WHAT THE FACTS ARE,STAND UP & VOICE YOUR OWN OPINION,THIS IS STILL AMERICA THE LAST TIME I CHECKED"!!!

REMEMBER!!!

THERE'S ONLY ONE bobcat!!!

 

[mntman]

Some times they are overstated, other times the picture doesn't show it well. It's just something that you have to say "what does it matter to me", I feel sometimes people even underscore their bulls but oh well I put in my 2cents for S&G's and move to the next set of pictures.


by the way where is this pic? I looked and didn't see it(probably looking in the wrong spot)
Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

 

[huntindude]

Pictures can make an animal look bigger or smaller it can be tough to tell, but as a rule people tend to round up the score it seems.

As an OM I hate it when someonme brings me an animal their outfitter " green scored " for them, as if you should expect a 25% shrink. 9 times out of 10 the official score is way lower and you know it as soon as you set eyes on it.

Many people just don't know how to score and it's an honest mistake too, I watched an elk hunting show a few years ago and the the guide scored a bull for his client measuring the G's from the back of the beam rather than the front, how many people do things like that and don't know better? I just don't take unofficial scores too serious myself, just look at the picture and decide for yourself you're probably closer.

 

[Blank]

Two years ago, we put my friend on a 373 gross, 357 net 7x7 bull here in Idaho. Do I tell people who see it that it is the higher or lower score? It was not a matter of score, points or anything else - just an immediate "holy sh_t, shoot him" decision. Realizing that Utah has some incredible elk, I still bet the vast majority of hunters here would never even try to score it before shooting. I think the same is true in the field if you have a tag - big ones look big, and you can't take that away from them. If you're not excited for sure, keep looking!

 

[soupcreek]

I agree that some pics make an animal look different, but I think that a lot of people are just full of crap. I don't know how people are off so much other than they are just flat lying. I have scored a few of my own deer and elk. I have tried to score the same animal exact, and then "loosely" trying to stretch score a little. Even when I hold the tape a little looser than normal all the way around an animal, I can't legitimately exaggerate more than about 3 inches on a 300 inch bull. I think that there are a lot of people just full of crap.
My 2 cents
Soup

 

[Roy]

Are you kidding me? Websites and internet pics that inflate scores? NO WAY! I don't believe it! I mean come on - it's on the internet!

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)

 

[soupcreek]

By the way, I believe that any outfitter that is scoring a bull by measuring tines from the back of the main beam is, like I said, full of crap. I have a hard time believing that when that is your business, you are actually that stupid.
Soup

 

[ricochet]

Soup-
IMO stupidity has nothing to do with it. Bigger score=happier client=bigger tip. If an outfitter is incorrectly scoring a head, he's just scamming his hunter. Telling a customer what he wants to hear is a time honored business tradition, it worked at the Mustang Ranch for decades. Or so I've been told. ;-)

 

[antlerrick]

I've noticed walking around some stores that have mounts in, that a lot of them seem to be overstated as to what I see and feel they would score, but I have found that is a good way to learn how to judge animals. I look at them from a distance and then mentally score it, and then get close and see what the posted score is.
I still think the OMG factor when you see a bull on the hoof is a safe way to go.

 

[antlerrick]

+1 Soup,
If an outfitter is doing that to their clients, sooner or later it will bite them in the butt and when the client talks to someone who knows how to score, that will show the outfitter is a hoax and they will lose business over being so greedy and trying to BS the client..

I've seen times where guys score the main beam, and then score the sixth point again in the process. On some elk that can give their score an extra 30-40 inches sometimes. It is an honest mistake but sure can make them look like fools when others see their bulls and hear the score they come up with.

 

[D13er]

.....and huntingdude, llamapacker, and I get to be the ones to burst the bubbles. I have scored several "200inch" outfitter scored deer that didn't gross 180.....and I am the bad guy. Big sells..that's it.



great post/pic, thanks for sharing

JB

 

[schmalts]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-18-09 AT 04:40PM (MST)[p]>
>by the way where is this
>pic? I looked and didn't
>see it(probably looking in the
>wrong spot)
>Mntman
>
>"Hunting is where you prove yourself"
>


Well, go to the hunt odds page, then type in a search for the beaver unit (UT ELK) any weapon, and search. Then click the link for detailed info, and it is the picture on the bottom that says 370 bull.
I look at the guys hand on the far side main beam, and compare how short many of the tines are in comparison. My guess is that is a 340 bull.
I usually score them by picture pretty close, and just wonder if my eye is off on this one. What do you think?

 

[ktc]

I dont know what that one scores, but keep in mind, any extras seems to skyrocket a gross score. That bull looks more 370 to me than the 373 above it to the right, but what do I know?

 

[bragabit]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-18-09 AT 07:53PM (MST)[p]Schmalts,
You are right it doesn't score 370 it scores 368! That is what I told the guy doing the odds when he wanted to use the picture, I don't know why he put 370. No it is not official but 3 guys have been within 5 inches with 368 being average. You are a lot better than I am if you can "guess" a score by a single picture. 57 inch beams, 68 inches of mass, and 3 extra points make up for shorter points. I am just a do-it yourself hunter with nothing to gain by inflating the score. I could have killed bulls that scored higher than this one but I wanted one with a little character. Bring your tape and come on over we can put a little friendly wager on who is closer to the OFFICIAL score.

 

[one_dryboot]

Why would you question that Picture? that is a big old bull! If it was a raghorn 5 then i could understand!

 

[rock5150]

I have put a tape on this bull. The gross that I came up with is 368. I have film of him on the Hoof and there is/was no ground (shrinkage). But, I say to h##@@ with the score with any weapon let a loan a bow who among you would not shoot. wish I could have been there to see the arrow fly.
Rock

 

[ktc]

brag,

Again, great bull. One of my favorites. I thought that bull was yours. I was not about to disregard 370 based on beam length, mass, and extras. I thought my wife's bull was 340 until I added in the extra stuff and he was 3 feet longer.

 

[Rackcrawler]

Ricochet-
Let me get this straight when at the Mustang you put the tape at the top of.. uh, at the bottom of.... Oh nevermind; thats why my score is always embellished.

 

[schmalts]

>Why would you question that Picture?
> that is a big
>old bull! If
>it was a raghorn 5
>then i could understand!


why? As I stated if you read, i wonder if my eye was not working on this one as even with extra points, many looked short enough for me to second guess this bull. Once again, not trying to take anything away from the bull, just trying to keep my eye tuned up for scoring when the time comes.