nice buck, what's he score?

wardk · Feb 2, 2006

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting these pictures. My brother took these pictures and about 45 others of this buck. The best part, or worst, is we were bow hunting at the time and my dad was in the middle of missing this buck, TWICE, while my brother was busy snapping pictures. Even worse, I was watching the whole thing from 300 yards after guiding them in on their stalk. Now, my dad is 65, has hunted all his life and still humps the hills like he's 20, so I don't give him much flak. But......does he ever come unglued with a bow in his hand! I've seen him pop monster deer with his rifle like he it was same old same old. But not with a bow. I hope I still get that excited when I'm his age!

Anyway, I have the left shed off this buck from the year before these pictures, and he is even bigger in the pics. So I have a good idea what he would score. Take close look and let me know what you think. I'll let you know what the shed scored later.

And for those that are curious, I spent a total of 14 more days hunting this area and never saw him again that year.

74cj5 · Feb 2, 2006

Great buck and pictures! Love to see them on the hoof, thanks for posting!

sneakem · Feb 2, 2006

I would say mid to high 170's gross... Nice buck though, thanks for sharing.

Deerlove · Feb 2, 2006

what state?? Nice buck.

257Tony · Feb 2, 2006

175-178

NvrEnuf · Feb 2, 2006

LAST EDITED ON Feb-02-06 AT 11:01AM (MST)[p]I would bet that buck will easily go in the low to mid 180's. Not sure what the shed from last year is like compared to the pictures you have but I'd dare bet this bucks sheds will go somewhere around 80" each. That's just my guess but I'll bet it's close.

Great buck and the pictures are awesome!

Thanks for sharing,

NvrEnuf

TFinalshot · Feb 2, 2006

mid to high 170's gross.

"Roadless areas, in general, represent some of the best fish and wildlife habitat on public lands. The bad news is that there is nothing positive about a road where fish and wildlife habitat are concerned -- absolutely nothing." (B&C Professor, Jack Ward Thomas, Fair Chase, Fall 2005, p.10).

utrednek · Feb 2, 2006

not an inch over 175--no g1s to speak of

Shawn

huntsonora · Feb 2, 2006

LAST EDITED ON Feb-02-06 AT 11:35AM (MST)[p]170"-175" gross

HiMtnHntr · Feb 2, 2006

Good looking 180 class deer.

wardk · Feb 2, 2006

I sit and chuckle! Its comforting to know there are others out there that would make the same mistake I did. The mistake I made was not going after the deer myself. I actually spotted him from about 400 yards, and after looking at him in the binos, I told my dad to go after him if he wanted him. I was looking for 180 or better and from what I saw this wasn't it. So off they went and I laid down with my spotting scope to have a good look. Well, that's when I realized he might be a wee bit bigger than I thought. I consider this the biggest mistake I have ever made on field judging a buck.

Some background. This is a Saskatchewan deer. Very large bodied, and on average, very, very large ears. Between me, my dad, my brother and my two bow hunting buddies, we've got 14 mule deer on the wall between 165 and 230. My point? All of these deer had ear spreads(as in the head on pic) from 22-24" as measured by my trusty taxidermist bow hunting buddy, with more leaning towards the 24" mark. Same taxidermist buddy is an official Henry Kelsey scorer(Saskatchewan's official record book), and a P&Y scorer. He measured the shed, so I'll assume he's pretty close. He also scored the deer from the pics knowing what the shed scored. The average mature buck up here has to have at least a 24" inside spread to "appear" wider than his ears. The only buck I have ever shot up here that made me think "wide" before I pulled the pin was 29 3/4" inside.

I will say this, those of you who did not shoot this deer because you were holding out for over 180, like me

, would be very, very unhappy to see your buddy shoot him!

I went way wrong on his G4's and that screwed up my estimate on everything else. His G4's are probably at least 2" longer than any of you are thinking. With that you should be able to fine tune it.

For those that say 170ish, throw in another quarter and try again.....

wardk · Feb 2, 2006

Another picture of this buck.

OSOK · Feb 2, 2006

LAST EDITED ON Feb-02-06 AT 01:36PM (MST)[p]I come up with 190 gross using 23, 23, 23 for inside and beams. I don't think he's over that. Giving him 40 for mass and 12.75 average for his 4's.

MattB · Feb 2, 2006

Wardk-What part of Sask do you hail from? Have you been in Big Buck before?

Im guessing the buck goes 192" gross. Tough to tell though, without g1's he may only gross 186ish.

ismith · Feb 2, 2006

186 7/8 NET buck! look at those awesome front and back forks. The left back fork is a little weaker than the other but it is still really good. Id say this buck is a B&C buck.
Irl

Muleyslyr · Feb 2, 2006

I'd say high 180's....like 188-190! That is an absolutely perfect buck! Dude's got everything!

Now if your dad was able to put an arrow in him I did think it would have hurt as bad but, passing up that buck, then your dad missin' him, and knowing he's still runnin' around out there and shouldn't be....that hurts.

Give's ya something to shoot for this year.

hilltop · Feb 2, 2006

i think 195-200 but im not all that great at estimating what they will score, great looking buck by the way.

Kirby · Feb 2, 2006

Great looking buck. Mid 180's-190".

Kirby

When in doubt, floor it.

Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you find a big stick.

wardk · Feb 2, 2006

MattB: I live in Regina. Most of my time has been spent along the river, both sides, and in the sand hills. CWD has changed that now. I've never been in Big Buck. I sent in an article on a 209 velvet muley I shot in 2000, but I guess it wasn't big enough. Too bad though, he is a really nice buck:

The scores are very close. OSOK started the ball rolling in the right direction, MattB is almost there!

Kirby · Feb 2, 2006

Damn nice buck in Velvet!

Kirby

When in doubt, floor it.

Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you find a big stick.

smokepolejohnson · Feb 2, 2006

180! Great Buck.

Chef · Feb 2, 2006

I concurr.
Nice velvet buck.

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"

mo · Feb 2, 2006

190+ super buck gotta love the mass...thanx for posting.

ironhead · Feb 2, 2006

Beautiful buck , he looks to be about 193" gross and nets around 186".

wardk · Feb 2, 2006

I believe ironhead is as close as anyone will come without actually putting a tape to him. We came up with 194 and change gross, 188 and change net. The shed from the year before scored 84 5/8". So giving him only 2" more, that side would score 86 5/8". The right side should score out pretty close to the same in my opinion, although with different lengths on some points.
The main beam is longer, the G4 is longer, but the G3 is shorter. So giving him those numbers and a 21" inside spread, he'd gross 194 2/8". Yes, I do believe I screwed up on this one

The shed measurements were: MB 22 2/8, G2 17 1/8, G3 13 1/8, G4 12 4/8, H1 5 0/8, H2 4 6/8, H3 5 0/8, H4 4 7/8 Total: 84 5/8"

eelgrass · Feb 2, 2006

194? No wonder your dad missed twice!

I bet you won't pass him up next year. Neat story and pictures. Thanks

Steve

browtine · Feb 2, 2006

who wouldnt print that story?!?!? and one Hell of a field photo... AWESOME!

Later, Brandon

Wantabee · Feb 3, 2006

I am new at this, I have read a few post and have learned alot, Thanks,
This post caught my attention, I have a picture of a guy that is holding some sheds, I thought they looked simular to this buck, I would like to post the picture to get ya'lls thoughts but not sure how.
Anyhelp would be great.
I just want to be a great muley hunter.