Elkcrzy1,
Dude, it's a 'how wide is he' post. There is no 'right' answer because this buck is alive and walking. Probably on some private, no hunting ground too, so it probably will never get killed. On top of that, the pics are super $hitty. If you feel that buck is over 30 and 190, good for you. You are setting yourself up for some serious ground shrinkage in the future, but that's your problem not mine.
I am not bluffing when I say I would not shoot it. Width is the last thing I look at when I am judging a buck. The magic 30 means nothing to me. I would rather shoot a 18 inch 200 inch buck than a 30 inch willow horned 160 buck any day. Last year, I did indeed do just that.
Here's an example of bucks I pass on yearly. I was 20 yards from this buck during hunting season on public ground. I leaned the rifle against a tree, took my video camera out of my pack and filmed this buck for about 20 mins. Never once did I feel the desire to shoot it. The side you see scores 90 inches. He has 27 inch mains. This buck had a weak G3 on the side behind the brush. Even at that he grossed 184 inches. And he is a hell of a lot better buck than the one in the 'how wide is he' post.
$hitty pics taken off my video, but a hell of a lot better than the pics from the original post eh?
My buddy killed this buck 2 days later. I was very happy for him.
Here's another buck I passed on that same week. I guessed low on him (I guessed 190). I was glad that my other buddy killed him. He's a 9x9 double dropper that grossed 202 green. Official dry was 199 and some change.
I went on to pass on many many monster bucks that year and ate tag soup. Why? Because I was looking for one buck in particular. Here's the buck I was looking for. Ended up killing him a year later on the last day of the season, after passing up many big bucks that year too. He grossed 202 when I killed him. I chased this buck for about 5 years. He scored 225 in his best year. How do I know that? Because I have 4 years of sheds off him.
And yes, I do know what a 30 inch buck looks like. I have one on my wall. The fact he's 30 outside isn't near as fun as the fact that he's 215 gross.