The actual score
Ok I actually know the hunter that shot this buck and he is a very good friend of mine. So I know exactly what he scores. However I wanted to see how good you guys were at judging score from a picture or a look at the front of this buck. I passed this buck up before my buddy nailed him and much to my surprise he scores much better than I suspected. I would have guessed around 170 tops. However when we put a tape on this buck he did very well. I know I learned a lot about trying to judge how big a deer is (score wise) when in the field. The most important thing that I learned is that you can never know exactly how big the deer really is until it is on the ground! You may be able to get close, but sometimes you just will under estimate the size of a buck by his looks. Or for that matter over estimate the size. I have always been told that you can accurately judge a mule deer's width by his ears. If he is as wide as his ears he is usually 22 to 24 inches wide. However I measured the ears of three bucks just after they were killed this year. The first buck was a really wide looking 3 point and he looked wide. He ended up being 27.5 inches wide with an ear width of just under 23 inches. Then I measured another deer that another buddy had shot which was a nice 5x5, however he looked like he was wider than he was if you went off ear width because the buck measured 26 inches wide, yet had an ear width of 21 inches is all. This buck of Cole's looks like it isn't as wide as it is, yet it is 27.5 inches wide also, however the ear width was 25.5 inches wide. All of these bucks were taken in the same area. Anyhow I guess I will let you guys in on the score which is after the sixty day drying period. The buck receives a spread credit of 23.25 inches inside the widest point between the main beams. He has 26 inch main beams, 1.5 inch G1's, 15.5 inch G2's, 12 inch G3's and 10 inch G4's, and he receives 15 inches of mass per side. This buck roughly grosses 183 and roughly nets 179.5. Which is quite a bit higher than any of you and myself gave this buck credit for. Just thought you guys might like to know.
