Deer scoring methods Can you diy it ?

WhelanLad

WhelanLad

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So what is the common method for Scoring deers over there, Whiteys, Mulies and Elks,... ??

is the SCI used there?


Regardless of which method, Do you use that to call the Heads in the feild , example: you seen a "170 class Whitey".... or is it the standard " seen a 'good '10 pt whitey" ...??


Down under they use the Douglas system which is all good an well but its all about symmetry and penalises over spread whilst also doubling the smaller of each side.... whereas SCI for our Sambar gives all antler growth into total and can give the unique/character /less than "30" inch heads a nice place on anyones PB list or even amongst budding hunters a better idea on the overall animals 'class', many argue a its debatable, score means nothing,,, sure it doesnt, but it does to everyone secretly , or it doesnt until ya finally do shoot ya own big one.... or ya mate an u want one. etc.. so lets not go there.

in aus i feel old folk didnt know much about the douglas or publically today i quiet, so "30" inch became benchmark, any less kind of snickered at,.... once over 30 the big Douglas score system gets flung around....

bit like Red deer.... just "pointers"... unlike Elk, "6x5" pretty often but when in the general chat perhaps 6x5 "350 class" or "400" class....

gets hunters closer to their target and ome more to think about...

i duno, i was thinkin about it so i made a youtube video about it


what you guys do or say
 
Theres a tremendous amount of variation in descriptions across the country. Where I live a whitetail might be referred to as a 150 class 5 by, or a 5 point, or a 5 by. Maybe there are some non typical points in play, then the deer might turn into a 5 by with some stickers, or a 5 by with some junk. Even better, maybe the junk defines it like a “5 point drop-tine”, a double drop-tine,or a “basic 5 point frsme with a lot of junk gitcher azz over here right now”. It sort of depends on who you’re talking to sometimes; people who have a real interest will press you for details anyway.
 
I know a couple of guys who will give you a, "It was at least 163, maybe 167," on a running buck at 150 yards. I never believe it. I also know a few certified scorers who won't guess on a set of horns lying on a garage floor without actually measuring stuff. There is no reason everyone can't learn to score heads - it's just prescribed measuring and math, but other than point counts, scores made on the hoof are wild guesses.
 
I may be a generation out of step on this, but back in the day in Saskatchewan, the "antler measuring nights" put on by Sask Wildlife Federation branches and others used the Boone & Crocket system - score sheets / diagrams seemed to be readily available; then the province had their own record book - the Henry Kelsey "book". So a whitetail might get an actual B&C score of 172; many out West would call it a "decent 6 pointer" - from reading, folks in the East would call it a 12 pointer. My Dad grew up in Saskatchewan and eventually farmed pretty well middle centre of the province - he does not recall a lot of concern about "points" or "score" in the 1950's, etc. - was more about meat - "real big", "good sized", "pretty small" seemed to be the extent of the descriptions.
 
Boone & Crocket is the rifle-pick-up registering entity most N.A. trophy hunters use as a yardstick. For archery hunters there is the Pope& young organization. They both use the same scoring criteria, both direction sheets can be found with google.

Some folks over the years have disagreed with the scoring methods used by them for one reason or another, mostly that one measurement, inside spread measurement, is just air, not horn mass and that is why we have the old "Thornberry" book in AB. and altho I have never seen one, I suspect the same of the "Kelsey" book in Sask.

Regardless of scoring methods you prefer....I can gauranddamn tee you that is you see a 200" Whitey in the field you wont have to decide if he's big medium or small...you'll know instantly.
 
As well as "scoring", I am aware of a couple jurisdictions that specify "points" as to whether the animal is legal or not - nothing to do with size or spread or age. Where my brother lives in Alberta, they have "across-the-counter" elk tags - no draw - but have to have 6 points on at least one side to be "legal" with that tag - so lots of time spent glassing to verify the point count. Very hard to do, he says, when a couple of them are fighting in the bush across the valley or down below - hard to get that "count" since they are seldom standing "still"... And every year, they come across multiple 5 pointers left laying in the bush, if the grizzly have not found the carcass first...
 
Most people talk about B&C score. Where I am the weight is a big deal and they count the total number of points you could hang a ring on (which is a BS system but when in rome). Moose is only ever talked about in inches of spread. If someone is quoting the SCI score they will almost always say so, because B&C is the predominant system in North America.

And then there is the altruistic "The only score I care about is how much meat is in the freezer" though almost no one weighs their meat and only say it to appear high-minded over people who will eat a tag rather than shoot the first legal animal that comes along.

And, yes, I am a member of the Boom and Crockpot club. But bragging it up is lame.
 
Potashminer said:
As well as "scoring", I am aware of a couple jurisdictions that specify "points" as to whether the animal is legal or not - nothing to do with size or spread or age. Where my brother lives in Alberta, they have "across-the-counter" elk tags - no draw - but have to have 6 points on at least one side to be "legal" with that tag - so lots of time spent glassing to verify the point count. Very hard to do, he says, when a couple of them are fighting in the bush across the valley or down below - hard to get that "count" since they are seldom standing "still"... And every year, they come across multiple 5 pointers left laying in the bush, if the grizzly have not found the carcass first...
Click to expand...

6pt is wmu, not specific to the general elk tag he buys over the counter. I can buy the same tag over the counter and go shoot a 3pt depending on the zone I am in.
 
Moose are kind of a funny thing. Most people can tell you the width of their moose, but few can tell you what the B&C score is, how its measured or even what the B&C minimum is unless he happens to have one.

You can take the most rabid, wild-eyed, moose crazed nut job and ask him how many points his biggest one has and chances are he'll give you a dazed look and then have to walk over to the wall and count them. ;)
 
Potashminer said:
As well as "scoring", I am aware of a couple jurisdictions that specify "points" as to whether the animal is legal or not - nothing to do with size or spread or age. Where my brother lives in Alberta, they have "across-the-counter" elk tags - no draw - but have to have 6 points on at least one side to be "legal" with that tag - so lots of time spent glassing to verify the point count. Very hard to do, he says, when a couple of them are fighting in the bush across the valley or down below - hard to get that "count" since they are seldom standing "still"... And every year, they come across multiple 5 pointers left laying in the bush, if the grizzly have not found the carcass first...
Click to expand...

i was goin tosay thats a good way to keep it fair chase an close hunting, easier to count the closer ya are, same philosophy i am running on with calling sambar like whitetails with a 'sci' or if the elite wanna get crititcal the douglas score but as mentioned above, its very difficult to tell a bucks score on the hoof, altho its somewhat easy to gauge if it might be a 150, or is a 140-150 buck, an also as mentioned a Good call on when ya see a 200 class, ya know...

for aus, its more about allowing those typical say 120-130s actually go n grow in favour of our hind population if The hunter can, rather than shootin it cos its a buck. an we differ with no having buck or doe tags, its no restriction on points or ### or amount. so that makes any management difficult, i feel if the hunts are on somewhat similiar page regarding a better way to call the stag, or view the stag as a 130-140-150 class knowing the 160 is the number for said sci, or 200 for Douglas system, .... many folk here arnt as tuned in as you guys NEED to be just to get a deer tag..lol.
let alone shoot a "legal" animal, in legal circumstances... ha ha .

it was interesting to then read about dead 5 pointers... but , i guess.... its guna happen ay an too large a fine for handing that in i gues.
 
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