Proper Method of Measuring a Deer Carcass?

Hirsch

Hirsch

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Good morning everyone.

So I’ve been searching the inter webs for a week now, and I can’t find jack on how to properly take measurements of a deer’s body (length, girth, height, etc). Surely such information is compiled somewhere by some government organization, and a standardized method of taking such measurements established, no?
 
trevj said:
That! ^^^^

Deer hunting isn't a catch and release game.

Weight, hanging on the hook, or antler size, if you are trying to get in the record books.
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Well that’s unfortunate. Kinda thought it’d be a fun exercise to keep body measurements on the deer killed at camp.

Though I suppose I could just create my own system of measurement.
 
Kelly Timoffee said:
There is the odd story out there about how heavy an animal was on the hook but that is about where it ends unless you are scoring antlers.
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That was the extent of what I found as well. Which is kind of a shame, as I’ve seen some very large deer killed that sported mediocre head gear.
 
Hirsch said:
That was the extent of what I found as well. Which is kind of a shame, as I’ve seen some very large deer killed that sported mediocre head gear.
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That is why many people include body weight, as well as the antler dimensions (score)... don't really see a useful purpose for body measurements... unless your fitting him for a tux...
 
trevj said:
Yep to that.

Heaviest WT I ever shot had a rack that fits in a shoe box.

Was good eating though!
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I took a very large bodied muley in the Salmon Arm area in 1961. His 4 quarters hung at 276 lbs, but his
antlers were not impressive at all. I still have the antlers here somewhere, with the metal tag of the day
attached. Dave.
 
Hirsch said:
That was the extent of what I found as well. Which is kind of a shame, as I’ve seen some very large deer killed that sported mediocre head gear.
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it can go the other way also, I have two WT's that both score over 200, one was a 450lb or better bruiser the other was barely 300 I would guess.

The only time body measurements are relevant is if you are going to have the animal "full body" mounted, that way the taxidermist can pretty much duplicate the animal. When the taxidermist was doing my biggest WT, he measured the head & neck from a bunch of different angles so he could purchase the appropriate form. He had to buy the largest Mule deer form on the market and the cape still hung like a blanket, considerable build-up with modeling clay ensued.
 
I think they use to take BODY WEIGHT as the measure of a big buck in Maine, USA. (Larry Benoit???) If I remember a deer had to weigh over 200lbs DRESSED to make the book in Maine. However, even that measurement had some questions to it, as when they "DRESSED" out a buck, it was only the bottom portion (stomach/intestines) removed, not the lungs/heart so that would add several lbs to the measurement. Also, several decades back there was a cattle farmer/biologist that developed a method of getting the LIVE weight of a deer by taking the CHEST measurement. It was tried on cattle (supposedly worked quite well) then tried on deer in various locations in the USA (supposedly worked quite well).
Sorry, this is all from memory( and that's not getting any better). Just articles I read 20-30 years ago.
 
Well......... John Y Cannuck, in the time it took me to type that out........you found it. Thanks, haven't seen that for a few years. I'll keep it now..
 
Having caught them fair and square in my sights, they frequently have responded to that train of thought and reason and surrendered: I therefore have a small journal of deer measurements: length is measured from base of skull to base of tail; girth is measured around the naval and behind front legs; height is measured from ground to top of front shoulders like you would a horse. Caveats? Yes: Given that they are smarter than some people, I have never been the victim of humaniality or observe ghey deer: they have always accepted that the parts they were born with determines their gender. That aside, the odd one refuses reason and experience tells me that if they don't run, prepare for a violent struggle... deer don't fight fair: they'll kick, scratch and gore you.
 
big boar said:
Well......... John Y Cannuck, in the time it took me to type that out........you found it. Thanks, haven't seen that for a few years. I'll keep it now..
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You're welcome!
I've posted it before. 1'st time I used it was a 265lb buck. Butchers scale matched bang on. Not saying it will always be accurate, but it's usually close. I cut my own meat now, so it's all I use.
 
My standard is the three "H's" . . . Hide, Head and Heals off to the locker. Always nice to exceed 100 pounds to avoid the flat fee when under.

When in 4-H, steers were measured by heart girth and the other side of the tape had the weight. These tapes shrunk over time so pulling it tight was best
This measurement when factored in with the length from the point of the shoulder to the pins gave a more accurate weight . . . that formula is history!
There were a lot of disappointed people when their steer was run over the scale at show time.
 
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