Article #6: Scoring on the Hoof, by Pete Hansen
How any particular animal scores, be it B&C, P&Y, SCI, what have you, in my not so humble opinion is way over rated. With that said, it does have a purpose in that it can help you tell someone what you saw (a small buck or bull, or a real wall hanger) in a way that makes sense. It sets the standard for comparison between trophy animals and the largest animals of any species that have been taken by hunters.
Before I get into my own method for field scoring game animals, I’ll say that people put way too much stock into what an animal scores, and by determining the success or failure of a hunt by the score of the animal they either harvested, missed, or had a close encounter with, they do a true disservice to the animal being hunted and to the experience. The success of any hunt is determined not by the size of the animal, but by the quality of the experience and its accompanying memories.
When I go hunting, I see animals that fit into one of three basic categories. Whether it be deer or elk, there are bucks/bulls that are too young for harvest, those that score well, and the animals that, regardless of their score, really take my breath away. If I see an animal and think, “WOW!” I’ll shoot it every time, regardless of score. I have a good friend that let a big 4x4 Mule Deer go one year so he could shoot the 28-inch wide forked horn standing next to it. Why? Well, he’d killed a few big 4-points but had always wanted a big 2-point. My point is that what makes an animal a trophy is how you yourself feel about it and that hunters should enjoy the sport on their own terms.
Now I'm done with my rant and I’ll tell how I try to field judge game animals. I’ll focus on Mule Deer, and Rocky Mountain Elk, the two species with which I have the most experience. I’m also going to assume that those of you reading this have some sense of how the scoring system for these two species works. If not, get on the Boone and Crockett website and you’ll see the scoring system for both species that is used by the majority of people when speaking of an animal score. In my experience, people get too tied up in the outside spread of an animal’s antlers, particularly on deer. Everyone will tell you they saw a 30-inch Mule Deer. Yeah, right! How many deer that size are there, really? Very few!
When it comes to elk, many times I’ve been told about the 380-inch bull someone saw. Yeah, right! There aren’t a whole lot of those around either. I think this misjudging occurs because people try to base score upon the outside spread of an animals antlers and I believe that to be one of the most difficult factors to judge on an animal in the field. A good case in point of not giving too much weight to outside spread is a Mule Deer buck taken by a friend of mine this year in Colorado. Its outside spread is a mere 21 inches, yet it scores an impressive 186 inches!
One of the best indicators of an animal that will score well is tine length. Estimating this requires establishing some base line, like ear length, eye width etc. then comparing it to individual tines on the animal’s antlers. I try to work from an average 8-inch base, i.e. the length of an ear on a mule deer. Now I have a way to accurately compare tine length, main beam length, and then finally width (which is the least important) on the animal. Now I can make a guess as to the score. I’ve also found that using this system keeps me from overestimating the size of an animal. You’ve probably had the same experience I have in noticing that people, as a rule, generally overestimate the score of an animal by a pretty wide margin. When I hear someone tell me they saw a 180 buck, in my mind I think, “150 to 160”, and if the animal is harvested and measured I’m usually right 9 out of 10 times.
Something else that indicates that an animal is large, whether it is a deer or elk, is multiple, obviously deep, forks in the antlers. When you see a Mule Deer whose antler tines form a deep bowl, with the tips being far above the forks, and nearly even with one another, you’re probably looking at a keeper. The same goes for elk. A bull with obviously long, deep forks on its main beams, and all tines back to the tips of the main beams is likely a bull that will score well for its size.
As I stated in the beginning, I think people spend way too much time talking about score and too little time reveling in this magnificent experience we call hunting. Having said that, using the two simple methods I’ve outlined above will go a long way in helping a hunter know if the deer or elk he’s looking at is a keeper, or one he’ll throw back to grow another year.
