Because I just like to know. Yes. See the answer above. It is statistics. Statistics come up in almost everything we do. Over the years I have become very familiar with the P&Y and B&C scoring systems. I especially find the gross score to be useful when describing the size of the buck. When I talk to people about the size of a buck, I find that I can get my meaning accross much easier if I use the gross score rather than saying....."It was really, really big"... or .... "his antlers were out to here" (showing an exagerated width) and... "they were big around as baseball bats" (another exageration). If the people I'm talking to are clueless, then the above statements will work just fine. I like statistics.
I understand what you are saying but with games like golf, pool or video you are actually controlling, to a degree, how well you do. You have no control over the antlers so I am not sure what you would be gauging. If I were to pass on a deer for 3-4 years while waiting for his antlers to grow, what is it that I am gauging? If I pass on 5 smaller bucks during the season and then shoot a big buck in the same area what skill am I gauging when I measure the antlers?
Before I entered my first buck contest on HNI in 2007, I had never scored a deer. In fact, I have only scored 3 bucks in my life and those were the three that I entered into the contests. It had nothing to do with the "score", it just so happened that those were the rules of the contest. Heck, I really thought I was going to have an opportunity to shoot a sweet looking 7-8 point buck at Jeff's house in Septemnber. I would not have cared if the buck scored 75/85 inches, I would have arrowed him in a second and I would have been extremely proud. It is all about the experience, the friends you make, and the hard work you put into your hunting. That being said, I am at the point in my hunting life where I am working to kill bigger bucks. I am talking about bucks that are big where "I" live, not anyone else. Their whole existence is interesting to me.
VS that is it exactly, a score is more about location, just like I posted in my first post. Score is relevent to where you hunt. A 115'' buck in Northen MI would be described as a big buck. Me telling buckeye I shot a big buck in Northen MI has a different meaning to buckeye. He's thinking 130+ buck, when I say I shot a 115'' buck in Northen MI and put the deer herd size in perpective he would have a better understanding of what "big" means. The golf anaolgy is the best fit. Me telling Jeff I shot an 85 would not look to awesome. If I tell Jeff I shot an 85 and I have a 20 + HC has a different ring to it. I try and look at location and the records for that area to determine what is a better than average buck. Example the record for county I hunt in Northem MI is 161'' and that is with a gun.
Then why come to Iowa after waiting 3 years or more and pay a HUGE nonresident fee??? There are bucks to be shot in many other states and higher populations, and in most places it is MUCH cheaper than here. Makes me wonder if the size (score) of our deer has something to do with it. I have shot some bucks that would score well in the state books but have never entered them. I am also not hung up on the score but its fun to compete with myself and continue to try to take deer that score well. My point is, the average deer hunter does give a crap about score. Especially when they take a decent buck. For those of you that dont, that is fine, but if you kill the next world's record, something tells me you might put a tape to it.
Hey Fletch, there must be something wrong with me, I wait 3 years gathering/paying for Iowa points, get to hunt there, pay the big out of state fees, then pass on the biggest buck of my life to shoot a smaller one! LOL btw, my buddy did kill that deer I passed.. so it was worth it!
To answer the original question. I feel net scores are as dumb as can be. I understand why/how they came about, but I don't agree that that is what still should be used. Opinions on other topics, I score my deer because it makes it a lot easier to talk with others and convey size. If no one were to ever know/see I shot something, I stil would probably scored it because I am curious of those things.
Staying with the Golf Analogy..... Tom Watson lives in Kansas, Mark O'Meara lives in Florida. Does Tom have a gripe that he can only practice half the year (without traveling) while Mark can pretty much practice all year round from home? By location shouldn't Mark have a decided advantage over Tom?
Did you get a little greedy?? lol I have let several go that I still kick myself for. But, if you are ever going to kill something exceptional, you have to let a lot of nice deer walk. Sometimes I can, and sometimes its just too much fun to let the air out. All depends on the situation at the time I guess.
And they both focus extensively on SCORE. If Tom wants better scores, he will travel to practice. And does. My point is only that the majority of deer hunters do in fact have some interest in scores. I just received the new P&Y record book as a gift from a hunter that I hosted and that book sure has a lot of names in it. Funny thing is, every state with deer seems to have several pages of entries. Maybe none of those guys are average?
Sliverflicker and Germ said It good. The way I look at It you gotta draw the line some where. Will (Huck) had a great post too I thought which I agreed with 100%. Both the P&Y club and SCI are great organizations. There's more to these organizations then just the scoring BS.
What do you mean which is it??.........The contest is based on score so I keep score..........has NOTHING to do with any enjoyment I take from participating. It has however been the focal point of such fine behavior such as narking out kids and trying to ruin their lives as well as accusing others of cheating............yup, great idea That is a TERRIBLE analogy............breaking 80 in golf requires a specific sustained level of skill that directly relates to the individual. You can't get lucky and shoot 75.......or live somewhere that makes shooting 75 easy.........and money may buy your way onto the best courses in the country but it won't buy you a good score Not for that reason................again you are getting confused into thinking not caring about scores equates to not caring about big deer.
I guess you are having trouble understanding that it's possible to enjoy deer hunting and even big bucks without needing a tape measure for validation. Oh god........I couldn't disagree more. Don't confuse these boards with the "average deer hunter"
Golf scores directly relate to the skill of the golfer..........I think many hunters enjoy pretending the same translation applies. http://www.marquiswhoswho.com/
