Atlas...I am in agreement with you 100% that most guys around hunting camps did not know or care how to score a deer...15 years ago. Now everyone has hunting DVD's out the wazoo and a 120 this and a 140 that are the norm. Only my opinion again. Funny thing is when a guy who has never killed a buck over 23"'s tells you he let a 120 go because he is close to killing a 150. It is hunting and it is beautiful. The scoring system is perfect for it's intended purpose, the most symetrical, side to side top to bottom rack there is. I agree that the N/T scoring is really weird, but for typicals..not only do you have to shoot a giant, but he has to remain "clean" which goes against what they do as they age as well. Someone said way back how cool and rare the Hanson buck is...it would be great knowing how many deer actually gross higher than him as a typical...I bet it is alot.
So you're saying you only score your deer because you want to be able to answer other people's questions?? That seems odd. Statements like this only solidify my point further So now it's "most"...........and just knowing deer are scored proves interest?? Just because you do means you represent the masses?? If all imaginary scores meant to people were "information" then there would be no names in the record books
So you agree 90% of hunters would have no clue how to score a deer...........but they are all interested in it though??? Startin' to talk in circles man
Feigned ignorance. Oh my god...........I couldn't have asked for a better example of the hunting cliche I have described then you. I could have summed it all up by just typing "See Fletch" Wait.........you are the guy who needs validation from a tape measure right?? Just checking
Hey Atlas.... Didn't you smeasure that 13 point (I think it was?) that you shot with a shotgun a few years ago?
Ever hear someone brag about their golf score You stated most hunters don't care, my point is they don't care, until they shoot a buck of size for their location. That is all I am saying.
You mean....kinda like hunters ONLY referencing their largest scoring bucks? How many "bad rounds" did they have, prior to scoring that (_______")?
Of course, any topic on scoring brings out some old barbs, but in the end I think everyone can agree on a couple of things. 1) in today's hunting culture, knowing how to score a deer is commonplace. Those who do not will most often pretend that they know how and tell you how big a buck is in inches. I would guess the average Joe is off by 10%-15% on any given deer... and that's on the gross score. These are generalizations and therefore will not be true for everyone everywhere. 2) the P&Y and B&C scoring systems' deductions are stupid, but it is what it is. They are the benchmark in hunting. If your animal makes the book, then you know it is a rare animal indeed. Until a system that only accounts for the gross score is universally accepted in the hunting culture this argument will continue, as I think it should. I think the perfect system would take the entire volume of the rack as the score. Would be hard as heck to take a score, but it would literally account for everything it has.
So what is the difference between the guy that brags about his buck that scored 138 3/8" at the bar/bow shop/deli counter and the guy that brags about his buck by holding up his hands to show how wide, tall, and massive his buck was? One guy uses numbers, the other doesn't, but they're both bragging.
I guess it all seems odd and imaginary to you Atlas. Nothing imaginary about a score so I really dont get that angle but........ Sorry if someone that killed a buck bigger than yours used it to hurt your feelings. For that I have no ideas other than, maybe we could start a new forum support group for you to get you through this traumatizing experience. It seems that the only ego here has already been crushed. Let me break it down to its simplest form for you. When I was 10 my family moved outside the city limits. I did not even know anyone that hunted. I taught myself to trap that first winter by reading back issues of Fur-Fish-Game at the library. By the time I was 12 I had made enough money trapping that I had my Dad take me to the local sporting-goods store and let me buy a compound bow. (1979). I shot milk jugs in the back yard until I thought I was Robinhood and started hunting with it that Fall. Again, no direction whatsoever and in those days there was no internet or videos etc. I shot my first deer, a big doe. My proudest moment. I learned by doing and shot or shot at the first deer that came by. I was a terrible bow hunter and extremely lucky to ever kill a deer for many years. I didnt even own a stand for over 10 years. Today, I have a house full of trophies that you may have seen two of. The deer I kill are certainly a product of where I hunt, but also the skills I have learned the hard way. I am extremely proud of this accomplishment and yes, I know the score of many of the deer I have killed. Have I posted countless pictures of my kills on the web? NO. Do I brag incessantly about my trophies? NO. In fact, another member of this site was the first to ever post a picture of one of my deer as I was not going to. Why? Because I didnt want to appear to be bragging and I know that most guys dont have access to the class of deer I can hunt. He thought it was a shame not to share it with others. I have probably killed more P&Y bucks than some have had the opportunity to see while hunting. That surely does NOT make me a better hunter, and I am eager to admit it. So if you would like to use me as an example for something, go right ahead. I am proud to think I might be a good example. But dont EVER equate my knowledge of deer scores, or the fact that I believe most deer hunters have a basic understanding of deer scores with ego. I do not use scores as a measurement of skill. I could not care less if the scores of my deer are any interest to anyone in the world beyond me. PERIOD.
