As many of us veterans know it happens every year; honest mistakes in scoring of bucks taken in the contest. It is usually just good ole fashion ignorance having never had to do it before or very rarely. Over the years a few threads have been created that could be of valuable assistance should you be blessed with the need to score a buck this year and a video which if you can get past the person in it - it does a great job as well of showing how to score your deer: A Whitetail Scoring How To (Tutorial) Scoring Your Buck...Must Read Please Lot of good stuff in those threads and excellent discussions for anyone new or needs a refresher to scoring. Don't hesitate to ask your captain, team, this thread or anyone on the forum that has experience - place is full of BS'ers sure but if you ask a genuine question this place will most definitely assist you. No one will ever give you crap for asking about scoring, but trust me you may flirt with a ton should you post a score that is clearly void of accuracy. In the end the score doesn't mean jack squat anyways - he was big enough for your goals and objectives and made your hunt awesome. Adding a 1/2 inch here or there for a contest that is free to join and void of some massive prize package isn't worth it anyways. I hope every single contestant has the issue of having to score a buck this year, God bless and GOOD LUCK!!!
Freeze frame from the video, this is the spot I see when teaching or watching others score folks make the most common mistake:
On the same point, if you feel a score is wrong don't just make snide comments or even belittle the person. Keep it in PM's. Either PM the contestant directly, PM the teams captain and if all else fails PM LC and let him decide if it is an issue and try to work it out. If it's an obvious issue, they included tip to tip spread or greatest spread in their score, only used 6 circumfrence scores rather than 8 or otherwise cutting themselves short tag them in the banter thread or team thread and help them out. I've done so many times, and lately have deemed that to be more of the captains role than mine, but a little help and guidance can go a long way. Having to read constant complaints and quips in LFTS or the banter threads takes away the fun and "get away" of those threads. I remember one year a member was harrassed a bit, then posted different angles and all was good. We're not playing for money and fame, just pride and good times. I've only made one public call out for disqualification, and I think most can agree it was deserved. End rant/request
@Justin so long as credit and citing happens you cool with me using this still frame and possibly a few others in a video?
Awesome video but leaves me with a question I think I now know the answer to. If a deer has only one antler, the score is the gross of that one antler, correct? There is a 1 antler buck that's rolling with the pack I've been watching. I'm sort of hoping I can take my shot with him but seems like a waste if scoring with one of the teams.
Yes you would score that one antler only. Don't get a spread credit either. If it's under 50 inches, you get a minimum score of 50 pts no matter how small the buck. Also shoot what makes you happy and don't worry about points for the contest. It's all for fun. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Alright question time for the master scorers out there. I have a 4x1 with a tiny 1/2” trying to be a point on the spike side. Two questions. Is the spike called a beam or G1? And would there be a spread score? The spike looks just like a brow. Thanks for the input!
Post a pic of it. Most likely the spike will be a main beam. So get one measurement for length and 4 mass measurements on that spike side. Nothing for the 1/2" tine, has to be over 1" to count as a tine. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
That is tough. I would call it a main beam. The spread is tough. It has to be greatest spread in between main beams, but the measurement has to be square with the deers rack and head. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
I was just going to measure it as a beam length no circumference although I guess I should get a center measurement and then no spread
Okay. Here’s how I see it. The left spike is a main beam. That’s all it can be since it’s coming from the pedicle. Needless to say, a 1/2” point won’t count. The left side still gets four mass measurements. Unless I’m mistaken it would be halfway between the burr and the tip of the beam, so you should end up with four identical “H” scores on the left side. The inside spread has to be the “widest point between the beams on a line perpendicular to the skull. Yes, it will get an inside spread measurement but I kind of need to see a pic looking down on the rack from the top to say where it should be taken. If the left “beam” is placed similarly to the right then I’d say measure from the inside of the tip of the left beam to the inside of the right beam on a line level with and perpendicular to the skull.
