Sometimes "BIG" doesn't necessarily relate to inches. Some racks just look big because of mass or long tines or being really wide. But to put it in inches, I guess 150" would quilify as big around here. (To me)
I'll steal rybo's system, which is a good model Nice buck ~85” Really Nice ~100" Big buck~115” Holy &*^%^$ >anything over 120"
To me, in my area, just based on what I've seen, I would say an 80"-100" is a nice buck. A VERY good buck is 100"-120", and anything larger would have me sharing Rybo's sentiments of "Holy &*^%^$" :D
In Michigan a 130 class buck will get my attention, But where I hunt in Illinois 140 is a big buck 150 I am really starting to have to think hard about a shot 160 no brainer..Walt
Good thread Steve. In my area of Pa, a 125"+ buck is considered big. To my thinking though, a 150"+ buck is truely a big buck. The only "big bucks" I've ever seen in 35 of hunting were in Alberta.:D
Im kinda with Huntingson, I would also shoot that 6 point he mentioned with the 12" G2's but what I consider Big in my area is 130 and above. I love Odd ball racks so if a big boy with a 130 class 1 side walks up and has a club antler on the other side, inches go out the window :D im shooting :D sometimes uniquness wins for me
For me here in IA, my standards are 150+ before I would shoot it ( I didn't shoot a deer this year so that maybe a little high). I would shoot a smaller deer if it had a really unique looking rack and was a mature deer. The 175 mark is always the goal for me, although I have never killed one that big.
On my property anything over 130" is big. Where I hunted this fall, 170 is condidered a shooter 190+ is considered big. I think it's all about location and the animals that have been taken.
This is a perfect scale for where I live. A buddy of mine that has a lot of time to hunt and some pretty good property just took the biggest buck of his life this year. It scored 134" and took him nearly 40 years to get one that size. In MD the scale is a little different. It would be more like this: Nice buck~120" Realy nice~130" Big buck~135"-140" Huge buck ~150" Holy $%!7~170+"
You sure like to stir the pot don't you? You would think one could understand what I was trying to say. Not once did I knock the guy down, the guy Is a good friend.
People saying a buck was big and what is actually a big buck for around generally differ. And I have no problem with that discrepancy. However, if one relies on facts.....a 120 inch or so buck around here is BIG. I really don't know of anyone who kills a 120 inch buck around here every year. And those that do generally hunt suburban bucks and have some great properties (and good for them!).
Brett: I know of 5 guys who've taken 100"+ bucks in my area (within an hour of here) in the last 4 years (with a bow). I'm not naive enough to think that's the biggest we have, here. I'm saying (from a bowhunting standpoint) they're not easy to locate or kill. I go by my shop several times/season (I'll go by there in a few minutes to catch up). 3 of te 5 hunters I speak of are guys I know only through happenstance acquaintence (see them, there). And, 2 of those have taken one buck in that category (in that timeframe). One of the guys who works in the shop is a P&Y scorer.....and he keeps a healthy pulse on what's being taken. 100" is a good buck, here. Any buck that GROSSES 100" is eligible for recognition in our states bowhunting association (NC Bowhunter's Assoc.). And heck....you've seen my gamecam photos!....lol
A big buck for me has changed much over the last 15 years. I remember a time when a 90" buck was a (big) shooter for myself. Slowly it became 100".. and even 120"ers. These days... a solid 140" or above is big for me.. and its the class I hunt for. Its an (almost) guarantee that I'm taking a 4 yr old or better deer that way. I suppose eventually.. I'll graduate into the 150" or above though. I suppose.
