I know I'm showing my age here, but I remember a time when 99% of the hunters where I grew up didn't have a clue what "scoring" a buck meant. Back then if you'd said you'd shot a "150 Class Buck", they would have thought you meant that it weighted 150 pounds. Hunters certainly appreciated a beautiful rack and when someone shot a nice buck they got the head mounted, put the antlers on a plaque, nailed the "horns"up on a barn, etc., but scoring never entered anyone's mind. The only number attached to a rack was the number of points it had.

Today we seem to be obsessed with scoring. It's rare to see a picture of a big buck without the score accompanying it. It has helped create a very different environment. We now have deer farms, hunting preserves, etc. where the cost of killing a buck is based on the score of the buck.....the higher the score, the more it costs. People are managing deer herds by planting food plots, killing "Management Bucks", etc. all in an effort to produce bucks that will score higher.

I knowhumans are naturallyvery competitive creatures. We love statistics, records, and all of that. I think the scoring of big game animals is somewhat related to what we see in athletics. Those of uswho follow football, baseball, etc. grow up on statistics. Every baseball fan knows that Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs, Ted Williams was the last batter to hit .400 (.406 actually), Joe Dimaggio hit in 56 straight games,etc. I guess it was just a natural progression to feel a need to assign numbers to the game we hunt, the fish we catch, etc. I just wonder if we haven't lost something along the way as a result of it.

I've personally seen people who have been very excited after shooting a big buck become disappointed very quickly when the tape measure is pulled out and the buck doesn't score as high as they thought it would.That just seems wrong to me. Why should a number make a person feel either good or bad? Or how about the guy who shoots a beautiful buck that scores 169 6/8?Take a guess how many times that buck will be remeasured to try to squeeze an extra 2/8" out so it will "Make the Book"?

I havelooked at antlers for sale on ebay.The higher the score, the higher the price. Many hunting contests are based on score. A buck that is old and wise enough to grow a huge rack is far more than what can be reflected in a number.

Ipersonally think scoring has taken something away from hunting. Idon't think it is sending a very good message to the younger hunters just starting out. Scoring in itself is not a bad thing, but it seems to have taken the front seat at the expense of the total deer hunting experience. I know we all enjoy the sunrises, spending time with our friends and family, eating the venison from the deer we kill, but it's the score that is getting most of the ink these days. I think we need to take a few steps back.....