Honestly, I've lived in enough regions that everyone weighs them differently. I typically gut them on the spot when I find them and weigh them as dressed though. To give you an example of how big they are in southern tier NY and northern tier PA area......my 06' rifle buck in NY was aged as 3.5 and weighed in at 158 dressed. He didn't have an ounce of fat on him either and was killed well after the rut......I believe he was taken on 11/26.......I imagine he would have been a bit heavier back in October.



Edit - Andspeaking ofrecovering, this guy somehow damaged the pedicle on his right side as a youngster and never recovered. I have a european mount of him and there is really nothing now on the skull but a num....no defined pedicle. My buddy Dan saw and passed this year the year before I shot him and he had the same type of antler on his head too........just smaller. Other than the rack though, he was a very healthy deer. You should have seen the scars on his head and neck though from fighting.