I can't. I was born and brought up back east.

I go along with it, because I don't want to called a doofus.

I thought it was a mule deer that was called a 4x4 if it had 4 points on each antler. And a white tail was always called by the total number of points on both antlers no matter where you are from?

i count all points on a deer. Like the Colorado DOW booklet tells you to do.

I will always be a Wyomingite at heart. Currently I'm a Minnesotan by wife. I will always refer to my deer as a 2x2 or a 5x5 or whatever it may be. Here's the best I can figure it.

First, how many deer have you seen that have a different number of points on each side? It's much more descriptive to tell how many points are on each side. Just saying it's a 10 point could imply that there's one weird antler growing straight out of the middle of its head and it has 10 stickers growing out of it.

The other reason, and I suspect this is probably more likely, is it makes the deer bigger.
Example: If you measure a room, you give the dimensions of each side, such as 5'x5'. But technically the room is 25'. Using the same very obvious math, Chets deer is 5 points x 5 points. So Chet, you can refer to your deer as a 5x5 because your humble, but in all honesty that would be a 25 point.

We don't walk when we can ride; we don't stand when we can sit; we don't count when we don't need to.

We are economical with just about everything, including words. When a fella comes into hunting camp to share stories by the fire, he say i killed me a 6 point bull today; or he say i killed a 5 point whitetail this morning. The vast majority of mule deer are 4 point bucks. Some are big, some are old, some are young, some are small. Usually a mule deer buck is a 4 point, unless it is a fork horn. We talk this way, because our dad, grandpa, or uncle did. We haven't thought about why.

A possible 'why', may be whilst hunting, and one sees a bull, or a buck, one quick glance at the antlers reveals to the 'seasoned' hunter a 4 point buck, or a 5, or 6 point bull without counting. The seasoned hunter doesn't count points as he is getting ready to shoot, he just glances at the antlers, and 'knows' it is a 4 point mule deer, or a 6 point bull.

Westerners don't seem to waste effort. Westerners don't walk when they can ride, nor stand when they can sit, nor count when they 'know'. Ma may still think me lazy, but i think me is economical.

And that's perfectly fine. I just never knew the reason behind it. Sounds like from what you're saying is just 'the way it's always been'.

FWIW, I don't count points when I see buck. I do that after they are on the ground and I can take as much time as I like then.

I may get in trouble for this but it might be antlers with over 10 points they have to take their shoes off to count and its cold out there!
Thus counting points using one hand works better.

JW

You're in trouble.

Who's got the rope!!

Hey, I got a couple buds with that same problem!! Here's their dinks from a few days ago:

Westerners were all Easterners at one time...

It always tickles me that folks from Texas think they are so special...
Who in the heck settled Texas???

Folks from back East...