njbuck22

I was just wondering how/ if you all try to field judge the racks of the deer you see? I try to, and im getting alittle better now that im holding out for larger deer, but i still am not always that accurate. How do you judge a bucks score when you see him walking down the trail? When i was in texas, the guide i was with said for an averagedeer with a spread as wide as his ears ( about 16 inches), you can start with a base score of 80, then all you have to do is estimate the tine lenghts on one side and double it for a pretty accurate score. Unfortunately i never got the opportunity to field judge one last year and then actually put tape on one. Just curious as to your techniques.

HuntingEd

I normally use ear width as a start then body size and just experience.... Usually if he's past his ears has solid mass and 8 or more points i'll take him. Now if im hunting a paticular buck i've scouted, got on camera or seen before I'll wait for him unless another big one shows...After passing up many bucks it doesnt take long to ID a shooter... If i have time i study w/ the binocs in order to minimize ground shrinkage...

We set a min on our property of 30". In otherwords... if hes 20" wide he needs to be 10" high or vice versa. If its questionable if he'll be 30" we dont shoot.