RE: Ground Growth??
 

Having ground shrinkage is rare for me. They are usually just what I thought they were or a bit bigger. Occasionally, they grow quite a bit when I get to them. That is always a pleasant surprise.

RE: Ground Growth??
 

Yeah.. the buck I killed this year turned out to be larger than I thought he was originally..

I will tell you one thing.. he got much much nuch heavier the closer we got to the top of the hill!!!

RE: Ground Growth??
 

LOL! I had that happen one year. My friend and I were dragging out my buck one year and had originally guessed it to dress at 180. After about 100 yards it was 190. At 200 yards it was close to 200. Finally got it to a scale and it was 220! Wow, were we off on that one.:D

RE: Ground Growth??
 

I honestly thought my best buck....I shot this year....was a 4x2. I was on the phone with Rob/PA when I walked up on him. It was a magical sight (compared to what I thought I was going to find). He's no monster.....but he was the most beautiful deer I'd ever seen at that moment.

RE: Ground Growth??
 

All my bucks shrink the second the fur touches the ground. I'm definitely guilty of "seeing what I wanna see" from the stand.

I'm usually a pretty good recorder of what I see in the field, but whena shooter comes into range and I've got a weapon in my hands, the racks just grow and grow and grow.

I've had a few pleasant surprises, but as a general rule, I either shot exactly what I thought I shot, or something slightly smaller.

If I'm scouting, I think I'm really fair at assessing what I see. Now, if I'm hunting, I'll say there's probably a 25-50% chance that I will slightly over-judge the deer, just because I want so desperately to shoot. Now, I'm not saying that I would mistake a spike for a 5x5, but if I say it's 14", it's probably 12-13". If I say it's 18", it's probably 16.5.

The ultimate question is: If you KNOW that you're overjudging them, are you REALLY overjudging them?

RE: Ground Growth??
 

I have had a few buck's have some ground growage, typically the larger buck since they tend to have the junk around the bases you don't see once I have decided it is a shooter and only focus on shot placement

RE: Ground Growth??
 

the deer alwas get bigger
like whin i got the 8 pointer i thought it was small
but it ended up being a 205 pound it was grat
same thing with the does

RE: Ground Growth??
 

Hey Fran ...thanks for your honesty. I am sure many folks actually see what they want to see. I know I have in the past. The best thing for me is to getshed or video of a buck then break him down from there.

Ive had it happen to me both ways..ground growage and shrinkage. One of the bucks I shot last season grew on me. I thought he was a solid 145-150...but didnt realize he was6x6 thinking he was a 5x5. He scored much better due to the extra tines. My brother shot his buck this season. I watched it all and he and I both messed that judgement up based on his palmation. We thought he was better than he was. We miss judged him and after the kill both looked at each other miffed...it was a buck we had never seen before.