fetzeriiif

I walk over to their pen and ask them. Although, they tend to lie.

davidmil

Obviously copied from a book or some such place. I want you to tell me at 30 yards a deers eye is 1 1/2 inches. I want you to tell me that the ear is 7-8 inches and not 6 3/4. I go by mass, length of snout, width or horns to ears, body size and belly hang. I don't have time to figure out if something is 1 1/2 inches at 30 or 100 yards. I really doubt you can do that either.

adoutfitter

I like to use Buckeye's measurement method on trail cam pictures to get a rough estimate on what a deer might score. I measured several mounts on the wall and got reference point measurements then blew up the picture in abobe photo until it matched the measurements then i would measure the picture on the screen and record the measurements. later when we found the shed it was pretty accurate on tine lenght, but it is almost impossable to measure mass in a 2D or flat picture.

buckeye

Sorry bro, this was not taken from a book. I took these measurements at my buddies taxidermy studio a couple years ago ona fewof the kills he got in for theyear. I measured probably 20 some mature whitetails to come up with these figures. Has someone ever published something similar? That I don't know.... I wanted to take the measurements to aid me in field judging deer while I was summer glassing and videoing.

I do a lot of summer glassing and going over trail cam photos and these are references that I use. You also must have missed the "aprox",I was using thatshort for approximately killer. Go find someone else's thread to go piss in, you don't care about score blah blah blah, guess what? I do. Score is not the final word in if an animal is "worthy" of my arrow but I like to know what I am shooting at. Thats just me though..... You keep on shooting them and sorting them out after the fact.

In case you missed this part in the original post I will highlight it so maybe you will catch it this time.......

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wis_bow_huntr

Why do you think its so hard to judge a yearling and a mature doe apart. The ears are the same size. I never use ear size as a reference point. I use the face. The longer and darker the face, the older the deer. Also I use the stomach bow, the more drop in a deer a deers stomach the older the deer may be. As for field judging bucks, I just guess, Ive seen enough bucks to be able to rough estimate and tell the difference between a 130 class buck and a 150 class buck.

GMMAT

I really rely on my game cam photos for reference to deer I've already seen and targeted. It's a benefit of having them.

My only real "measurement", at this stage of deer hunting (to me).....is whether or not it is larger than last year's buck.

That's it.

njbuck22

When i hunted in Texas 2 years back, i had this same conversation with the one guide as to what is the best way to quickly estimate a rack while in stand. His answer actually makes sense and is rather accurate. He said that on a "typical" 8 point, meaning a 4 x 4 rack, with average mass and an inside spread that is ear to ear, which he said to use 16 inches for to be safe, use a beginning score of 80 This score of 80 will be roughly what the inside spread, main beams and mass measurements will add up to on the buck. Then just look at one side of his rack, quickly estimate the lengths of his3 tines, add them together and double it and you will be in the ballpark of where the deer scores. Meaning, if you see a 8 point with a rack that is as wide as his ears, a brow tine of 4 inches, G2 of 9 inches and G3 of 7 inches, he will score roughly somewhere around 120". Obviously this isnt a foolproof method, but it will give you a starting point to quickly judge a deer while out in the woods and not having the luxury of time to analize him better.

bloodcrick

I rely on comparing to mounts i have at home that have been scored, or sheds i have measured, or buddys bucks that i know what the score is. I ask alot of questions atmy taxi about what some of them score to compare with bucks in the field.I look at the mass= H measurments, how heavy it is all the way through and the spread compared to ear tip distance. side to side evenness really screws me up, i need work in that area [&o]Long Brows are a pev of mine also, i love them for pumping up score But there is those bucks that in an instant the field judging goes second hat to just knowing it is a shooter (when hunting) scouting is another story, or those iffy bucks that sometimes play with our emotions when they come into a setup and you have the angle devil thingy on your shoulders.[8D] Bad position to be in at timesbut it dont get any better than that, cause it gives you that shot of adreniline we all so crave

GregH

I have been field judging deer for over 15 years. I've gotten much better at from tons of practice. When I'm trying to judge one in a hurry before he takes off, I use the following methods.

1) Score one side, # of points and their length.
2) Estimate mass, 14, 15, 16.....18 etc.
3) Beam length, 19, 20 ......25 etc.
4) Add 1-3 and double it.
5) Add in estimated inside spread.

For me, mass estimates come from being familiar with known deer that I've measured. 15 - on the slim side, 18 - on the heavy side. This comes from experience with the deer from my area.

Beam length, again, is from deer that I've measured. I have a picture in my head of what a 22 or 24 looks like. This one can be difficult because there many variables. Ex. Spread, how much curl and how far towards the end of the nose the tips are when veiwed from the side.

Inside spread, this one is a bit easier. In my area, 2 1/2s ears are about 16" tip to tip. 3 1/2s are about 17 and 4 1/2 s and older are about 18"s t to t.

From practice, I take a mental picture of the deer and can mull it over in my mind after he's gone and come up with a pretty accurate score.

If things are happening in a hurry and I have to decide to shoot or not, I've got pics in my mind of what 120, 130, 140... 180 class deer look like.

It's always the best if you take one look and go "holy S---T!" and just get ready to shoot!

GMMAT

That's about the most honest and intelligent thing I've read so far in this thread. Who has time to do all the calculation? Admittedly....I don't have a lot of experience with judging live deer on the hoof (big, live, deer). There's websites out there for yout o judge their score.....and I did darned well last time I "played". I get fooled, some....but I'm usually close. I also know when I'm in over my head (kickstand????....lol).

Isn't it as simple as saying.....I'm out for a 130" (relate this to your area or your criteria).....and then knowing what that looks like (I ASK this with no judgement. It seems like it wouldn't be that big of a deal).

Again....only asking.....do you guys REALLY go through all of those measurements and calculations when you're hunting? Or....do you do what GregH states, above.

Thanks.