avid_bowhunter2005

Well, a 4 pt.er wouldn't score much.... I think.... no, I don't care.

DannyinGeorgia

Yes, it does to me. Let's face it, in most cases a young deer is much easier to get the drop on than a mature deer. I associate big numbers with older deer and a bigger accomplishment.
Are you telling me that if all deer had the same rack(say,the rack of a 1/2 year old 4 pointer), you would hunt as much as you do?
I wouldn't. I would hunt, but probably would not be obsessed with it.

GVDocHoliday

I don't care what my deer scores...I only care if it's a big doe for meat, or a big buck to brag about to my buddies. I don't shoot anything in between...Meat/Trophy...in that order.

GR8atta2d

Yes it means everything. But not the final score, I call it the "wow factor". If it's a deer that I'll be proud of, when I see him on the hoof, I'll be proud of him when I put the final tape on him and send him to the taxidermy guy.

I'm not a meat hunter and I pass my share of smaller bucks. That;s my choice, it hasn't always been this way but it is now and has been for the last 3-4 years. I don't try to shape others into my view-point and I expect the same courtesy.

atlasman

I see a lot of guys saying stuff like "I don't say anything to people who shoot small bucks and I expect the same treatment in return"


No one is saying anything about either scenerio being right or wrong.

All I was asking is does the SCORE really mean that much to people.

Look at the Zaft buck......reguardless of the foggy details That is one freaking awesome deer. However when iy was scored it turned into "Just another big deer" score wise anyway. Now say what you want about that deer but damn I can't see how someone would think any less of it just because of some arbitrary number assigned to it from a group of strangers trying to sell a book.


I shot a big buck (for my area) last year and had it scored because I didn't even know how it was done and was curious. He scored 122 1/8". That number means NOTHING to me. It doesn't make me think he is a better deer then a 110 class buck or any less a deer then a 140 class buck. That buck is such a rare find in the woods I hunt and provided me with such a great memory I will treasure for life...............that no number could ever come close to expressing.

When people ask me about my deer I show them a picture or the mount.


I just view "scoring" as a search for validation or approval from others and a tangible way for guys to say that their deer is "better" then others.


I can't possibly comprehend how someone could be disappointed or feel less about a buck they killed based soley on some ficticuos number given to that animal by a total stranger working for a money making book seller.

atlasman

ABSOLUTELY

GR8atta2d

Atlasman, we are just trying to head-off the QDM topic. You've been around long enough to see those topics on the boards. They tend to get ugly and we (or at least I) didn't want to go there again by responding to your thread.

Antler Eater

The decision on the scoring of this buck was HUGE. It meant the difference between being an archery world record typical whitetail with all of the monetary rewards and residuals or as you put it "just another big deer". Hence Zaft's disdain for Pope & Young, and a reason for disappointment. I don't think anyone looks "down" on the actual animal because of a scoring decision.


Maybe I am reading you wrong, but it seems the essence of your post is
disparaging to those who are interested in scoring their bucks. Therefore you get the comments like you alluded to.

Your opinion, and one that you have every right to have, is fine. However, the words you use to describe your reasoning are very belittling to to a large group of upstanding and outstanding hunters. If you had said something like "scores don't mean that much to me because every deer is a trophy in my eyes" I could understand that just fine. But to make the above statement is down right offensive.

Perhaps there are some, but I don't know of any true bow hunter that fits the above description. Many hunters have bucks scored that though they qualify, are not listed in the "money making book..". The numbers by the way, are not "fictitious", they are factual. Actual measurements, real numbers. Of course you know that because you had one measured.

I know of a guy that killed a buck that scored 169 7/8". He really wanted to net that 170 mark and qualify for Boone and Crockett. Was he disappointed in his buck or the experience because he missed it by an eighth of an inch.? Not at all. Was he disappointed that he didn't hit the 170 mark? Sure, but it doesn't make him feel less about the buck!

When I look at the totality of your posts, the one that seems to be hung up on scores is Atlas.

NY Bowhunter

Without a doubt.

That's kinda sad IMO.

GR8atta2d

Well i'm glad they are not all alike, and we don't have to worry about that. I rabbit, squirrel and other small game hunt and they are all alike (basically) so i'd still hunt.
But the obsession of chasing 1 buck all year or a certain quality of deer is certainly consuming. It's a different passion than just shooting what-ever-comes-by. It gets personal, so I can see his point.

Once again I'm not putting anyone down or saying this or that about how "you" hunt it's just my thing.