I see a rash of posts lately with the question "What do you think he will score?" included somewhere.

My question is do you guys REALLY care what some book says your deer scores?

and if that "score" turns out to be less then you hoped..........do you then feel not as good about the deer as you would have if the score was higher??


It is mind boggling to me how some people can have this HUGE brute of a buck on the ground and still need the validation of someone else to say how good a deer it is.


Maybe I am reading into it wrong..........I mean I could see if depending on the score you have a new world record and lots of income on the line........but I can't imagine any other scenerio that would warrant any concern over what number they say your deer falls into.

140-150-160-170............how important is that??...........when compared to the true treasure of the memory of that hunt that only YOU get to play over and over in your mind for the rest of your life..........and the years of stories you tell when someone sees him on your wall.


Just seems like scoring has been obsessive around here lately so I thought I would ask.

i really could care less what it scores i am with you on the memories and stories you can have and tell. but then again when i am hunting i could careless how big the deer is or how many points it has if its dumb enough to walk past me it should be shot. in my book all deer are trophies no matter how big or small

just my 2 cents

i really dont care what a buck scores, a nice buck is a nice buck. i dont really hunt for antlers cant eat them anyway. if you score a on big one great thats all good but would you want media all over you and people coming over everyday asking to see him? maybe for a little bit but then i think id go crazy but yea im a meat hunter, if a good buck comes by great ill shoot him but other than that no i dont care what a buck scores. IMO

I really dont care about score either. I have two pope and youngs and never put them in the book.. I'd rather work HARD for a buck and have it be a GREAT hunt and be a smaller buck, than shoot a BOOK buck and happen to walk onto some preserve or someones back yard and shoot it.

NOPE... never have measured one and probably never will. It just doesn't concern me. If
someone tells me a buck scored something... I say to myself... how nice for the deer.
Was it nice, big or bodacious.

You can't eat bone...well, you can, but it would be sorta hard!

davidmil, Nice fishin poles you got there!

I could care less. I hunt for the meat. I would sooner take a big doe over a small buck with a big rack. I like to make sausage, steaks, cube steaks, jerkey, hamburger, bologna and whatever else we try. I will take whatever deer comes in front of me whether it is 50 lbs or 250. First come first served....Biggest in the group though takes the weapon of choice. I concentrate on filling every tag I have in either of the three seasons with whatever weapon is legal at the time..and then I go back and fill up on bonus tags until the season is over. 11 deer last year, 34 between the three of us here. 5 deep freezers and many meals later we are nearing the bottom but fillin' er back up!!!! Who cares what they score.....

Yes I do care what my buck will score. I don't pass judgements on any other persons Bow kill. I will reserve the right to say "nice deer" if it was done with a gun.

Enjoy of the hunt? Yes that is what makes it so much fun. I've had the opportunity to watch some really nice bucks just this season alone. Knowing they wouldn't score high enough to top off the year being my personal trophy. I have let bigger deer walk now over the years then I have killed. You know now they seem to be getting more and more plentiful. Real fun is watching a very nice buck under your stand and let him walk waiting for the bigger one. Try it, it's addictive.

You are so correct. It is kind of disrespectful to the animal you just harvested.

IMHO, the only reason for scoring is to one-up someone else (read: immaturity). If you felt good about the deer when you shot it, what does it matter now that it is dead?

EVERY deer is a trophy in my book. Sure, I hunt for the big boys just like most, but I give it my own personal score first - that determines whether the arrow flies or not.

Yeah, I care what a buck scores. When I look at a buck through my bino's if I dont think he will score over a certain number and if hes not a mature buck, then I dont shoot. I lease part of the ranch out to a group of guys each year. I wont allow them to shoot any "trophy" bucks unless they are mature, and I have to know the score of the deer (along with other things) for my personal records. Around here measuring a buck is the first thing that is done after he is shot and field dressed. I'm not in a competition against anybody I simply like big deer, and I like shooting big deer.