Obsession with score (antler score that is)

[Smokecity13]

I think it just depends on the situation and the hunter. I am probably in the same category as you, but that's because I do not hunt my own land or my own lease. I always hunt other's property. For me getting an opportunity to shoot a mature doe or buck with my bow is rare so I am thrilled to get something at all. However, for guys who hunt a lot or are looking for long term management it makes sense to always strive for something bigger or better. To each their own and am just glad we all share a common love for the outdoors and bowhunting.

[sniper steve]

I've shot some huge bucks, I generally don't even measure them. My biggest I only know was 203 5/8" because the taxidermist measured it while he had it. I've chased a couple old does that were every bit as much of a trophy as that 300 lb 20 point nontypical.

[stickman]

Not a score freak but I love shooting mature deer. One of my favorite deer was at least 9yrs old but only scored about 100". He had a massive roman nose and weighed over 200lbs. On 500 LF acres bordered by nueces river and 14,000 low fence acres. Odds seemed low but this was my deer. It took me 6 weeks to kill him, I chose him as my management buck that year. I learned where he bedded, which routes he would take, and what times he would be at a particular spot every morning. With the wind right and a few hot does in the area he slipped up, gave me a 20 yard shot, after a 60yd death run he was mine. Truly one of my favorite bucks I have chased. I guess I can see the score thing being a big deal but score doesn't matter if you look at a deer and it's impressive. I've seen some deer that were 140" that were way more impressive in my eyes than 170" freak.

[GarGuy]

Score is not everything to me but it is a consideration. I love a mature 6pt that only scores 110! That said, when i go bowling, I love to see the ball strike and the pins fall but at the end, I add up the score too.

[Bowtech38]

I'm obsessed with putting meat in the freezer.

My trophy is a full freezer also

[DRT]

And for all the guys who say meat is what they are after then don't shoot mature deer. I can tell you they aren't good table fare. I shot a 7 year old buck that is nothing but gristle. A three year old doe has plenty of tasty meat on her for you "meat" hunters.

[Chunky]

If you haven't noticed the human species is a little bit competitive. Especially males of said species. We also strive on setting and reaching a challenge. Score of deer is a way to achieve both of those concepts.

I think it is partly genetically built into us. That being said, people hunt for all types of reasons, stress relief, love of nature, they enjoy the feeling of eating something they caught or killed, etc....

Over the years, as a hunting community we have also moved toward herd management of deer. We want to shoot deer that are mature and need to be taken. More of a long term outlook. When you start managing you also start grading and measuring.

I say, if that is not the way you think, just ignore those.

[Shiloh]

I'm in the same camp as Bisch about trying to hunt the bigger bucks in the area I'm hunting based upon what I believe is in the area. To me, any animal is a trophy, but the bigger deer (in a particular area) are the rare deer in that particular area.
I definitely do not equate antler size or score as a measure of a hunter's ability. The method of killing the trophy is clearly the measure of a hunter's ability (with a little luck mixed in of course). This is easily demonstrated:
My wife has never hunted in her life. I can take her to the rifle range and spend a couple hours teaching her how to shoot my scoped rifles. Then we can go to the Y/O Ranch, spend $7,500 and she can easily nock down the 160" deer who will appear from the clump of bushes over there (the ones that the guide says he will come from), scrape and pee under that bush over there, and walk right under the feeder - where she can now let the air out of him. That picture of her behind that buck means nothing other than she killed a deer.

[Pineywoods]

Score is not everything to me but it is a consideration. I love a mature 6pt that only scores 110! That said, when i go bowling, I love to see the ball strike and the pins fall but at the end, I add up the score too.

If you haven't noticed the human species is a little bit competitive. Especially males of said species. We also strive on setting and reaching a challenge. Score of deer is a way to achieve both of those concepts.

I think it is partly genetically built into us. That being said, people hunt for all types of reasons, stress relief, love of nature, they enjoy the feeling of eating something they caught or killed, etc....

Over the years, as a hunting community we have also moved toward herd management of deer. We want to shoot deer that are mature and need to be taken. More of a long term outlook. When you start managing you also start grading and measuring.

I say, if that is not the way you think, just ignore those.

This is my thinking as well...

[Shiloh]

To me - a 120" buck killed out of Davy Crockett national forest with a Trad bow out of a ground blind is 100 times the trophy of the deer I described above

[Chunky]

Here is a little story on score. My youngest daughter was trying to get her first deer with a rifle, I think she was eleven. A group of four came in, three does, one really big, and a button buck. I whispered to my daughter to shoot the big one....and the button buck went down. Not what we wanted, but not the end of the world.

We went to town to get ice, and while in line to pay, the guys behind us noticed our camo and started talking hunting. They asked what kind of deer we were seeing and told me that the best deer on there place would go about 130. You know the normal small talk.

Kelby listen quietly and when we got back I the truck she asked what all those numbers were about. I told her that there was a way of scoring buck deer. She looked right at me and asked what her buck would score.

At first I froze, I mean her buck didn't even really have hard antlers out of the skin, but she had just shot her first deer....so...what is dad to do. I told her...well I am going to give you a half inch on each side for main beams (exaggeration), I will give you another half each each side for a mass measurement (not even), and I will give you a three inch inside spread for a grand total of 5 B&C points.

Her eyes lit up and she did a Tiger Woods type fist pump and said YEAH!!!

Now she has a better deer than me, but that was her start.

[ghostgoblin22]

if I had a farm with mature deer that had a good amount of bucks over 120'' id probably be a score guy, but my farm I just have a lot of does and small amount of legal bucks and a few good ones, any deer on my farm taken is a trophy to me at least, I don't hate on anyone for being a score guy because if you had the farm it would bring a different mindset

[Muddy Bud]

Shooting a high scoring deer would be nice. But it won't be the decision maker for me. If the animal is mature and I like him I'll take him regardless of inches. If I ever devolvep a overwhelming desire to have to kill something, I have a ton of does that probably taste alot better anyway.

[bow4my2]

Shooting a high scoring deer would be nice. But it won't be the decision maker for me. If the animal is mature and I like him I'll take him regardless of inches. If I ever devolve a overwhelming desire to have to kill something, I have a ton of does that probably taste alot better anyway.

Yup

[Sleepy]

Score hasn't mattered much to me. When I went to Kansas, the guide was going through pictures showing me target bucks and kept going on and on about what they scored. I finally said look, score is great and all, but at the end of the day, I might like the looks of that 150 better than that 160 and I'd rather take that lower scoring deer because I personally just like the way he looks. If it's a rack that I know I would like to look at for a long time on my wall and it's mature, I'll take it and not think twice about the score.