What’s more important to you and why? “Scoring”

Just wondering what guys think in terms of the score of their deer. There is a lot of talk on here about what deer score and wonder how much that plays in what you harvest?

Questions I have thought about:

Gross, or Net Score?

Will others harvest a bigger buck if they know it has a lot of deductions, or give it another year and hope it balances out?

I personally do not care much about score, have always passed on bucks that have not been above the 16″ inside spread range. (Resulting in me shooting only one buck in the past 8 years, many does though. Just something I was wondering as I was putting my things together for the weekend.

Gross score only nets are for fishing

To me score doesnt matter if he looks good he goes home in the truck

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To me score doesnt matter if he looks good he goes home in the truck

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My thoughts exactly. Of course, my biggest deer pale in comparison to the stuff we see here also.

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Gross score only nets are for fishing

To me score doesnt matter if he looks good he goes home in the truck

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Same here….

I’m not huge on scoring in the field (yet). If I think he will make a great addition to my game room, then I’ll take him. Now with that being said, I do make sure he’s over 130″ (currently). I’ll probably up that standard in the next few years.

I’m a huge fan of width and mass, that’s the first thing I look for and notice. Long points and extra “junk” is just icing on the cake.

I don’t buy into the B&C scoring. SCI all the way. If you ask me deductions=character.

I don’t put much thought on score when it comes right down to taking the shot. Age is the main factor for me. I’ll admit, I do score all my deer and use it as a reference. Net score means nothing to me. Nets are for fish. No sense in taking away from an animal just because he’s not perfect, god knows I’m not! If your into score, remember that spread is only counted once. There is a lot of deer with small spreads that score really well. Main beam length and mass are a huge plus in the score dept. Good luck to all going out this weekend!

WOW! You guys type fast!

If I find myself “questioning” whether or not to shoot the buck, I already know the answer. When I do shoot it is the gross score that would ultimatly matter. A stud is a stud, deductions or not.

Gross score only, give the deer the credit for what they actually grew. I would like to say age is the most important for me as well but if a buck is in that 150″ range its not going to matter to me if he 3.5 or 4.5 albeit most deer scoring that high are probably 4.5. Score is important to me but on the same token if he is a neat looking buck but not going to score great I would have to make that decision in the field.

I do not push a scoring minimum on the guy that hunts with me, I only ask that it be something they are proud of. To him that could be a good 2.5 year old buck and I am happy for him if he gets it!

Im with Gut on this one as well

Same here Gross score only Net score I could care less.

I try to decide quickly by: Score first, then age if I have time. I try to harvest 3.5 year olds or older, but some 3.5’s don’t make the score. Like said. Usually you can just tell if it is a buck you want or not. Late Season Public land there has been some hard decisions though!

On the “easy decision” thing, maybe bow hunting, but really gun hunting you know right away if the deer is big enough coming through the woods on the run after being kicked up? I guess maybe if you are holding out for a 150-160+ it might be, but I never see them that big.

I find it damn hard. 1.5 year olds are easy. 2.5’s and 3.5 can be tough on the run or even on a trot through the woods. For me anyway.

To me, the size of the deer I try kill depends alot on where I am hunting. Say I’m hunting in Buffalo County , score mean’s alot. I know the potential so I am being pretty picky. If I am hunting around home here in MN, again I know the potential and I will lower my standards but will still probably kill a doe.

Gross or Net? I understand why B&C and P&Y use a net score but I don’t believe in deductions. Score the animal with what he has grown not what he is lacking. Like others have said, Nets are for fishing.

I agree with everyone above – gross only matters to me as well along with age. I also score all my bucks just as a reference tool but really could care less when comparing those bucks to others. I love capturing a mature buck on a trail camera and then hunting that specific buck. That means whether it’s a 130 incher or a 160 incher. If he’s mature (3.5 years or older) and is the biggest buck on the property, that is what I will try to harvest. Or vice versa, if I get a good buck on camera but I think he’s still young with a lot of potential, I will pass him up regardless of what I think he would score.

yea love the character! pretty much know right away if a shooter or not. “nets are for fish” I agree with that.

also like to add, the slick domes are easy to score and taste great

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also like to add, the slick domes are easy to score

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Don’t know how you can argue with that!

Gross only, net is for the books. Although I have passed on some 140″ class this year with each having one broken G2, this bringing there gross into the low 130’s. Tough to do knowing taxidermist can fix that and make it look like it was never gone.
I have a minimum and go for that or above.

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Im with Gut on this one as well

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Same here

Age is all I look at when deciding to shoot. As far as score I could care less about entering an animal in one of the “books” so gross score is the only thing I look at.

I’ve always used the holy!@#$%%^^ factor.Shoot the trashy ones that when you see them there is no question.If not just let them walk.Lots of”burned tags” the last few years but when one is down they are good enough to remember.Trash gets them shot….

I’ve never understood the deduction thing that B&C have going on. When sans guns (archery)I think I always have the time to decided shooter or not including the age factor. If it’s 3.5 and older and a crappy rack, take ’em out of the gene pool he just aint gonna get any better and no one is going to read about it in the papers or here on IDO. But if it looks like there is potential, let ’em go and watch ’em grow…

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Gross score only nets are for fishing

To me score doesnt matter if he looks good he goes home in the truck

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Sadly I have to agree with gut on this one!

Thanks for the input here. I was also wondering about the bad racks factor. We have one on camera for two years now and looks shakey at best. Would this get hammered?

If you got pictures of him like that two years in a row – I would take him out if I had a chance.

He’ll make great sausage!!

He was a 4X2 last year

Darin any idea on age???

I think I would also take him out, unless I thought he was 3.5 this year.

Let the air out of him!

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Darin any idea on age???

I think I would also take him out, unless I thought he was 3.5 this year.

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I would guess 3.5. he had a solid body size last year. and one side the rack was solid. Just with his other side matched.

that is a tough one darin…my first thought is shooter, but he may make a great 4.5 year old however I go back to shooter when I think about him spreading the genes if he never evens out so I say cull him

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that is a tough one darin…my first thought is shooter, but he may make a great 4.5 year old however I go back to shooter when I think about him spreading the genes if he never evens out so I say cull him

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Devil’s advocate. Outthinking myself. Pretty easy to do.

What if he just injured the left side as a young guy and has permanent damage. His right side is showing potential. At 4.5, he could be pretty decent on the right anyway. So, maybe his genes aren’t so bad???