Field Judging Bucks

[Gus]

With all this big buck talk going around, it got me wondering if any you big buck killers have any tricks you use to judge the animal. I know there is some good literature out there on this topic, but what do any of you have to say about it?

[mark]

Go to the boone and crocket web site, scoring your trophy. Try scoring all of your own racks. Then you will learn what tines and measurements are important for scoring. You will also know what all your bucks score, and then be able to compare bucks in the feild, to bucks youve already taken! As well, whenever you see a nice buck mounted ask the owner about the score, you begin to get a good idea!

[Mulie_Hunter]

Usually my judging is relative to the ears (height above etc.) and mass of the antlers, Snow is decieving giving the misconception of more mass than is actually present. If the antlers protude past the ears before branching skyward then you have yourself a winner, heh.

[Caveman]

First rule of thumb, if you have to use your binos at 125 yds....Pass. Second, look for the spred to be well out side the ears. Judging a big buck from a small one is easy it is determining the monster from the very good buck that is hard. Mass, Tine Length, Symentry or alot of Extra Trash. If the rack isn't well outside the ears it will need to be Very Tall.

[MattB]

Spread isnt everything guys, especially in BC where we have a lot of 20-24" wide Monsters! Most importantly I Look for mass, tine length, main beam length (tough to judge) and as a last resort look for good brows. Most of the time when you see a Big Buck you will know and there will be no second guessing!

[JMac]

Yeah spread only takes ya so far. It's just one measurement! Look for big front end first. Main beams and big front forks (G4s). Some bucks look super wide goin away due to their ears being laid back. Tine length + main beams + mass + spread (last) = TOAD.