How often do you get "big" deer on camera?

[drake799]

Every year just depresses me looking at pics from my place. Same song and dance every year. Bunch first year deer and 2-4 deer that I deem need another year Pics decrease as season goes on and next year it's a new batch of deer in same age class. I just assume most are killed during season I know there no way to prove they're killed just know how my neighbors are A "decent" deer gets shot. I really don't worry much about deer hunting though for that simple reason.

 

[BSK]

No it sure doesn't. Worse yet when they see guys on TV rattling off numbers, calling a 100" 2yr old a 130 incher.

Dad sent my brother and I to taxidermy school when I was a teenager. Wasn't my thing but my brother turned out to be rather good at it and does it to this day. When I'm in town for a visit we always make a point to get together and hunt, play pool, whatever. Many times through the years I've been there when he scored bucks for folks, and it's amazing how many will get upset and some even argue because they just know the buck is bigger. He and I can score the same buck and generally are inside half an inch of same score, so it's a fairly exact science that you cant really screw up. Folks who don't actually put tape to horn just don't know. I've scored many, many, many bucks and still won't guess without running some rough numbers first.

Have a family member that goes to North Dakota every year to deer hunt. His guide is always telling him about all the 150-class bucks his clients kill each year. Well my family member finally kills one of those 150" bucks. He gets it home and I score it. 125".

 

[Ski]

These numbers are in line with what I am thinking except for mass.

The mass guesses are only based on other deer I've actually measured with similar looking racks. It could very well have more mass or less.Considering the eyeball is an inch diameter, or 3.14" circumference, if the base is noticeably larger than the eyeballs then the measurements will reflect it. But I agree, get him down so we can find out!

 

[Ski]

Have a family member that goes to North Dakota every year to deer hunt. His guide is always telling him about all the 150-class bucks his clients kill each year. Well my family member finally kills one of those 150" bucks. He gets it home and I score it. 125".

That's horrible. But he still goes year after year so apparently it doesn't affect their business by fluffing numbers.

I don't get it. Taping a tallying deer only takes a few minutes and if you aren't sure or know how, there are instructions and automatic tally sheets available online. I really believe exact score is one of those things people purposely stay ignorant of because it defeats their fluffed up estimates.

 

[redblood]

I think this 8 will go close to 140. Ive got him on camera the last 3 years. Never seen him while hunting.
View attachment 159639

Wow. Nice one

 

[redblood]

I'm too new here to answer. However, I'm curious about your scoring guesses on this buck.
View attachment 158278
Hard to see the whole rack, I know.

130 or so. But his score don't matter. That is a 5.5 yr old beast

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Depends upon what land I have access to. I've hunted some farms that had multiple deer over 140 and I've had others that may produce one every 4 to 5 years. Some of those deer sometimes are almost as hard to get photos of as they are to kill them. Before I had a family and kids I used to scout relentlessly especially during the late summer. I could find deer in the summer that I could almost never get pictures of, I would sometimes get 1 or 2 photos of them in a year if I was lucky. I had 1 deer I could find in the summer and we might get 1 picture of him a season. I had another deer that I ran over 20 cameras on in less than 400 acres of agriculture and river bottom and I only got 1 picture of him that entire season. I finally killed him and he was a 9 pt with a kicker that grossed 174.

The point is sometimes cameras don't tell the whole story. I remember before we had trail cameras I would find deer in the summer that people wouldn't believe me about, I started filming them and have footage somewhere on vhs of huge bucks over 150 before they became as prevalent as they are today.

I was a very happy and excited hunter when they announced the summer velvet hunt, that first year it was open. I killed a main frame 7pt with some junk that grossed over 160. We never had a single picture of that deer and none of the neighbors knew he existed. I only knew he was there by summer scouting.

Wow! I would like to see the 7 pt!! Got a picture? That is impressive!

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Just out of curiosity, why do you think that? Doesn't look the part at a glance or do you rough figure it?

This is only basic guesstimate numbers based on ear tip to tip distance being 17", eyeball being 3.14" circumference, nose tip to edge of eyeball 7", and numbers from deer I've scored with similar traits. I'm not opposed to being wrong so if I'm way off base with any of these numbers please explain how & why.

The left G3 curves inward so at certain angles it looks shorter than the G2 but when you see the curve it is at least same length as G2.


Left: Right:

B - 22 B - 22
G1- 3 G1- 3
G2- 12 G2- 12
G3- 5 G3- 12
C1- 4 C1- 4
C2- 3.5 C2- 3.5
C3- 3.5 C3- 3.5
C4- 3 C3- 3
E1- 3
IS- 20

Total gross - 142"

He said the same thing about a deer I posted a few years ago. When I killed him two weeks later he was 143 and change. Now i will say that i don't believe some of the deer on hear score the numbers claimed, but I believe you are spot on. I mean no disrespect to WobbleGobble, I think he just misjudged my deer and this one.

 

[Dumbluck]

Wow! I would like to see the 7 pt!! Got a picture? That is impressive!

Here you go, that G-2 on his left side is 14.5"

 

[BSK]

Dang, that's a deer!

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Awesome deer