Field Judging Coues

[Coffeeman]

I am new to hunting Coues and I have the Dec. hunt in 6A. I am getting ready to hit the hills scouting, and was just curious what I should be looking for in a mature buck. Antlers outside the ears? Any suggestions would help! Thanks

[elkaholic]

hello most people got the idea that 100 is the magic # of coruse anything over helps - here what a kinda need to look for

 

g-1's - 5 in = 10in ---- the eyes guards

g-2's - 8 in = 16in ---- the first point

g-3's - 6 in = 12in ---- the second point

mb's - 14 in = 28 in---- length of each antler

spd - 14 in = 14in ---- spread- insides greatest width

mass - 10 in = 20 in---- mass in 3 measurements - (4 1/2 )(3)(2 1/2) 10in --- total mass 20 approx

----

100

 

for a perfect score of 100 on a typical 3x3 coues

[DubTee]

hello most people got the idea that 100 is the magic # of coruse anything over helps - here what a kinda need to look for

 

g-1's - 5 in = 10in ---- the eyes guards

g-2's - 8 in = 16in ---- the first point

g-3's - 6 in = 12in ---- the second point

mb's - 14 in = 28 in---- length of each antler

spd - 14 in = 14in ---- spread- insides greatest width

mass - 10 in = 20 in---- mass in 3 measurements - (4 1/2 )(3)(2 1/2) 10in --- total mass 20 approx

----

100

 

for a perfect score of 100 on a typical 3x3 coues

 

It doesn't seem like I get a whole lot of time to look at the points and estimate how long they are and come up with a score when I find a shooter, maybe one of these days I'll find a shooter bedded so I can do that. My advice is to look for length, length in his main beams and his points (where obviously the more points the better), that is where you'll make up a lot when it comes to score. Spread and mass do not make big differences in score when it all boils down to it. BTW, in reference to the above post, even on a 3x3 you get 4 mass measurements per side, you just take the last one (H4) between the G3 and the end of the main beam. You hit the nail on the head in your original post, look for a mature buck, and to do that you have to look at their bodies to determine age on the hoof. Any mature buck is a trophy, remember it is a buck's age that makes him elusive, not his horns.

[cw4192]

Make sure you do not rate them with their heads going away from you. They always look bigger going away from you

[Ernesto C]

hello most people got the idea that 100 is the magic # of coruse anything over helps - here what a kinda need to look for

 

g-1's - 5 in = 10in ---- the eyes guards

g-2's - 8 in = 16in ---- the first point

g-3's - 6 in = 12in ---- the second point

mb's - 14 in = 28 in---- length of each antler

spd - 14 in = 14in ---- spread- insides greatest width

mass - 10 in = 20 in---- mass in 3 measurements - (4 1/2 )(3)(2 1/2) 10in --- total mass 20 approx

----

100

 

for a perfect score of 100 on a typical 3x3 coues

 

It doesn't seem like I get a whole lot of time to look at the points and estimate how long they are and come up with a score when I find a shooter, maybe one of these days I'll find a shooter bedded so I can do that. My advice is to look for length, length in his main beams and his points (where obviously the more points the better), that is where you'll make up a lot when it comes to score. Spread and mass do not make big differences in score when it all boils down to it. BTW, in reference to the above post, even on a 3x3 you get 4 mass measurements per side, you just take the last one (H4) between the G3 and the end of the main beam. You hit the nail on the head in your original post, look for a mature buck, and to do that you have to look at their bodies to determine age on the hoof. Any mature buck is a trophy, remember it is a buck's age that makes him elusive, not his horns.

 

Please allow me to disagree....first one question. Why you dont get a lot of time to estimate a buck a buck and gues a score?? You do not glass or how do you hunt? why?

And second I disagree on the statement "Spread and mass do not make a big difference" believe me...they do!!

 

If a buck has eye guards of 3 inches or more, second point of 7 inches or more, 3rd point 5 inches or more, main beams of 15 inches or more and mass of 14 inches or more and spread of 14 or more you will have at least a 100 inch buck.

 

Make sure you read the topic on this forum " The 2009 100 inch post" on the Hunting AZ forum; there you will see lots of pictures and their scores that way you can have an idea what a 100 inch buck look like.

 

Ernesto C

 

[Coffeeman]

Thanks guys, I'd love to find a giant but getting a mature buck is first on my list. How do the bodies on mature buck differ from the young ones?

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Here is a link to a hunt from last year... A deer of this calibur or better would be what you hope for in your unit. Good hunting. If you need any help feel free to shoot me a PM.

 

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...=16672&st=0

 

 

[Ernesto C]

Thanks guys, I'd love to find a giant but getting a mature buck is first on my list. How do the bodies on mature buck differ from the young ones?

 

You need to get out there and start glassing, glass and glass some more until you find the deer. Then once you find the bucks look at their bodies in compare them with the does. A big mature buck will have a bigger body then a mature doe. A fork horn or smal 3 point will have the same body size of a doe; but like I said, the way you will lean and the way you will get experience is by spending time in field. Good luck to you.

 

Ernesto C

[youngbuck]

The 100+ post is a good one to look at. If you have a buddy who is good at judgin bring him, but shoot the buck you like. I can take guesses on scores for guys but i let them make the decision if that's the buck they want. The hunt is long and you can see many bucks take one ou want. Numbers are number. You will know home when you find him, some here call them no brainers. Good luck on your hunt. The more country you can glass he more bucks you will find. Let us know how you do.

[Coach]

Lots of great advice already posted here. One thing I'll add is, there are certain animals that just have that "wow" factor. Elk, coues, muley, antelope...Some guys are really good at judging score from a distance with good optics. What I've found is, if you find a good deer, elk, whatever, you get a really quick "gut" reaction. Some guys will find ways to start making it bigger in their mind, then experience "ground-shrinkage" when they walk up on it.

 

Personally, I think that some animals just immediately jump out at you as a shooter, or not. If the minute you see it, your blood gets pumping and you really feel like you have found "the one", you know you have to take the shot. If you are uncertain, usually, there is something about it that isn't quite what you had set as your goal.

 

Of course, distance is a major factor. Coues especially can look marginal at very long ranges, even if they are really nice. If you do glass a coues buck from a long way off, and can see quite a bit of horn, he's probably bigger than he appears. I made that mistake several years back. I found a buck about a mile or so from my glassing spot, and he didn't look all that big but the details were sketchy even through spotting scopes etc. I moved to a different area, and a buddy later hunted that spot and found the same deer - turns out he was estimated at around 115" as a 3x3 when viewed from 1/4 the range I had been watching him. My buddy missed, unfortunately, but I seriously kicked myself more than once for not getting a closer look myself.

[SunDevil]

hello most people got the idea that 100 is the magic # of coruse anything over helps - here what a kinda need to look for

 

g-1's - 5 in = 10in ---- the eyes guards

g-2's - 8 in = 16in ---- the first point

g-3's - 6 in = 12in ---- the second point

mb's - 14 in = 28 in---- length of each antler

spd - 14 in = 14in ---- spread- insides greatest width

mass - 10 in = 20 in---- mass in 3 measurements - (4 1/2 )(3)(2 1/2) 10in --- total mass 20 approx

----

100

 

for a perfect score of 100 on a typical 3x3 coues

 

5 inch eye guards are pretty long and uncommon to me.

 

14 inch mass is also on the upper end.

 

I would drop an inch off from both of those and bump the main beam from 14 inches to 16 inches.

 

frequently in bigger (100 inch) bucks, the second point will be equal or longer in length than the first point.

[elkaholic]

I'm was just giving an idea - sure you may never really have a lot of time to score a deer but the 5-8-6 or 5-6-8 is pretty easy to remember -

as far as mature deer - rarely does a buck weigh much more than 100 lbs anyway - and yes if hes bigger than the does has at least 4 or 5 points on each side and as wide as his ears - SHOOT who cares what he scores - ! chances are hes a mature buck ! gary

[wackycouesaddict]

length is more inportant then mass for elk i have learned and i have use that same thinking for deer too. if i have a long tined deer and a mass deer standing side by side ill take the long tines. and who knows maybe im wrong but thats wat i think

[tjhunt2]

I am new to hunting Coues and I have the Dec. hunt in 6A. I am getting ready to hit the hills scouting, and was just curious what I should be looking for in a mature buck. Antlers outside the ears? Any suggestions would help! Thanks

 

Forget about the antlers. As you can plainly see everyone has their idea of what makes a good buck. Long tines, width, spread, outside the ears, inside the ears, and it goes on and on. If the old pumper is pounding 90 miles an hour and you are shaking like a mad dog then it's a good buck for sure.

 

TJ

[Outdoor Writer]

From our "How to Hunt Coues Deer" book:

 

 

FIELD JUDGING

 

The limited time each of us spends in the woods every year makes it difficult to practice antler judging, especially if we see only a few deer on those outings. The most useful knowledge is an awareness of the average body and antler measurements for the species. Then if you know what it takes for a trophy-class buck, there's some basis for comparison.

 

The typical Coues rack generally has five points or fewer per side. A front view provides the best for judging antler spread. Mature bucks have a tip-to-tip ear spread of 12 to 14 inches. If the inside spread of the main beams reaches the end of each ear, that's about 13 inches. The world record was only 15 3/8 inches. For every inch one antler goes past an ear, double it and add it to the 13 inches. In other words, if the main beam is an inch wider on one side, add two inches for an inside spread of 15 inches.

 

The ear averages six inches from the tip to where it joins the head. It makes a good gauge for the tine lengths. If the longest tine looks to be as long as an ear, it will measure about six inches.

 

The most difficult guesstimate is the length of the main beams because some grow at weird angles. The way to come close is using multiples of the ear length or the eye-to-nose distance, which is about seven or eight inches. Or simply compare the main beam to the length of longest point. The other important considerations are mass and symmetry. Neither are easy to judge at a distance in the field and usually comes to a "you'll know it when you see it" situation.

 

Years of scrutinizing hundreds of bucks through his binoculars have convinced Duwane of one thing.

 

"Reading a magazine article or looking at a score sheet won't teach anyone how to field judge a buck. There's only one way to learn how to judge antlers successfully, and that's through experience. You have to do it often and know what to look for. A guy can start with mounted heads and play a game of 'guess how big,' but the final exam has to take place in the wild. Scoring a buck at 500 yards through binoculars or a spotting scope will be vastly different than doing it up close and personal," he said.

 

"The first thing to look at is the mass and height. Then check out the third point. A long one usually translates to a deer you would want to shoot. If a buck has a fourth point, three other factors come into play. First, the length of the point counts. Also, the measurement for the last quarter will fall between the third and fourth point instead of between the second and third. Lastly, bucks with the additional point generally have a long main beam," Duwane said.

 

I once read somewhere that hunters kill about a million deer for each one that makes the Boone & Crockett record book. The minimum score for a B&C typical for other whitetail subspecies is 170 points. In contrast, the little Coues qualifies with 110 points. If that sounds like a snap, it isn't. The current world-record B&C typical, killed in Pima County by Ed Stockwell in 1953, scored a whopping 144 1/8 points. But that's almost 30 points less than the smallest of the entries for the other whitetail subspecies. So the odds of tagging a B&C Coues deer aren't great. On the other hand, the chances to shoot a nice mature buck are normally above average.

 

 

 

Duwane's Tip

 

For his clients, Duwane ordinarily tries to find a shooter buck that will gross at least 100 points.

 

"A buck in the 100-inch class isn't one to sneer at. Most of my hunters would be tickled with it, and it's a bonus if it's actually bigger," Duwane said.

 

A 100-inch 3x3 buck is not that difficult to judge if you look for the key dimensions. Here's what it takes.

 

• The main beams should be at least 17 inches long.
• Brow tines (eye guards) will be three inches or more.
• The second point (G2) should measure six inches.
• The third point (G3) should be five inches.
• There should be at least 13 inches of mass per side.
• The inside spread should be 13 inches or better.

The total point lengths and mass for the above will come to 44 inches per side or 88 inches for both sides. That, along with the 13-inch spread, equals 101 inches.

 

Naturally, most B&C bucks will have some deductions, but under SCI's system, everything counts.