judging coues deer

[Codywhi]

i was wondering what techniques u use when judging antler lengths?

i thought it would be by ear lengths but was not sure if they are all the same or not, or what the average ear length was. hope u could help me out thanks a lot.

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

I think that "judging" their score is something few people actually do. Judging them as a "shooter" is what most people do. Hunt as much as you can with all the good hunters that you can and "Ground Check" as many bucks as you can. Then you will start to have a feel for how to score them.

[SilentButDeadly]

my Coues rules of thumb:

1.) main beams outside his ears => bowhunter - call in reinforcements and DO NOT take your eyes off him until he beds down; gun hunter - range him and fire at will.

2.) more than 4 points (including eye guards) on each side => see above

3.) drop tine => see above

[AZcoues_addict]

Neo is right on the money.

 

I've judged and scored quite a few whitetails through the years, and if its scoring you're after through a spotting scope, I've always used features on the face to judge score since this is where you're already looking. I use the distance from the eye to the tip of the nose of approx. 6-7 inches to judge the length of the points. If his G2 or tallest point is noticeably longer than this distance, he's probably a shooter. I estimate the inside spread of the rack anwhere from 13-15 inches if he's as wide as his ears, and he's probably a shooter then too. Next, I look for mass, judging the diameter of the bases by the width of his eye or the black region surrounding the eye. This seems to work well for me.

[Codywhi]

thanks alot guys

[Kevin]

Looking at lots of deer and practicing will help you to. Look at the pictures Amanda has posted in the photo gallery, most of them have scores posted as well. You can learn a lot by looking at the pictures and figuring out where the score comes from. It won't take you long to learn the difference in a 75" and 95" buck by just looking at these pictures and taking into account what the others here have posted.

 

Kevin

[SunDevil]

one pretty simple thing that I have found is that if the G3s are as long or longer than the G2s you are pretty good to go. CB

[az4life]

Great topic for sure! Always love to hear the "tricks of the trade" from other hunters.

Neo is right on target for what I use to estimate.

[Outdoor Writer]

Below is an excerpt from The Trophy chapter of HOW TO HUNT COUES DEER, written by me and Duwane. Amanda sells the book here on CouesWhitetail.com -TONY

 

 

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.

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.

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Below is an excerpt from The Trophy chapter of HOW TO HUNT COUES DEER, written by me and Duwane. Amanda sells the book here on CouesWhitetail.com -TONY

 

 

 

Tony,

 

That is an excellent excerpt form your book and packed full of good judging hints. But, I think I speak for "most" of the Home Town Boys, all over the Great State of Arizona, when I make the following statment......

 

Next time you right a book, do us a favor, leave out the names of the "Quote - Unquote" Honey Holes! All those spots are overrun now by ANY hunter with a 5th grade education and your book in their hand! Let me re-phrase them as...... "Former Honey Holes". They were great places to hunt because less people hunted them and they held good bucks..... the days of the 110"- 125" bucks in those locations is far,far less frequent. Don't lose any sleep over it, though..... we found more "honey holes" and most of the guys I know promise me they won't share them with you again.

[Outdoor Writer]

Right, no one but a few hunters in AZ know where the "honey holes" are.

 

Anyone who believes that is living is lala land. Now, if we had sold 50,000 books, you might have a point; we didn't, though. And I'd bet most guys who bought the book already had their own "honey holes" anyway. That goes even for the ones with 5th grade educations that write, "Next time you right (sic) a book...."

 

The bigger problem is the continuous loss of habitat shrinking the available areas to hunt deer. Thus, more hunters concentrate in what is left. Units such as 34A and 34B are prime examples. If they continue to erect housing up the sides of the mountain in 34A, the only place left to hunt will be on the peak where the Lowell Observatory sits. Same thing with the other side of I-19 in 34B -- my favorite area. Although I haven't traipsed through every unit in the state recently, I would certainly venture a guess that no hunting unit has been immune to the above. This is especially true for the Coues deer units, many of which are in close proximity to the major population centers. -TONY

[Codywhi]

Thanks for the help tony im gonna have to just buy that book. i also hunt in 34a and houes are going up every where on both sides of the unit its a shame and they allways but the house where i know a good buck is to. thanks for all the help

[SunDevil]

One of the things I have always found helpful in juding deer in the field is comparing them to another buck you have taken, measured and know the score of. It is pretty easy to look at a buck in the field and say: its main beams are longer/shorter, eyeguards, g2s, g3s, mass, width, etc. Of course you really probably need to have bagged a buck that is over 90 inches to use as a reference. Good luck. CB

[ultramag]

shoot shoot.......................... he has horns!...............................bang