Well-placed trail cam scouting photos can help you gauge a buck’s score
Filtering through trail-camera photos is quickly becoming a favorite pastime for hunters. For them, it can be like Christmas morning, with each memory card filled with thousands of pictures waiting to be opened and scanned.
Every hunter has different levels of “acceptable” target deer to hunt. For rookie hunters, anything that moves usually suffices. Bow hunters might be interested in the Pope and Young minimum qualifying score as a target buck for the season. For other hunters, it may be that elusive net score of 150 inches. And for seasoned trophy hunters, “acceptable” is likely to be upwards of 170 inches (the Boone and Crocket all-time net typical minimum). It all depends on what hunting stage the individual is in, where their hunting territory is located and perhaps how much time they can dedicate to hunting season. No matter who you are, where you hunt or what your goals are, Boone and Crocket and Pope and Young conservation clubs established consistent methods of measuring deer antlers many years ago.
Previous to the 1990s, trail cameras were non-existent. Today, it is hard to find a hunter who doesn’t have one. The trail cameras I use in my collection are Browning Spec Series and Spypoint Link Micro LTE. Regardless of your preference, trail cameras scout 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even transmitting images over cellular networks providing great information. The cameras can convey:
- Herd population
- Herd age classes
- Frequency of movement
- Buck-to-doe ratio
- Target buck’s largest antlers
- Worst genetics
Scoring a deer is the act of adding up all the buck’s qualifying inches. Scoring a live buck is difficult since they usually don’t stand motionless for long or stay in the right position to properly gauge their score. This is where trail cameras can really help out, especially models with burst modes that take many pictures in rapid succession. A Whitetail deer’s net typical score is composed of five components from the antler rack they possess:
- Measure the length.
- Determine the height.
- Calculate the thickness or mass.
- Evaluate the spread.
- Note the length of any abnormal points.
Length is measured as the total distance from where the antlers start on the head to the tip, referred to as the main beam. If the length of the right main beam is shorter than the left, or vice versa, estimate the shortest. Antler symmetry is a factor, so an official score sheet will add the actual length of both sides and subtract the difference. Therefore, starting with the shorter main beam eliminates the step of adding and subtracting the inches that are not present on both main beams.
To get a good estimate of length you need a picture of the buck from the front (looking at the camera) or top (facing the camera head-on, but sniffing the ground). This orientation clearly outlines the main beam, how far it goes out toward/past the ears and will also help identify the shorter one (if any). A helpful second picture is a side profile of the deer’s head on alert (head up). This gives a great indication of how far past the nose the main beam goes. The distance from the eyes to the tip of the nose on a mature buck in Western Canada is 7 inches. You can visit some mounted deer from your local hunting area and take measurements of this same distance and use it as a reference point. At the end, you should have one number: The length of the shortest main beam.
Using the outer distance between the eyes atop the skull as a gauge (six inches), I estimated each main beam to extend outwardly 8.5 inches and then turn back inward 6.5 inches. This photo also gives a clear view of the spread estimated at 21 inches (7.5 + 6 + 7.5 inches) using the same gauge. This is an excellent photo to show the difference in the first tine set (G1’s) and to confirm this buck is a 4×4. I estimated the shortest G1 tine at 6 inches, again with the same gauge.
Using the distance from the eye to the snout tip as a gauge (7 inches), I estimated the middle part of the main beam to be 7 inches. I also used this picture (and the same gauge) to estimate the second tine (G2) at 10 inches and the third tine (G3) at 11 inches. Finally, the fourth tine (G4) is small at only 1.5 inches. Estimated total tine height is 28.5 inches (6 + 10 + 11 + 1.5 inches). The main beams look very symmetrical, but I estimated the right one at 22 inches (8.5 + 7 + 6.5 inches).
Net typical height is the total length of all tines (points) that come off the main beam, minus any differences between the sets. To begin, choose the first tine (starting from the head) sprouting from each main beam and estimate the length of the shortest one. Then, use the same process on the next set of tines until you are done. If one main beam has more tines than the other, ignore the extra tines. Only measure the typical tines, meaning where you’d expect the buck to have a tine coming off the main beam. You will need as many pictures as possible with the buck looking in all directions with his head held high.
Use a reference like the distance from the eye to the tip of the nose to gauge the length of each tine. In the end, you should have one number created by adding the estimated length of the shortest tine in each set. For example, if it was a 5×4 typical buck, you would have: (shortest G1 -brow- tine) + (shortest G2 tine) + (shortest G3 tine) + 0. Note: The tip of each main beam is not a tine and was already accounted for when estimating the main beam length. Official scoresheets have an excellent visual representation of the tines and their common names (G#).
Mass (or thickness) of each antler is measured before each tine sprouts until you reach four measurements. Add those four numbers together for total mass. Be careful of velvet bucks, because although velvet thickness plays into the mass measurement, they appear bigger than they actually are.
Again, use the antler that looks to be the smallest. More often than not, I don’t bother estimating this measurement and just use 18 inches on mature deer as a baseline. If the deer antlers look really thick, I will add up to 3 inches and vice versa for skinny antlers. Be cautious of bucks that move during photo capture, causing them to appear heavier and have more mass than they actually do. Browning trail cameras shoot the fastest shutter speed (even at night), minimizing motion blur and providing crisp photos to estimate mass. I have used both the snout and eye socket as a reference to the diameter of the main beam because they both measure around 1.5 to 2 inches, but I usually just go with 18 inches as a conservative estimate.
Spread is the width between the left and right antlers. Spread is measured by finding the longest distance between the inside of the right and left main beam. Unlike length, mass and height, spread is only counted once, not twice (for each antler side), therefore it contributes the least towards final score. A really wide 4×4 buck will be most impressive at first glance, but a narrower 5×5 buck should have a better score because it is far easier to have 8 additional inches by having a fourth 4-inch tine on each side (as opposed to 8 inches between the right and left antler). A picture showing the ears and the buck looking at the camera is a great way to estimate spread. I have also used the skull as a good gauge to estimate spread.
Once you have estimated length, height, mass and spread, the final number required is the total length of all abnormal points. Any picture you have will help find these hidden deductions. Estimate the length of each one and tally them up to one number for both the right and left antler. If you have more than 15 inches of abnormal points, it qualifies for non-typical scoring instead of typical scoring.
For your final estimated net score do the following:
- Length + Height + Mass
- Double it
- Add Spread
- Subtract length of abnormal points (if less than 15 otherwise add)
An official score sheet is much more precise when it comes to deductions, but estimating the shorter and smaller side of the antlers eliminates those differences (from non-symmetry) immediately.
Remember, score is just a number. It does not consider effort, method of hunting, determination or atmosphere that all contribute to making a deer hunt memorable.
Trail cameras are an excellent tool for estimating buck scores before a hunter decides to target that particular deer. I know I still enjoy the “If it’s brown, it’s down” hunts, but I have also enjoyed holding out for specific bucks I have captured on trail cameras knowing in advance that I will qualify for Pope and Young records book based on the estimating process described above.
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