JAY B":422o4hud said:
And it's all in fun, gotta find some way to pass the time till deer season right ! . . . . . I know if he walked by me I would not be adding up score in my head, I would be to busy trying to settle myself down enough to take the safety off
Honestly, I care very little about what they "score", but I do care how they "look" to me.
What I "like" most in antlers is "mass",
and that's the one thing even heavily high-graded antlers in TN will typically have on mature bucks,
MASS.
But "mass" doesn't do much for "score", typically.
The last mature buck I killed was in Nov 2014 (believed to be 6 1/2).
It was about a year later I "scored" him, although I was quick to measure his basal circumferences (were right at 5").
For me, the best "trophy" antlers are defined by uniqueness and mass, not score,
although I do appreciate it when one that is massive & unique, also scores well.
I'm just happy to go hunting, talk about hunting, run my trail cams, and do some fishing in between.
Going to put doe meat in the freezer to have "enough", and if see a mature buck with decent mass, he goes there too.
Last couple years, I've blown a couple good opportunities, and beyond that, decided to pass on some good bucks which had majorily broken antlers. Just hate it when one I've been watching finally gives me an opportunity, then I notice he's broken off an entire main beam!
A few years ago, I let walk one of the largest antlered mature bucks I've ever seen in TN (honestly believe he would have gross scored in the 170's as a clean mainframe 10-pointer). Had him dead to rights at about 15 yards, rifle in hand, crosshairs on him, then noticed he had broken off an entire main beam, so just watched him walk away. The next year was exciting in looking forward to seeing him again, with both antlers, as I believe he was only 4 1/2 when I gave him a pass.
Since he never showed up on any trail cam pics over a wide area, believe he simply died post-rut. IMO, natural mortality (which includes predation by coyotes) is probably around 40% (in many areas) on 4 1/2-yr-old bucks, and commonly they die in January-February, about the time they shed an antler. Something about the blood smell from a shed antler will cause coyotes to target a specific buck, unfortunately, at a time when that buck may be at his weakest moment and most vulnerable to dogs & coyotes for an entire year.