With my upcoming trip to the Spanish Fort Hunting Camp, I am feeling the pressure to confidently score a buck “on the hoof,” as they say.  In South Louisiana, up until recently, we would think we were lucky if we were to see a 120 class deer.  Though our herd is plentiful, our deer are relatively small in comparison to most of the country.  Alabama’s Spanish Fort Hunting Camp requires that a buck score no less than 135 to be considered a shoot-able buck.  A 135-class set of antlers looks a lot different on a southern, 160 pound deer than it does on a 200 pound deer.  While my eye is pretty good on my home turf, I find myself a little less confident in foreign regions.

Scoring a deer is simple enough when you can run a ruler up and down the spread.  Making the call on the fly is a skill that takes practice and refinement.  To start, it helps to have some base comparisons.  In the Southeast region, a typical buck will measure anywhere from 13 to 16 inches from ear tip to ear tip when they stand at attention.  An ear averages 6.5 to 7 inches in height and approximately 3 inches wide.  If a set of antlers is narrower, on the inside, than a buck’s ears, then you can bet he won’t make that shooter status.  However, if you can see a gap between the main beams and his ears, then you need to start checking him out a little closer. 

If you haven’t already done so, you’ll want to get a count of upright tines.  To reach 135 inches, expect to see eight-points or better.  For an eight-point to make it, he’ll have to have some length, height, and mass.  A ten-point will reach that score easier.  Estimate the heights of each tine and add them together.  You can try to guess every tine, or work with one side and then double it.  This only works on symmetrical racks.  On a ten-point, say you have three uprights measuring 10, 10, and 4 inches equating a total of 24 inches plus a 1 for each point.  Add in the brow tine, say, 4 inches, giving you 38.  If we double this we have 76.  Now, for the main beams, you’ll want to look at the distance between the points and the buck’s nose, and also the curve of the beams.  The more curve, the longer it will measure.  Measure the distance from beam to beam on the inside of the spread.   

For this study, we will say it measures 16 inches.  You now have a sum of 88.  Add the mass, a measurement of the circumference at the spaces between the G1 and G2, the G2 and G3, and so on.  In order to make a 135-class deer, each beam needs to measure at least 18 inches in length.  Along the Gulf Coast states, a rough average would put the main beam measurements between 70 and 80 inches for everything but the upright tines.  This makes things a little quicker and easier in the field.  If I see that a buck is a large bodied deer, and the antlers still look to be shooter size, I may estimate 80 inches for the main beams and then add the uprights and brow tines.  If he is an average-sized deer, I would want to check a little closer and estimate closer to the 70 inch mark. 

A good idea is to study pictures of deer from the area you are planning to hunt.  You can then compare age structures and antler growth of bucks from each year’s growth.  If photos are available of the deer specific to the property you are hunting, it is a good idea to pre-determine with the owner which deer are to be considered mature and harvestable and which type of deer they prefer to walk.  At home, the consequences of an error may weigh heavy on your conscience, but on a guided trip, the consequences weigh heavy on your pocket book.  To avoid these kinds of misfortunes, hunters need to do their homework and discuss the land-owners’ expectations so that the eye can quickly and accurately judge size and score of a roaming buck.

By Brent Sawyer

TalkHunting Pro Staffer, Brent "Cobrican" Sawyer, was born into a sporting family.  His first couple years of life were spent on the banks of Lake Arthur and around his grandfather's farm in Jennings, La.  Even when his family moved to the city, they visited the farm often.  Brent's parents and Pawpaw spent as many hours as they could find taking him outside to learn how to care for and survive on the land around him.  They camped and hiked.  They gardened.  Brent joined the Boy Scouts as a Bobcat and continued to be involved through his High School days.  There, he learned many new skills to help him belong out of doors.  Brent and his cousins would often sleep out under the stars with only a blanket.  

At the age of 8 he was given his first BB gun.  At 10 he was allowed to hunt with a shotgun.  The family had a lease where they hunted, predominantly, Speckle-belly geese with the occasional snow or duck.  They also hunted doves and rabbits.  Brent learned how to call specks well enough to hunt on his own in only a short time.  About the time Brent went to college, his grandfather dropped the hunting lease.  Fortunately, North Louisiana offers some great opportunities for hunting on public lands.  He spent many hours duck hunting as well as hunting small game.  In 2000 Brent was invited to his first deer hunt.  Since then he has been fully involved in the deer hunting experience.  He also loves to fish.  Lately he has made more opportunities to fish salt water than freshwater but he enjoys both.

Brent Graduated with a degree in Forest Technology and has used his degree as a basis for hunting and recreation properties management.  He joined Talkhunting.com in 2008 and has attended gatherings in Louisiana and Alabama.  He also works for Breathe Safe Environmental Services as a third party monitor for lead and asbestos abatement.  He loves his job but hopes to be able to one day move exclusively to property management and consulting.