Defining buck "quality"

Heck of a buck you have there, I think 98% of guys would classify him as a trophy, in your 83 years of hunting, did you take most of your bucks in Co?
I was born and raised in California and started deer hunting in the 50's and 60's which were unreal in quality and quantity. I did hunt in Az, Ut, Wy and Colorado. Retired and moved to Colorado in 2000. The buck in the picture was taken in Wyoming.
 
My automatic shooters are anything 190"+, a 30"+ 3x3, probably most bucks over 30" width. I could care less about age or body size. Generally, I usually call anything over 200" a monster...
Yeah me too. Once they hit the 200 mark I would let them grow another year or two, but I worry they might die of old age. 🤣🤣🤣
 
My obsessions are non-typical and wide. A perfect typical would have to be at least 180” for me to shoot. A 30”+ 7x6 that scores 160’s would be preferable to me. Also lately I’d add in velvet to the mix. So, wide non-typical in velvet would be the ultimate.
 
2 things….

1. Colorado cowboy is a good man 👍👊

2. Buck quality is something of rumors currently here in Co after the seasons getting pushed back….

Good luck w your search…
 
I scout every chance I get in the summer and typically dont get excited until I see a buck in that 95% percentile. Usually that is 165”+
Very rare for me to see a buck pushing 180” in my neck of the woods. Less than 1 in 250 bucks I come across between july-november gross 180” and typically I do not see that many bucks in a season if you know what I mean.

That being said, it is not all about score and I usually get just as excited to see character on a buck with mass as I do deep forks, wide frame and brow tines.

It is all your opinion and the more deer you look at the more you will develop your own opinion.
 
Mass is a definite quality I look for. Width also helps a buck look’s wise.

Give me a square framed heavy antlered buck.
 
I learned a couple years ago that body size gets my heart racing the same way a booner Buck would, regardless of antler size. Throw in some good mass on the horns and 5.5 years+ and that’s a true monster buck in my book.

Small buck would be a young, small bodied and antler deer, and a good buck/shooter buck for me could acceptably be medium body size paired with a good rack(no way to define this as it would just have to be big enough/wide/heavy/ or character to excite me).

All this to say that I’d be happier with a 300lb+ old brute with a 150” rack than a young, spindly good genes 180” deer. But golly do I love em all
 
Back
Top