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Minimum Score for a Buck to be considered exceptional in PA

14K views 123 replies 43 participants last post by  steelhead125 
#1 ·
So I just got my buck back from the taxidermist and since it is the largest buck that I’ve ever seen in the woods I decided to score it. Gross score came out to 117 and while it isn’t breaking any records I guess is exceptional for PA as it is bigger than just about anything I've seen in 14 years of hunting. The only exceptions are a handful of deer on camera and the buck my dad got this year which was 120.

So that got me thinking, how big does a buck have to be in PA to be considered an exceptionally large buck? Can a general number even be provided or would it vary to much by region to really pin down a number.

For example in the picture my first buck on the left would be considered a quality buck in our area and one anybody would be estatic to get. It represents what we thought was the upper size range and was one of the biggest bucks taken before last season. In comparison my new buck is exceptionally large for our area with maybe 5 others of similar size being taken in the last 30+ years.

So based on your experiences do any of you guys have a guess as to what size a buck has to grow to be considered exceptional?
 

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#3 ·
Not a thing wrong with your buck, not a thing at all. I do not worry about inches of antler when I am hunting, I am more interested in body size. If you want to see what antler sizes have been taken in PA buy a copy of the PA Big Game Records book, it was reprinted and up dated last year. You can buy it on line.
 
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#81 ·
I could be wrong but im thinking AR started in 02. The reason im saying this is I got married second time around in 02. That first year of AR I took my largest buck up to that time on opening day at 4 pm. It was an 8 point with a 16" spread passed up 4 non shooters previous. I stopped on way home where my new wife was playing bingo to show her.
 
#8 · (Edited)
We have a box of antlers up the cabin that spreads 30+ years of me, my brother, dad and grandfather hunting. Of that box many are spikes and 4 points from Dad and Pop prior to AR with a handful of small sixes. The three 8 pt they got were all mounted as 8 pts were few and far between back then. My dads rule when I started hunting was that he would only pay for my buck to be mounted if it was an 8 pt or bigger.

Once my brother and I started hunting after AR we have taken a 6pt, a 7pt, five 8pts and a 10 pt so I definitely believe that AR has had a positive effect on the deer herd in our area. We also have noticed that the antlers themselves are getting larger and the deer are generally getting older, the Bucks we got this year are proof of that.

I put my buck up next to my grandfathers which was the biggest buck he had gotten as a way to compare the previous standard to my buck.
 

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#10 ·
I would consider Pap's buck to be closer to the average PA buck shot today. A good buck back in the day and still a buck a lot of PA hunters would be happy with. I know most of the time I would not pass on such a buck. Yours is a great buck, even by today's inflated (and often unrealistic) standards. Many regions in PA are not capable of consistently producing bucks with antlers much bigger.
 
#11 ·
If you go by inches, you will forever find someone who will tell you it's not big enough to shoot.

If the sight of that deer approaching made your heart race and hands shake, it's exceptional, and your opinion is all that counts. No one else bought your tag...no one else can judge what you chose to hang it on.

I can say I agree with Woods Walker...quite a few PA hunters will never take a deer like that in their entire life.
 
#14 ·
Heck due to to brush obscuring his head but giving me an open shot on the vitals I could only see the main beam when I took the shot but by the size of it I could tell he was big. Took 45 minutes for my leg to stop shaking from the adrenaline of knowing I had gotten my first buck in 6 years.

But to get that buck on opening day, while wearing my dad’s old jacket, Pop Pop’s hat, carrying my first hunting knife and the Pre-war M70 I bought for graduating college, on the same morning that my dad who had Pop’s knife, my brother who was hunting with Pop’s rifle, both also got 8pt bucks. It could have been a little basket 6 and I would still be estatic, the size was simply icing on the cake.

I’ve only ever hunted on the couple hundred acres I grew up hunting so I was curious to see what others from all around the state thought of the size compared to their experiences. I know the bucks by us have been slowly getting larger but I wasn’t sure if that was the same across the state or if other places had larger bucks and we were simply catching up.
 
#12 ·
The habitat and environments our PA deer live in can be so different that I would say it's impossible to put a number on it. I think your buck at 117 would be considered exceptional in most parts of the state. I know in the area I frequently hunt it would certainly be considered a great buck. Congratulations on a successful season!
 
#15 ·
My biggest bucks for both archery and rifle seasons in PA are in the 120" range. I've seen a small number that would go bigger. I've seen and harvested a few in the 100-120 range, as well.

I started hunting in 1987, for a point of reference.
 
#19 ·
Exactly. In order to score deer on the hoof effectively you have to be able to spend a lot of time around the class of deer you are scoring. Where do you get that type of experience in PA? I always get a kick out of hearing guys saying "I'll only shoot a 140 class buck or bigger". Most of those guys have never seen a buck as nice as the OP's and I have no doubt most of those guys wouldn't hesitate to shoot that buck.

I imagine there are a few guys that can effectively and consistently score big bucks on the hoof, but they are few and far between. I know I can't.
 
#23 ·


Same here. Most 3 year olds go around 120 and those aren't behing every tree. Far more common than 20 years ago, but still not common.

I shot a 4 year old last fall, and i have his antlers from when he was 3. At 3 he was about 120, and he only put on about 10 inches at 4 years old. A basic 8 point, thats probably what he'd always be, and i'd guess 140 would be tops for him no matter how old he got. But thats just my opinion, i just don't have much experience with 5+ year old deer to know for sure. Not many that age class here in pa.
 
#22 ·
If you read any studies on antler development, where measurements are taken on know age deer, 140" is in general the upper limit of most bucks regardless of age. I'd consider anything around 140" to be about as high as realistically possible in wild herds and those that get bigger to be largely abnormal trophy.

As far as exceptional goes, a 110" buck is probably bigger than most hunters will kill in PA. That would probably equate to roughly a 9-10 pointer with roughly 7" g2s and decent mass.

I remember an 8 point my dad killed in 1995 that was the talk of the town. Looking at it know, it only scores about 85 inches.
 
#58 ·
If you read any studies on antler development, where measurements are taken on know age deer, 140" is in general the upper limit of most bucks regardless of age. I'd consider anything around 140" to be about as high as realistically possible in wild herds and those that get bigger to be largely abnormal trophy.

As far as exceptional goes, a 110" buck is probably bigger than most hunters will kill in PA. That would probably equate to roughly a 9-10 pointer with roughly 7" g2s and decent mass.

I remember an 8 point my dad killed in 1995 that was the talk of the town. Looking at it know, it only scores about 85 inches.
I agree. I had a small bodied young 10 pointer follow a very small doe to about 65 yds of my stand last fall. She stopped in shooting range and he stood there just out of range for almost 10 minutes. I watched him for what seemed like an eternity. I actually got to calm myself and really study his antlers and body. This was Nov 7th or 8th and he had no neck swelling and looked like a leggy 2.5 yr old buck. He had a good 17-18" spread with decent mass and decent tine length. I'd have guesstimated him at 110" gross. And yes, knowing he was a young buck with great potential, I still would have shot him had he gave me the opportunity as he was a beauty and a deer that likely would be shot by 99% of the hunters on the state forest he was walking that day. I watched a 9pt on cam for 3 years that was in the same class. He was a huge bodied big old mountain buck and was killed in rifle season. He was a true trophy (IMO) that didn't make it to 120". So I would say any buck on the state game land I hunt that is over 100" is worthy. Anything over 120" is exceptional.
 
#24 ·
This is a PA deer.

I measured his rough gross score at 125, for comparison’s sake. His G2's and 3's are all give or take around 10", but his brows are very short. The deer directly above him grossed around 110, if I remember right.

The mounted deer in the center tooth-wear was around 4.5 if I remember right. I took him in 2005, so it's been a bit. The one above was 2.5 years old.
 

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#31 ·
I think we need to define "exceptional."

While we see a fair number of, I'll say 110-130" bucks, each year..... what ratio of the overall harvest are they?

50%? Probably not.

40%? Maybe, but probably not.

30%? Now I'm sort of thinking we're close. I'd GUESS (dangerous, I know), the percentage of bucks taken that fall in the 110"+ range is likely in the 30% (of bucks harvested) range.

If it's of total deer harvest, you can more than halve that, so 15-20% of deer harvested maybe?

Then if you look at deer harvest numbers vs license sale numbers, you see around 900,000 sold licenses and what.... 350k deer (total) taken? Easy math, 1 in 3 hunters takes a deer.

Buck harvests are less than does, but let's roughly say bucks are half the take, just for easy math. I know they aren't 50%, but I'm trying not to make this calculus, lol.

So let's say 1 in 6 hunters takes a buck. A buck. No size constraints. A buck.

Then let's further say 30% of those who are the 1 in 6 take a 110"+ buck. If I'm calculating right, that means around 1 in 18 hunters takes a buck of that class in a given year.

So for the PA deer hunter heading into a season, just on statistical odds, he or she is looking at around a 5 to 6 % chance. Just on stats...we're not talking area, scouting, hunting experience, etc. Just on raw odds, that hunter stands around a 5-6% chance of a 110" buck or bigger.

The inverse is they stand a 94-95% chance of NOT harvesting such an animal.

In my estimation, then, that is an exceptional harvest.

Just my way of looking at it.
 
#37 ·
From the PGC. 55% of buck harvest is yearling buck. 45% are adult buck (2.5 or older). In the adult buck 75% of them are are 2.5 year old. So if you look at it just at the buck harvest
55% 1.5 year olds
33% 2.5 year olds
11% 3.5 year olds or older.

Of course not all 3.5 year olds are over 110", but some of the 2.5 year olds would exceed 110". I think your 30% number of buck harvest being above 110" is high if you are looking across the state as an average. I would guess it is more around the % of bucks that are 3.5 years old or older that I posted above? Don't know but that is just my guess.

Antler Restrictions Are They Working
 
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