Scoring Your Deer

TAKING THE MEASUREMENTS
Each score chart is available as a separate PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files. Click here to download the free Acrobat Reader software. Each score chart includes measuring instructions and a copy of the new Entry Affidavit.

Download the scoring sheet for typical whitetails
Download the scoring sheet for non-typical whitetails

Official scorers use a 1/4 inch wide steel tape measure to make all measurements. While this may be the most consistent way to get exact reading, you can get by quite nicely using only a cloth tape measure similar to those used by a seamstress.
Measuring tines: The first step in measuring a tine is to determine where it begins. You'll need a pencil to mark this location. On points that come off the main beam you first have to make a mark across the base of the tine that approximates the top of the beam. This is generally done by using a straight-edge to span from the low points along the top of the beam on either side of the point. This is done on the outside of the rack. Make a mark on the tine and go to the next one. Measure from here to the tip of the tine, following the centerline of the tine along the outside of the rack.

When measuring abnormal points, which come off other points, you follow a very similar procedure. First determine where the edge of the primary point would be if the point were not there. Make a mark here and measure from this point along the centerline of the abnormal point out to its end.
Measuring the beams: There is always some question of where to measure from along the antler base when measuring the beams. The beam's centerline on the outside of the base is the place to start and you follow the center-line as best you can all the way out to the tip.
Measuring circumferences: Regardless of the number of points the buck has, you get four circumference measurements on each beam. Circumference is often referred to as mass because it indicates the bulkiness of the rack. All circumferences are taken at the smallest point between two tines or at designated locations along the main beam if the buck has 8 or fewer typical points.
The first circumference is taken at the smallest point between the base and the brow tine. The second is taken at the smallest point between the brow tine (called the G1) and first primary typical point (called the G2). If the beam has only two points (three total) the next measurement is taken 1/3 of the way from the last point to the end of the main beam and the fourth is taken 2/3 of the way out. If the beam only has three points (four points total) the fourth circumference is taken half way between the last point and the end of the main beam.
Measuring inside spread: Inside spread is the greatest distance between the beams when measured parallel to the bases. In other words, you can't angle the tape in hopes of making the rack wider!

GROSS VERSUS NET
Some official scorers and records administrators get a little miffed when we refer to antlers in terms of their gross scores and not their net scores. But, for all practical purposes, the gross score best symbolizes what the buck actually grew. In fact, the non-typical gross (which counts everything without deductions of any kind) is probably used most often when hunters refer to a gross score. It's the highest possible score for any set of antlers and we naturally like the bigger number best.
Is gross better than net? For giving a rough indication of a buck's overall frame, it probably is. But, if you try to pass gross score off as net just to impress your buddies, as some ego-driven hunters are apt to do, its use does a disservice to the sport. Remember, rough scores and gross scores are only reference points, they do not represent the rack's true score. Only net score can do that.
A buck's score isn't intended to be the yardstick for measuring the success of a hunt. The thrill of the chase and the enjoyment of being outdoors should be the most lasting impressions of the deer and the ones that truly define success. But antler scoring has an important place in deer hunting. It's nice to able to talk about a buck in terms that others can visualize.