Ground shrinkage, deer and elk version

I somehow missed this thread.

Was trying to fill a WT doe tag last October. Walked up to wee little antlers. Guy was hanging with a handful of does. This seemed to be the only one without a fawn close by, quickly learned why.

That’s his “big” side. Half that leatherman is 4” so I notched my general tag.

Of course I saw ton of good looking whitetail bucks later that season and couldn’t do a thing about it.

He’s all breakfast sausage now and eats good.

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I don't see anything wrong with any of these bucks, but then again, I'm from Montana so.........................
 
Judging on the hoof then measuring later is how you get better. The hardest part is learning to not lie to yourself after the tape demands it. Ive found out that I always should subtract 10". And the more sure I am the more I NEED to subtract 10"... A horse trailer full of > than 160" sheds proves this point, but the most painful are when there is butchering involved.

I was positive this guy would break the 200" GNT mark. NOPE 195...

And the next I was certain those deep forks would break into the BC Typpy of 195... NOPE 186

And the 3rd was the worst I was sure that that mass would break the 200" ceiling GNT. NOPE 186...3711FC3D-06AA-472F-85B6-A45CB1D74EFE.jpeg
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I hunt heavily pressured public land and I try to take 3.5 year or older bucks. I’ve been hunting the area for almost 30 years and have rarely seen a really mature buck, so I’m happy with nice bucks every year or two rather than holding out for the super sneaky old ones. Two years ago I was fooled by this buck as he trotted through heavy cover. He is 2.5 years old, needed one more year. Oh well, it’s not catch and release.
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