Ground shrinkage, deer and elk version

[MSU_Bobcat]

I hate when this happens!

 

[Bc1992]

Not much shrinkage here. Just a big 11 point that I thought was a 3 point.

 

[EYJONAS!]

View attachment 229070
I’ve had a few…..they fit nicely above the garage door spring

No shrinkage however, none of these were a surprise

 

[shannerdrake]

Some really high standards on this thread.

I thought the same thing. Half of what I shoot ends up shrinking on the ground.

I should cross-reference the “never had ground shrinkage” responders with the “never confused a hunter with an animal” responders and see how much name overlap there is.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I killed this buck at 12:30 on a public land hunt in Georgia. The deer was so small that I though it was a huge buck.

I bet you the deer only weighed 80 pounds total. Fooled me good and it was ALL uphill to the truck from here.

 

[Silver15tacoma]

First time hunting Bull Elk in Nevada…glassed up this bull with a herd of about 100 cows and some rag horns. Since I was new to hunting branched antlered bulls I didn’t trust myself to field judge a bull elk on the hoof. I texted the first picture to a couple of my friends and most of them said he’d go 340-350”. Hearing that I decided I would take him. He ended up taping out at 326”, still beyond happy I was able to get my first bull elk but definitely had some ground shrinkage.

 

[BradA]

View attachment 236470View attachment 236471
First time hunting Bull Elk in Nevada…glassed up this bull with a herd of about 100 cows and some rag horns. Since I was new to hunting branched antlered bulls I didn’t trust myself to field judge a bull elk on the hoof. I texted the first picture to a couple of my friends and most of them said he’d go 340-350”. Hearing that I decided I would take him. He ended up taping out at 326”, still beyond happy I was able to get my first bull elk but definitely had some ground shrinkage.

Still an awesome bull congratulations

 

[Shangobango]

Buck from last year. 3 year old, 16 wide. Thought he was 4 and 19 or 20 wide. Made a quick decision because I had a 30 foot window of opportunity. His deformed ears through me off. Kicked myself pretty hard for this one given that I knew this funky ear deer was in there and knew precisely how old he was because he showed up on my place as a 1 year old spike.



Here he is the year prior.

 

[Foxtrot1]

This guy got mistaken for a crusty old 6pt that I had been seeing on my game camera.

 

[FREAK]

I’m not very picky when it comes to elk, but I definitely had the ground shrinkage feeling on this guy. He came in on a string during archery. Shot him at 19 yards bugling. Thought he was a much bigger 6 based on the white tipped 4th and him coming in from a slight uphill angle. Great experience and I would of shot him either way. I just remember thinking “I just shot a giant” right after the shot, deffinatley wasn’t the case.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Boom! Happened fast but thankful - 1st mountain whitetail buck.

 

[cgasner1]

I need to quit shooting because part of the rack is big. He had 20” fronts and nothing else matched at least the taxidermist said he thinks that bull was over 10

 

[track1]

Boom! Happened fast but thankful - 1st mountain whitetail buck.
View attachment 303006

It does happen fast. Great buck!

 

[Bambistew]

This one fooled me. His body was really small for a mature bull making his antlers look much bigger. He also had zero fat on him and was riddled with bot fly larva and had a lot of tape worm larve in his meat. Not a bad bull, but looks way bigger in the picture than he was. I think his main beams were like 38". Big bulls are in the mid/upper 40s. My dogs ate the antlers and didn't seem to mind.

 

[375H&H]

2023 elk. Had a very high bar set as 2 freezers are still full of bison. Passed on a 7 pt day 1. May have felt bad about that as we could have hunted wolves over the carcass.

Saw some cows 2 days later, gave a toot on the hoochie mama, he bugled and came out of the timber. I put one into his heart after seeing he was a 6 pt. in my scope. Yelled to my dad after I shot “he’s a monster!”

Walked up and saw I got punked. Still a good bull and fantastic hunt with my dad. Can’t wait to get back and do it again in that same unit.

On a serious note, am I thinning on top?

 

[nicktown97]

To piggy back on the boo boo bear thread and at @MTTW half serious request it is time for a ground shrinkage thread on the bucks and bulls you have taken. Ground shrinkage happens to everyone sooner or later. They say confession is good for the sole so it is time to fess up and post up some stories and pictures of those bucks that turned out to be far less than thirty tall you thought he was when you pulled the trigger.

My all time biggest ground shrinkage buck was the one I shot back in 88 on the Custer. In Jan of 88 I located two bucks, one was to this day the best clean 4 point I have ever seen and the other was flat and well into the thirty's wide buck with some big cheaters. It was quite a sight seeing those two bucks standing together on a snowy hill. Naturally come fall I was in the same place hunting. I spotted this buck with some does and he looked real big, not tall but wide and some cheaters. I figured I was looking at the wide buck I located in Jan. so I shot him. When I got down to him I was not looking at the buck I thought pulled the trigger on. Yes he is wide, over thirty, a nice buck by almost anyone's standards but not near the buck I thought. His body is small he has young written all over him. A three year old future monster most likely.
I left him over night and the next day my brother and I hunted our way to him. My brother shot the other buck that morning, A much older and better deer.View attachment 223958

Ground shrinkage always hits when I see them from the back of the head. Shot a WT chasing some does years back that I could have promised was a +150inch buck. Ended up scoring only 119. I had like 4 sec to decide.

 

[Nick87]

Ground shrinkage always hits when I see them from the back of the head. Shot a WT chasing some does years back that I could have promised was a +150inch buck. Ended up scoring only 119. I had like 4 sec to decide.

Yah never judged solely from the back. Hard lesson learned. Ymmv on the opposite sex.

 

[nicktown97]

Yah never judged solely from the back. Hard lesson learned. Ymmv on the opposite sex.

True that! Learned my lesson. In the heat of the moment in a public area that produces dozens of 160inchers every year, he seemed the part lol.

 

[hank4elk]

Jeez, I'm happy I fill a tag mostly.
Still.
2 twenty-nine and 3/4" bucks...I was sure.
Looking at a 3 point blacktail with 2" eye guards. Looked smaller, but weighed 190lbs dressed. Life of berries and garbonzo beans.
My 6 point bull I took few years back on my place, might total 180"...LOL
Still, it was a 6 point bull with cows about.

 

[Straight Arrow]

My 6 point bull I took few years back on my place, might total 180"...LOL
Still, it was a 6 point bull with cows about.

Happily chewing on a bone ... Rio likely did not ask "How'd it score?"