Whitetail, east vs. west

[LaSportsman]

Grew us in south hunting white tails and the rule was hang a ring on it, it's a point. Now I still use that for whitetail but 4 x 4 for mulies. Can't call a 4 x 4 a four point though. Too weird

 

[Scarey]

How to Count the Points on Deer Antlers

Deer antlers become larger and develop more character with each successive shedding. The antlers become wider, the beams become longer, and numerous protrusions--“points”--will develop. There are several different ways to rate the quality of deer antlers. You can measure their width, you can...

goneoutdoors.com

Here is how I have been told to score my deer. If you look at #4 it says that on a Whitetail deer you are supposed to include the brow tine in your scoreing, on a mule deer the brow tine is not included in the scoring. A point is any growth off of the main beam that is measured at an inch or better. The point off of the tip of the main beam is considered to be included in the score.

 

[Dougfirtree]

In the big woods of the northeast, the "dyed in the wool" hunters still talk more about the dressed weight of deer than they do about antlers. Shooting a 200 pounder is the goal for a lot of people (though most won't be successful).

 

[EOregonian]

Back to your original post no I don't think that Western Whitetails grow more points that Eastern. I have a buddy that hunts whitetails in Oregon on some great private land in the foothills of the Blues where you will literally see hundreds of deer in a weekend and finding a buck that is bigger than a 4x4 is like a Bigfoot sighting very rare-in fact he hasn't killed one yet that is a true 5x5 or bigger. He has lots of 4x4's. The other thing is that body size on those bucks is not tremendously large a dressed 120-130lb buck is big.

 

[PrairieHunter]

I think if you look at whitetail scores you will be surprised at some of the states that produce big deer. Places like Maryland grow em as big as anywhere else in the Midwest or West. The west is not the place to go for huge whitetail, not sure why you would think that. Only seeing 100 in your life might have something to do with it though.

I'd say you are incorrect about which states produce big whitetail, as well as your account of scoring.
https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2018/8/28/top-10-states-for-monster-whitetails/

In fact the better question is why don't Western states produce the number of record book whitetail as Eastern states and why do people in Western states like Oregon struggle so much with counting points on whitetail deer racks?

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2018/8/28/top-10-states-for-monster-whitetails/

 

[EOregonian]

Blue tongue in our area wipes out a lot of whitetail deer prior to maturity.

 

[LaSportsman]

Local hunting attitudes, management philosophy, and the size of hunting tracts all play a factor. I believe Louisiana could have bigger bucks but there is too much poaching, many hunters shoot the first buck they see, tracts of land are too small in much of the state so a landowner or club may not be able to manage for larger bucks even if desired. If Wildlife and Fisheries rolled back tag’s, there would be too much of an outcry. Sadly, I think of all the above, poaching is the biggest problem.

 

[CUElk]

I don't understand the OP's math. A point is a point. It ain't rocket science.

yep

 

[tzone]

In the big woods of the northeast, the "dyed in the wool" hunters still talk more about the dressed weight of deer than they do about antlers. Shooting a 200 pounder is the goal for a lot of people (though most won't be successful).

Same with northern MN where I grew up and hunt on occasion.

 

[WyoDoug]

How big they get depends mostly on habitat and hunting pressure. I count points on side with most points (western count).

 

[WyoDoug]

If you can hang a ring on it, it counts! LOL

I just assume the lingo that whoever I'm talking to will understand. Around here a 4x4 is a truck and a 6x6 is a fencepost.

That’s what my wife says LOL. Ooops different subject.

 

[blue devil]

No matter the brand of deer I count them like lumber. Especially Whitetails, since many of them don't have the same amount of points on each side. I've shot many that are 4x5 and 5x6. From what I've noticed some of the old-timers around here seem to favor the body weight concept more than the horn size.