Pope and Young ??

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Arrowbender
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Pope and Young ??

Unread postby Arrowbender » Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:14 pm

There has recently been a few topics posted about Pope and Young and/or 125" bucks.
I just got my 2014 buck officially scored and got to talking to the official scorer. We talked about how busy he is and the amount of deer the taxidermists are getting in.
This got me thinking about when I was younger and my goal was to one day kill a P&Y buck. It was a goal that I ws very interested in obtaining. It probably had more to do with what others were talking about than what was a reality for the areas I was hunting. But a goal that drove me just the same.

I am pretty confident that my antler measuring skills are as accurate as most official scorers, but I still like to get them officially scored just to alleviate any question. (I know what nets are used for, but to get the net score we need to get an accurate gross score, and that gross score is what I am really interested in).

So.... after all of that being said..... I still like to tell folks that the score doesn't matter, it's more about the deer, what they grew, how they survived long enough to get that type of bone. But mostly to get a standardized language to describe one of the attributes of the animals we chase.

And I believe that..... it's kind of like their weight- I like to weigh them all and more recently, cementum age them all. Not so I can brag of what I killed; but more to document what the animal actually was.

As I get older and reminisce back on hunts; I find it helpful to know as much as I can about them. It is also fun to compare different animals and the time of year or area taken etc......

Pretty sure that even those that don't care about score still have a pretty good idea what it means to see, hunt or kill a 125"; 150", or 200" animal!

So.....what do you guys do?

Estimate antler score?
Just measure them yourself?
Get them officially measured?
Put them in the book if they exceed minimum requirement?
Just put one in the book and call it good?
Put them in the book only if bigger than the last one?
Only put them in the book if the book has a B & C on it?
Really just don't care one iota what the actual score is?


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Master Chief
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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby Master Chief » Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:34 pm

We have a TN registry. I am going to have mine registered into it but only because it is my home county's biggest muzzleloader buck.

My goal for my first bow buck is a "P&Y" but that is primarily just because my minimum antler score I personally desire to shoot is 130 (gross) I doubt I would actually have P&Y score anything. I would, however, register a deer into B&C. I think B&C deer are fascinating and live in a state where they are VERY rare.

I score every antler I have and age all of my deer, but thats just for the fun of it/to keep data

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Dewey
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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby Dewey » Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:42 pm

Like you my goal when I started hunting was to someday kill a P&Y buck. I did enter my first one in P&Y and WI Buck & Bear Club books but really have no interest in entering more. The P&Y book is so huge it really isn't such a big deal. I score my own and had a few officially scored. Kinda nice to go over an official score sheet to verify my measurements. If I killed a Booner I would likely enter that because it's my next goal I hope to someday accomplish. Just gotta stop killing smaller ones.

I like talking about antler score when discussing bucks. It's really the only way to distinguish them from each other.

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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:52 pm

Just a DIY score is good enough for me and then try to out do myself...
I like bucks - pretty simple, right now it's +2.5.
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headgear
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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby headgear » Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:59 pm

Just a quick ballpark score and then weight, no books unless maybe I shot a crazy big deer but I don't think I will have to worry about that. :lol:
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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby PK_ » Thu Jan 08, 2015 2:29 pm

I have never scored any of my deer. I have seen enough that have been scored to guess most bucks within a couple inches which is good enough for me.

If I ever shot a typical B&C from my home state I would have it entered as it would be the first. But I won't kill a deer that caliber so it does't matter. Though rumor has it a 166 net typical was officially scored this year from the central region :shock:
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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby Brad » Thu Jan 08, 2015 3:14 pm

I killed what should end up being a pope and young (he green scored 128 4/8 net so he should make it. I will enter him if makes it simply because that has always been my #1 goal since I picked up a bow a very long time ago. I don't know if I will enter others beyond this one, but I feel I need to on this one simply because it's always been my #1 hunting goal and I worked my keister off to get him, a lot of blood sweat and tears went into it. I don't normally care much about a certificate, but this one is kind of confirmation that I actually did get my goal, which should make me want another even more. I killed what would have been the county record turkey with a bow this spring, I had him weighed and measured but never sent in the papers.

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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby kurt » Thu Jan 08, 2015 3:59 pm

I have never put any in. I have scored them and a guy at the archery club scores them(we are always close I'm normally a inch or less smaller) but I always thought I would but never have. I thought that Ill pay for membership then enter all that year so that I'm only paying for a membership once but then I thought what's the point. Maybe if I get something really big I'm topped out at 148 now.

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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby Southern Man » Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:38 am

It really doesn't matter to me what the score is. I tend to put bucks into classes based on what I think their age is rather than score, even tho antler size figures into that. And even that's not scientific. I look at a buck and compare it to what I've killed, what's available, and how he sizes up in my area. I probably wouldn't have one officially scored, and have no interest in registering him.
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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby Wlog » Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:31 am

I killed a buck this year that should qualify for P&Y (haven't had it officially scored yet) and when my dad asked me if I was going to enter it I replied "no I don't care about making any P&Y entries". Then my dad says, it's not about you the buck deserves it. Whether you buy into that point of view or not, it made me rethink it and now I'm thinking I might enter it.

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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby bones09 » Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:17 am

I entered my first archery buck into P&Y back in 1999 when i was 18 years old. A good archery kill was a bit different back then. I wouldn't say i got pushed into it but there were a few people that were prolly more interested in me putting it in the books than myself. I do still get them scored by an official scorer but haven't entered any of them in any books, the scorer I know doesn't really appreciate this for some reason. I have been lucky enough to kill 5 other p&y bucks(maybe 6?) and 1 non-typical that would qualify for b&c since my first in '99. I'm proud of all of them but the most memorable deer to date is the buck i killed in '13, i knew him to be at least 7 years old and a smart bastard at that. '13 was a bad year for antler growth, this deer in particular had lost well over 20" and didn't score p&y net. It doesn't matter to me abit. The score of that buck or who's book it didn't qualify for had no bearing on how happy i was to finally get him on the ground.
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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby MN Slick » Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:34 am

I've had one officially measured but did not enter it. I rough scored my others. I started sending in teeth for cementum aging in 2012 which I find very interesting and as of 2014 I adopted an age before beauty target list which may or may not last depending on my neighbors.
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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby SRWbowhunter » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:50 am

I am going to have a buck it shot this year officially scored because he is my first one that will definetly make pope and young.. My dad and I scored him the day after I shot him (sept 13) and we got a gross non typical of 179 1/4 and a gross typical of like 168 5/8 so unfortunately he's gonna be just shy of Boone and Crockett. A local archery shop is having a big buck party in a little over a week and have an official scorer coming so I will have him score it and most likely enter it to pope and young but like a lot of you who posted won't do so with every deer. If I shoot a deer I consider a trophy if it goes in the book really isn't important.

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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby Kraftd » Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:53 am

Finally got a couple that would make it this year, but no real interest in actually submitting them. To me the scoring itself, for most deer that aren't gnarly non-typicals is plenty easy that I just do a quick run through myself and call it good. To each their own though, it's a good goal to have I suppose.
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Re: Pope and Young ??

Unread postby Bowhunting Brian » Fri Jan 09, 2015 10:41 am

like Ed, a DIY measuring job is close enough for me. scoring in P&Y is just a measurement for "their" club. I don't care to join their club. I think it costs money to join as well and I have no interest in paying. I hunt for me and just enjoy the outdoors. I don't feel I need to pay to join a club to honor an animal. Just get as much meat off it as I can and be respectful as the animal gave his life for me.


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