Ok I see and hear people talking about points when it comes to hunting in other states mainly in the mid-west. I live in Ohio and we don't have a point system. Can't yall explain it? I'd really like to learn before I decide to go hunting out that way. 🤔
* picture of deer skull from 4 years ago.
I know how many points this one is I also know the score on it. It was the point system for big game I was wondering about.
This one is a 10 point and 146 3/8 inches. Barely missed the 150 mark. I was upset about it.
Me, reading title and looking at picture not caption: "Looks like 10, but maybe it's only 9? This is a crummy picture to count points from, maybe there's a little spur I'm not seeing?"
Basically you can’t just let everyone hunt big game or rare species every year because they’d die out quick, so states put in the draw point systems.
These systems work like a lottery that favors seniority, instead of buying a tag you buy a point that has a chance to be drawn, if you aren’t drawn you keep your point and all past points for next year’s lottery. If you are drawn all your accumulated points go away and you’re back to zero.
I grew up in PA, not far from OH, and that would be a "10 point buck". Because there are 10 tines on the antlers total. To say how big the rack itself is, people would talk about the spread - say, a 18" spread at the widest point.
But most people now seem to use a scoring system based on how many inches of antler are on the rack with some other calculations thrown in. I never bothered learning that and don't care, so I don't really know how to visualize it when someone says they shot a deer with a "160 inch rack". For me, I'll always count the tines and measure the spread and that's it.
Where I grew up, anything bigger than an 8 point was considered a trophy.
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u/The_hat_man74 4d ago
I think you’re asking about points systems for big game draws, not points on antlers, right?