Kenton wrote:I'm not entirely sure I could, but I hope I would.
I am willing to bet you would. Those of us that are blessed to live and hunt in the land of book bucks have probably been exposed to a buck bigger then this guy.
I watched a 200 inch buck feed in a white oak grove fifty yards from my stand for half an hour in October of 2001. I have never been the same since.
I know for a fact that Fred has witnessed a 200 inch buck on the hoof as well. And like me, I am pretty certain he has never been the same.
So fess up Kenton, you have seen a bigger buck then this one haven't you!:D
What we have to be aware of is the view we present to our fellow forum members. The vast majority of those that visit here will never see a buck like the one in the photo above on the hoof. They just do not exist where they hunt. That buck is the buck of a lifetime to them. I had to learn this lesson the hard way. Saxman is the one who taught it to me.
For many here it is easy to view us as elitists due to our attitude regarding bucks and what we would and would not harvest. It is also hard for them to subscribe to the "let the little ones walk" philosophy we so often preach. That "little one" may be the only buck they see all season. And yes there are many that do not give a hoot about antlers and only look at the animal as meat. (But I doubt they would discard a ten point rack with the bones from the butchered carcass.)lol: Yes, we are blessed to live and hunt in the land of the monsters. But we must always be able to hunt a mile in the boots of our fellow forum members who are not so blessed.
And by the same token, you forum members in the land of the munchkin deer must make an effort to understand we forum members who scoff at 130 inch bucks due to where we live and hunt. I and others here have the opportunity to harvest those bucks fairly often, especially during the rut. The wall of bucks at the Ohio Deer & Turkey Expo proves the point. Bucks measuring 140 inches don't even get a sniff. And it is getting to the point that 160 inch bucks no longer make you take much notice as you walk down the aisle!
The best way to give a grade on how good a buck scores is to grade on the curve. Inches should be assigned to a buck before the first measurement of his rack is taken. Kind of like a handicap system.
In the case of saxman, he gets 125 inches to start. Then his bucks rack measurements are added to the 125.
See how tough it is for him to harvest a 140 under this system.
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)