Just How Big Is Big?
By George Tsukamoto
Big game animals with antlers (deer, elk & moose) and horns (wild sheep & goat) have held a fascination and been admired by man throughout history. The chance to take a large antlered or horned game animal plays on the hunters thoughts and dreams. Hunters in the field are more likely to judge the size of antlers by the overall spread or number of points or even the height of a rack. A common gauge used to determine a trophy mule deer is the 30+ inch spread value. Unfortunately, the spread alone is a poor measure of trophy quality because it does not account for massiveness, length of points or symmetry.
The Boone and Crockett Club, an organization founded by Teddy Roosevelt in 1888, devised a method of measuring and judging animals for their size and symmetry. Their scoring system measures the growth of antlers and horns to the nearest 1/8 inch. Both length of antler points and circumferences at key locations are made to determine girth or massiveness. These measurements are totaled to provide the gross score. Deductions for differences between measurements on left and right antler or horn are made to account for symmetry. Total inches of growth minus deductions result in the B&C score. Minimum point scores have been established for entry into the record books. This system is now the accepted standard for judging “trophy” quality of North American big game animals. The Boone and Crockett scoring system is now used to judge trophies taken by bow and arrow (Pope and Young Club) and by primitive black powder firearms (Longhunter).
Washington has the distinction of providing the World Record black-tailed deer. Lester H. Miller took this trophy in Lewis County in 1953. The following are the number one Washington records for deer and elk categories from the state of Washington.
| Big Game | B & C Score | Hunter | County | Year | Overall Rank | B & C Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mule deer - typical | 202 0/8 | Howard W. Hoskins | Chelan | 1970 | 172 | 190 |
| mule deer - nontypical | 266 1/8 | Joe C. Mally | Stevens | 1933 | 81 | 230 |
| black-tailed deer | 182 2/8 | Lester H. Miller | Lewis | 1953 | 1 | 135 |
| white-tailed deer - typical | 181 7/8 | George A. Cook III | Whitman | 1985 | 172 | 170 |
| white-tailed deer - nontypical | 234 4/8 | Larry G. Gardner | Stevens | 1953 | 89 | 195 |
| American elk - typical | 420 4/8 | Charles F. Gunnier | Yakima | 1990 | 4 | 375 |
| American elk - nontypical | 420 4/8 | Stan Orr | Yakima | 1933 | 7 | 385 |
| Roosevelt elk - typical | 380 6/8 | Sam Argo | Jefferson | 1983 | 3 | 290 |
Each organization has official measures who score legally taken animals for listing in their respective record books. If you need a official measurement for a trophy contact the following:
 Previous section |
Next section  |