How to score a deer
A field-journal guide to measuring antlers properly — and recording the numbers so they still mean something in ten seasons.
Scoring a deer is simply a structured way of describing a set of antlers in numbers: beam length, tine length, circumference and spread. The system exists so two hunters on different continents can talk about the same animal and mean the same thing. Here is how to do it carefully.
1. Wait out the drying period
Official scoring systems require the antlers to air-dry for 60 days at normal room temperature after the harvest. Measuring a fresh rack gives a higher, unofficial number because the antler is still shrinking. You can measure straight away for your own records — just note that the score is green (unofficial).
2. Gather the right tools
Accuracy comes from the tools, not the technique. A flexible steel cable or 1/4-inch steel tape follows the curve of the beam; a folding carpenter's ruler will not.
- Flexible steel cable or 1/4-inch steel measuring tape
- Folding ruler or yardstick for the spread measurements
- Alligator clips or tape to mark measuring points
- Pencil and a scoring sheet, or your phone
3. Count the points
A point is any projection at least one inch long whose length exceeds its width at one inch from the tip. The beam tip counts as a point. Note which points are typical (matching, symmetrical) and which are abnormal (drop tines, sticker points, unmatched forks) — they are recorded separately.
4. Measure the main beams
Run the cable along the outer curve of each beam, from the lowest outside edge of the burr to the tip. Record each side separately. This is the single measurement people most often get wrong by cutting the curve short.
5. Measure every tine
Measure each point from its tip down to the main beam, following the outer curve. Lay a straight edge across the beam where the tine meets it, mark the baseline, and measure from that mark. Keep left and right sides in separate columns so you can calculate symmetry later.
6. Measure the four circumferences
On each antler, take four circumference measurements between the burr and the tines: between burr and first point, between first and second, between second and third, and between third and fourth. Always measure at the narrowest place in each section.
7. Measure the spreads
Inside spread is the widest distance between the inner edges of the main beams, measured at a right angle to the skull's centreline. Also record greatest spread and tip-to-tip spread. These are single measurements, not per side.
8. Add it up
Sum the beams, tines, circumferences and the inside spread for a gross score. For a typical net score, subtract the side-to-side differences (the symmetry deductions) and any abnormal points. For a non-typical score, abnormal points are added instead of subtracted.
9. Get it verified if it matters
Only an official measurer from the relevant record-keeping organisation can certify a score for the books. Your own measurement is still worth recording — it is how you compare seasons, animals and areas over time.
Record it in WDIS
WDIS keeps each dimension separately in the trophy cabinet, so you record what you actually measured rather than a single number you can never check again. Every measurement also feeds an unofficial WDIS point score, which lets you compare your own animals across seasons.
Scoring rules differ between organisations and between species. Always follow the published rules of the record book you intend to enter, and your local hunting regulations.