How to score shed antlers

In This Guide

→ What a shed can tell you
→ How to photograph a shed so it scores
→ Scoring one side
→ Projecting the full rack
→ What a shed score is worth in August
→ Frequently asked questions

What a shed can tell you

Mass, beam length, and tine length on that side are real. Age still shows in the pedicle and in last year's photos if you have them. Spread is the thing you do not have, unless you found both sides. Two matching sheds from the same buck are a gift. One side is still enough to decide if he is a deer you want to hunt.

How to photograph a shed so it scores

Lay it on a flat, dark surface. No grass through the tines. Put a ruler or a tape in the frame so there is a known inch. Shoot from above, not from the couch angle. Include the whole beam, brow to tip. Take a second photo from the inside of the beam so mass shows.

Scoring one side

Drop the photo into rackline. You get a score for that side and a projected full rack. You can also run the side by hand in the calculator: beam, brow, G2, G3, four mass rings. Double it only if the other side is a match in last year's photos. If you never saw the other side, do not double it and call it a 150.

Projecting the full rack

If you have both sheds, score both and add inside spread from last fall's trail cam. That is the honest full rack. If you have one shed and a trail cam photo from November, score the photo and the shed. If they agree within a few inches on that side, trust the photo for the whole deer. If you have one shed and nothing else, keep it as a one side number.

What a shed score is worth in August

Use it to build the hit list, not the camp story. A big shed means he lived. It does not mean he will be bigger in November. Age the body if you get a summer photo. Then decide.