What ever happened to Western count on Whitetails?

[Pat S.]

My nephew got a nice whitetail this year in Idaho and brought it by to show me the rack which he called a 5 point. I pointed out to him that what he had was a very nice 4 point western count as the eye guards/brow tines are not counted in a true western count. I even pointed out a passage in a book by Jack O'Connor that pointed out the difference between Eastern and Western count but he still didn't buy it. Also, he didn't have a clue as to who Jack O'Connor was either.

Then out of curiousity I polled some hunters here where I work(also in Idaho) and again each was wrong in his tally and wanted to halve the Eastern count. Where was the understanding of Western count lost? Is it a case of "Buckmaster syndrome"?
Pat S.

[Ballistic64]

Still alive and well here. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[bailey1474]

Why would you want to cheat the deer if it has browtines? I've never understood the western count. Why not just say "10 point?"

[Fiftydriver]

Pat S.

I think it all depends on how you were raised counting points. Personally, being from Montana, I would say 90% of the whitetail hunters up here count all the points on one side including the eyeguards so counting the eyeguards that buck would be a 5x5 up here.

With whitetails, the eyeguards are often a very substantial part of the overall trophy quality of a buck. You can easily gain 15" of score on eye guards alone.

As such, why would you not count anything that would contribute to such a degree to the trophy quality of the animal.

If we were talking mule deer I could understand as eyeguards are generally insignificant on mule deer. A huge set of eye guards on a muly will be about 2 to 3" in lenght. This is nothing for a quality whitetail which will generally push 7-8 inches and often up to 10" in length.

Just another side note and not meaning this in any disrespectful way, but just because a gunwriter says something does not mean its written in stone, or even correct for that matter [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img].

Everyone has their way of doing things, to say one way is the correct way and all others is wrong is a pretty bold statement in my book.

Again, its just what people grow up using and what they are used to.

Personally, if a tine is a scorable tine(+1" on the B&C system), I count it in my count as do most Montana hunters in my area of central Montana.

Good Shooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

[4ked Horn]

Wouldn't the deer in question be a 25 point Eastern count? 5x5=25 right?
And if not exactly symetric i.e. both sides don't score within an eighth of an inch of each other, it would be considered nontypical.

(jab) [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[screech]

I've never heard of the eye guards on a white tail not being counted. Mule deer I've always counted western style I guess with just counting forks and fliers. Unless its a big non typical then they are normally counted with everyone I hunt with in centrall Idaho.

[LB]

Yeah, those two point whitetails make a real impressive mount. Especially the Texas variety, kicks sand on a (two) spike mulie. Personally, they can kill them all off and give the range back to our mule deer, if I had a choice. Let's put an end to whitetail polution.

Western count rules!

Good hunting. LB