That's a 200 lb. doe....not!

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Have you ever noticed that hunter's pack the pounds on their kills?

Here in Michigan, or Saskatchewan South (as I will call it for this thread), we like our whitetail hunting. We talk about it, brag about it, and lie about it. I always here about the "cow" doe that someone just couldn't let walk another day in the woods or the darn near 300 lb. buck.

I will admit that before I integrated a scale in my hanging system, I too over estimated the hanging weight of deer that I had taken. I was usually about twenty pounds heavy from actual. I did better than most. The average hanging weight of a doe here is about 105 lbs. The average "eyeballed" weight is 150 lbs.

Just wondering if this is a Michigan problem, a whitetail only problem, or does this happen in your neck of the woods too? And if so, what other animals and do you have a funny story too?
 
Are you saying 300lb bucks and 200lb doe's are....not out there? Define your weight definitions....live weight or gutted.
 
Sure I know that there are 300 lb. Bucks and 200 lb. does. I'm talking about weighing a gutted deer on a scale. I have just wistnessed many guys standing over their dead deer professing it to be 150lbs. (or more) dressed and I know from weighing it's no more than 110 lbs. at best.
 
It's a hunting problem.... I've never talked to a hunter that hasn't killed 200+ pound bucks, 150-200 pound does, 25 pound turkeys.... fisherman with 10+ pound Bass, 5 foot Pike.... you name it....


Part of the problem is that the estimates in their head are based on the "facts" about a deer that was shot by Joe Redneck who said "Dang Johnny! This here id da biggest doe I ever saw! She's a hun-dird and fidtee.... easy"..... so, the guy shoots a doe the next day or next year and says "Well, I'llllllll be! This here doe is biggern that one Joe Redneck shot, DANG! his was over one-fiddy, dis here deer mus' be 175!"

Truth is, Joe Rednecks deer was 100 pounds.... and the new one is 125....


All that said, here in central NY we do have pretty big deer. Actually measured weights from around the Ithaca area show that a 130+ pound doe is not unusual and the bucks can be anywhere over 150, maybe pushing 200 for a REAL bruiser. (this is from the weigh station records that I saw... I'll have to ask the dude in charge to see where the averages came out)
 
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Some hunters have picked up a few pointers from the "Fishermen"....notice how they sit way back on the rump of a deer holding the rack as far forward to the camera lens as possible? (You'd never catch me doing this ;) )
 
Slightly off topic, but...

... the animal attack scene and its aftermath in the movie, "Tropic Thunder," have some very funny bearing on this.
 
"Well, I'llllllll be! This here doe is biggern *that'n* Joe Redneck shot, DANG! his was over one-fiddy, dis here deer mus' be 175!"
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Peet, I had to fix yer misspellin'...:D
Brent
 
bottom of canyon

i remember a little buck killed at the bottom of a canyon that went well over 300 by the time we got him to the rim.
 
When I lived in Nevada, they called it "ground shrinkage", the 30" 4-point 300 lbs buck had shrunk to 24" 3X4 and only weighed 150 lbs by the time the hunter reached it. It brings out lines like "That buck was sooooo faarrr away that I had to hold 4 feet over his back, and it had dried up and lost 100 lbs by the time I reached it".:rolleyes:
 
It's a guy thing

Ask any guy how big his johnson is and see if you get an accurate answer,ask his girl and you'll get a different answer. So if you can't get an accurate rating on something you see every, what makes you think you could judge a deer. Remember, size does make a good story no matter what it is.
 
Shrinkage starts for me as soon as I put the sights on it. From 220 pounds walking through the brush to about 75 pounds in my sights. From 75 yards away when I first see it to over 300 yards away when I squeeze the trigger. Fortunately they are never 220 when I have to lift them to hang them in the tree or 300 yards away when I have to go get them. I blame it on that little German fellow that messed up time and gravity with his relative theory. :p
 
These girls visit us nearly daily and, I doubt either tops 200# -

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And, I doubt this guy does either -

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This one might -

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And, at the time this picture was taken - this guy weighed 249# -

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I put him on an exercise program (with me) and he's trimmed down to 230#.

Lest I give the impression I live in the woods - I bought this property in 1975 and it was the north edge of town - now, I'm told the geographic center of town is about two miles east of me. We have some 15 acres of wooded open space behind us that will never be developed - we also have coyotes, bear, foxes, and raccoons to share that space with.

:D
 
Witnesses Cause Shrinkage

It has been scientifically proven that witnesses cause shrinkage with any type of game.

A perfect example is the doe I took two years ago weighed 180 pounds, field dressed and hung on a scale.

This past year, I took a doe that weighed only 120 on the scale. She looked Identical to the doe two years ago, maybe even a tad bit bigger. The only difference is this past year I had a witness help me drag her out and hang her. After we skinned her and compared the hides (I tan), she was actually bigger than the previous years deer. Again, witnesses.

The only time a witness should be allowed anywhere near a deer (or fish) is after it has been cleaned and process and placed in the freezer.
 
The only time a witness should be allowed anywhere near a deer (or fish) is after it has been cleaned and process and placed in the freezer.
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A-dern-men!!!!:D You would be surprised how bad folks miscalculate the weight of a dog caught hog and post the pic on a hoggin' forum only to be told by the vets they are off by 50% or more:D One example was a hog guessed to be 250 but wasn't over 100#...:rolleyes: But I give leeway cuz you are one tired pup after trudging thru the woods half the night, then you have to wrassle a mad hog and several gung ho dogs only to tie it up and drag or tote it to the truck... with all them dogs now leashed up and tangling in the brush and briars... Any hog feels like a 400# slob boar!
I always figure we drug the hunert pounds of hair off as we made way to the truck...
Brent
 
The problem is not only the weight "estimate" but also the distance. I am just love the "I shot that 250 lb Connecticut white tail at 300 yards while he was on the run". I have done a great deal of prarrie dog shooting in South Dakota and I can tell you for certain that the 500 yd shot was actually closer to 350 yds by actual measurement. I think it is human nature to "boast" a bit.
 
There are a couple of corallaries to the weight issue: 1)Is the distance issue. There is a law of hunting physics that establishes 150 yards "field" = 75 yards reality. 300 yards "field" = 130 yards actual, etc. 2) Is the distance between the event and the telling. The longer ago it was, the further the shot and the bigger the animal.
 
Have you ever noticed that hunter's pack the pounds on their kills?
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Well, I can understand how they can double in weight by the time you get 'em carried out.

You sound new at deer hunting. Wait 'till you hear how far away they were killed.

And don't start drinking with fishermen, either.
 
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