Goofy question

[Gopher]

Ive never hunted whitetail but I plan on it some time soon.
My question is they usually count whitetail eastern count ya know ten points and what not.
Do they count western whitetail the same way or do they call them 4x4's?
and so on.
Dumb question I know. But inquiring minds want to know.
Plus it seems Ive noticed that they count eyeguards on whiteys but we don't really count them in the west.
Weird.

[brn2hunt]

I hunt whitetails and i call the m4x4 or whatever it doesnt make a difference really just depends on where you are and yes they do count browtines because generally whitetails have scoreable eye gaurds if it counts in tha score then i count it =)

[AGCHAWK]

Gopher, it's certainly not a silly question. In fact, we actually discussed this same thing a while back here on MM.

I personally do NOT count all the points together, whether it's a whitetail or a mule deer (A four point whitetail is a 4x4, not an 8 point). However, for some strange reason I DO count the eyeguards when talkin' about whities...but do not with muleys.

Strange considering they are counted when measuring a rack on either species I suppose but that's the way we (My family and I) have always done it.

[killerbee]

i used to tell all my hunters that back east you have to count both side to make those little whitetails seem as big as are mulies . but really-- i think on counting whitetails it's more comon to count the eye gaurds for tha fact that usually they grow BIG eyeguards, 6-8-10 inches, and on a normal muley 2". but counting both sides i'm not real sure why either the wersterners started counting only 1 side or why the easterners started counting both sides??

[AGCHAWK]

I've heard a number of theories on this same question. Here is the one that makes most sense to me.

(I will keep this to typical only. Non-typical racks are just that..."non-typical")

It seems to originate from the structure of the rack itself. A typical whitetail antler contains one main beam with all points originating from this beam. Pretty simple really....if I said that I had just shot a 10 point whitetail you would instanty picture a whitetail with 5 points on each side. If I said it was an 11 point buck you would theorize that he had 5 points on one side and 6 on the other (Of course this isn't ALWAYS true but most typical racks would fall into these catergories.
However, since a mule deer really has two main beams inwhich different points originate, things are a bit different. If someone said they harvested a 4 point mule deer, you would instantly think of a mature 4X4...the typical structure of a mature buck's rack. This part is simple. HOWEVER, let's say I just shot a 7 point mule deer. This could lead you to believe that I just shot a MONSTER 7X7...or was it just an average 3x4? See, counting all points on a mule deer when refering to his rack can lead to more questions than it's worth.
Blacktail are counted the same way as mule deer because they too have a basic 4x4 typical structure on a mature buck.
I hope this makes sense (It did to me...LOL). Additionally, since elk and mule deer reside in pretty much the same areas of the United States, they are also counted the same way...even though they only have one main beam...like a whitetail.

[Gopher]

That actually makes quite a bit of sense.
I've never heard it put that way.

[Heads or Tails]

Gopher i agree with all that has been said.

In my experience it seem like it depends some just on what part of the country you are in. I ran some whitetail leases in NE for a few years and there (mid-west) it seemed as thugh evrybody used the termanology of 4x5, 5x5, etc... It seems like down in the suth they use the combined termanology such as: 8 pointer, 7 pointer, etc...
As HAWK mentioned I usually count the eye gaurds when referring to whiteys but not muleys although they are credited for scoring purposes.

When it comes down to it, neither way of how you refer to the animal makes tem any bigger or smaller. So hunt til you see the on you want or you will be happy with and refer to him in whatever way you want.

Good Luck

[ABert]

This reminds me of when I walked up on my 7X7 and radioed my brother and asked him if he had ever seen a 7 point muley. He asked me if I was counting one side or both

Almost got in a fist fight with my father-in-law, born and bred Texan a few years back over this. I'm not sure but there may have been some level of inebriation (sp?) involved. He now lives in WY and has said he's trying to convert the state to counting all points.

No converts to report of as yet.

[lifetime hunter]

i used to tell all my hunters that back east you have to count both side to make those little whitetails seem as big as are mulies .

That is a good one!

I agree with what has been said, count all points on whitetails, and each side on elk & deer, but Canadians call a 7X7 a 7 spike??? never understood that!!!

[waynedevore]

Tell You what You get say East of the Missouri and tell Folks you got a 5 point and All are going to think you got a yearling buck
For some reason they count everything that you can hang a ring on And cheat at that.