In early January, I shot a once in a lifetime whitetail buck. In the above photo, I use my white cane to measure the inside span of the main beam on this amazing buck, which turns out to be 23.75 inches. For more photos check out the Humbled Dead Eyes Duo Thanks Heroes Ranch post.

There will be several numbers referenced in this post that more seasoned deer hunters will understand much better than me. After you have completed reading, feel free to suggest your choice of name (Big 9, Better 11 or something else) in the comment section when you donate to Helping Heroes Hunt.

Safari Club International (SCI) scoring system

The SCI Scoring System for whitetail deer involves measuring various aspects of the antlers, including length, circumference and tine length, to calculate a total score SCI uses different methods for scoring typical and non-typical antlers. For typical antlers, only the main tines are counted. For non-typical antlers, all tines are included in the score.

Tine measurements include Main Beam Length: The length of each main beam is measured from the base to the tip; Tine Length: Each tine (point) is measured from the tip to the nearest edge of the main beam; and Circumference: The circumference of the antlers is measured at four points: the smallest circumference of each main beam, typically taken at the smallest point between the burr and the first tine.

Calculating the Score: The total score is calculated by adding the lengths of the main beams, the lengths of the tines, and the circumferences.

For detailed instructions on measuring and scoring whitetail deer, you can refer to the official scoring guidelines available on the Safari Club International (SCI) website.

The Score Card

The hand written PDF score card is not very screen reader friendly, so the key numbers from the score card are included in the following table. Measurements to the nearest eighth of an inch are recorded for both the left and right side of the antlers.

Tale Of The Tape

Big 9, measuring the typical antlers, results in a score of 190 total inches.

Better 11, when adding the non-typical antler measurements, the score increases to 205 total inches.

Mike’s Name Choice

When considering the name Better 11, I recall how the Dead Eyes Duo returned home from our hunt with the mission to get better as described in the Humbled Dead Eyes Duo – Thanks Heroes Ranch post.

When contemplating the name Big 9, I recall the whitetail bucks that I could see in my youth and most of the whitetail bucks I have seen recently by touching their racks had typical antlers.

I am not going to share my name choice at this time. For the name reveal, you will need to come back and read future posts. In the meantime, you might be able to influence my choice of name by visiting the helpingheroeshunt.org donation page and making a monthly donation, might I suggest $190 or $205.