Frequently Asked Questions

Š2004-2005 New York State
Big Buck Club, Inc.

THE NEW YORK STATE
BIG BUCK CLUB

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

“OLD” TROPHY ELIGIBILITY
Entry into the New York State Record Book requires that two basic criteria be met:

the buck must have been taken legally
the buck must have been taken in New York State

This means that any buck taken in New York is eligible for entry into the records, regardless of age. The buck that grand dad took back in the 1930’s, that has been hanging at camp since you were a little kid, is still eligible for entry. Locate the closest scorer from the scorers list on pages 146-147, make an appointment for measurement and, if the score qualifies, take some good photos, or better yet, find an original photo of Gramps with his deer and send the score sheet, photos and &15.00 to the records office.

'SCORE SHOPPING"

The New York State Big Buck club does not condone "shopping for higher

scores". Official scorers fill out a Trophy Report and send it to the Records

Chairman. Anyone caught "shopping for a higher score" only the lowest score by an Official Measurer will be considered by the NYSBBC. If the trophy owner suspects a scoring mistake has been made he should first talk it over with the original scorer. If there are still concerns the trophy owner should contact the Records Chairman for a review and a final interpertation.

SCORING QUESTIONS

WHAT IS AN ANTLER POINT?
While scoring antlers the hunter is often confused by the measurement of what is scored as a point. To be a legal point a projection on the antler must meet two criteria: It must be at least one inch long when measured from the base along the center line to the tip and the length of the point must exceed the width of the base. May also be a point when measured 1" from the tip and find a location where length exceeds the width at that loacation.

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TYPICAL OR NON-TYPICAL SCORE?
There are two classifications, Typical or non-typical for which a buck is eligible for entry into the record book in any of the three categories of gun, archery and muzzleloader.

The determination is made by looking at the gross score, the deductions and the net score after the buck has been measured. Study for a moment the record sheets for typical and non-typical state records. In the lower right corner you will find an addition/subtraction column where all the totals are carried from the top of the sheet.

When an antler point is determined to be typical, because of location on the main beam, its length is entered into columns 1 or 2. If the tine is determined to be non-typical because of location (such as a drop tine, a forked tine, beam points near the burr or if the tine comes off the side of the beam rather than the top it will be treated as a deduction on a rack that is typical in conformation or it will be an addition on a rack that is considered non-typical.

What triggers the shift from typical to non-typical entry into the book is the final score.

The non-typical score and the typical score are compared to the minimum entry score for a specific category. The total difference between the final score calculation and the minimum score determines placement.

For example: If a gun deer scores 145 typical (when the odd points are subtracted) and 166 non-typical (when the odd points are added in) the deer would be entered as a typical. It is five inches above the typical minimum of 140 but only one inch above the non-typical minimum of 165.