My Last Word on Antler Scores …. I hope!
Higgys Stand
By Don Higgins
This marks my 14th Higgys Stand column in Whitetail Heartbeat. The very first topic that I covered was fraudulent antler scores, mainly because this was a hot topic that was often brought up when I talked with other deer farmers. As one prominent person in the industry put it, “The first liar doesn’t stand a chance.” I think I have covered this topic enough and plan for this to be the last time that I discuss fraudulent antler scores in this column … but who knows what may arise in the future so I won’t close the door completely.
I think we all realize that some antler scores are being advertised that are not even close to being correct. I personally feel that many of the discrepancies are not breeders trying to mislead anyone but are due to judgment calls when scoring particular racks and in some cases, correct measuring procedures are not understood and/or followed. It does seem that things are improving in this area but I still hear rumors concerning antler scores such as the one this spring about a couple of scorers who went into a breeders booth after show hours and scored the bucks on display. The rumor has it that every buck in the display was misrepresented by at least 30 inches and some by as much as 50 inches. I doubt that this issue will ever be completely put to rest.
In my first column on this subject I stated- “I personally have a short list of breeders that I will never do business with. There are a few ways that someone can make this list and one of them is grossly exaggerating antler scores. I am not talking about looking at a bucks antlers and wondering if they really score as much as claimed; I am talking about having my intelligence completely insulted by a grossly inflated antler score and it happens every time I open a sale catalog or attend an event where antlers are on display. If a breeder will flat out lie to me (and YOU!) about a bucks antler score, what else will they lie about? There are enough good honest deer breeders in this business that we don’t need to patronize the liars and cheats. I encourage you to help clean up our business by spending your dollars with the breeders that are open and honest to the point of letting you put a tape to the shed antlers of their bucks”
My position on this issue and response to it remains pretty much the same today but that I don’t see as many grossly inflated scores. Clearly this issue is still at play. This industry is not even sure which of our bucks is the “world record”. I saw an internet debate where a case was made for 3 different bucks; Goliath, Highroller and Rolex. It has also been proven that a rack can be measured by 2 different official SCI scorers and the final scores will be very different. As I have already alluded to, there are human judgment calls when scoring giant non-typical bucks. These differences in opinions can often lead to substantial differences in score. Luckily the “race for inches” seems to have given way to breeding for “the look”. I see this as a positive change. We have swung towards producing big framed whitetails that look more like bigger versions of their wild cousins than “freaks with tumors growing on their heads” as one reader referred to them. I personally think the change will swing even further as breeders realize that our ultimate end market is shooting ranches and not breeder auctions.
In an earlier column I promised to write NADEFA about this issue and share their response. I will share both of those letters with you now and then finish with my final thoughts on this hot button topic.
December 23, 2008
Dear NADEFA Board,
As many of you may be aware, I write a monthly column for Whitetail Heartbeat magazine covering a variety of topics dealing with the whitetail industry. One topic that I have covered several times concerns fraudulent antler scores which are sometimes advertised and promoted by whitetail breeders. This topic always generates a number of responses from the readers and to this point 100% of those responding agree that fraudulent antler scores is an issue that needs addressed. Several have suggested to me that NADEFA should address this issue and come up with a standard or accepted scoring system for whitetails and detail how scores can be advertised as well as various other details surrounding the legitimate scoring of whitetail antlers. As a NADEFA member I agree with this approach and respectfully ask that the NADEFA board discuss this issue and if they deem it worthwhile, come up with an approved code for addressing the issue of antler scores for whitetails. I believe that the NADEFA board is made up of conscientious whitetail breeders who want what is best for the industry. For that reason I will not suggest any ideas or direction which I personally believe should be taken to address this issue.
I look forward to hearing the thoughts of the NADEFA board concerning this issue and any steps taken to address it. I plan to report back to the readers of my column concerning the boards actions. Thank you
Sincerely,
Don Higgins
Dear Members,
The subject of antler scoring has been brought to the attention of the NADeFA Board of Directors on several occasions. This is a very emotionally charged issue. NADeFA has taken the following steps.
All antlers entered in the antler competition at the Annual Conference will be scored at the conference by official SCI scorers. No score sheets will be accepted, even if the buck was scored by an official scorer.
There will be an abbreviated SCI scoring session held Thursday morning from 9:30 to 11:45. This session is designed to answer your questions and give you the basics of scoring antlers. The session will not qualify you as an official scorer.
In an effort to enable our members to understand the SCI scoring system and become an official scorer, NADeFA is offering to arrange for antler scoring seminars at various locations around the country. If your organization is interested in hosting a scoring seminar at the time of one of your annual events, please notify the office immediately, so that you may get the date you desire.
NADeFA urges you to question antler scores that you do not understand with the owner of the buck, or the person that scored the buck. Many scores are taken ‘green’ or ‘wet’ early in the fall or while still in velvet.
The North American Deer Farmers Association endorses the Safari Club International’s (SCI) method of scoring. This scoring system allows the buck to receive credit for every inch of antler on his head. SCI also supports high fence hunting operations and has worked with NADeFA in fighting anti initiatives in several states.
Sincerely,
Carolyn Laughlin
____________________Executive Committee______________________________
Carolyn Laughlin, Shawn Schafer, David McQuaig, Glenn Dice, Jr. Mark Cobb, Hank Dimuzio
After having a few months to ponder NADEFAs response, I agree with their position and response. I base this on a couple of factors. First of all, what do we expect NADEFA to do, police our industry and tell certain people that they can no longer raise deer? This is still America and people still have freedoms. NADEFA has set some guidelines and now it is up to us to decide who we are going to do business with. Furthermore, NADEFA has more important issues to deal with than fraudulent antler scores. Personally I feel that their time is better spent on outside political issues which affect our industry rather than internal squabbles. While I don’t see this issue completely disappearing, I do think its relevance has dwindled as more and more whitetail breeders consider other factors to be more important than gross antler scores when selecting breeder bucks.
In closing I would say that the solution to this problem is in each of our hands. Every time we make a purchase from a fellow whitetail breeder we decide to either support an honest person or overlook certain things. I said it in my very first Whitetail Heartbeat column and I will say it again; Our industry is full of honest folks with only a very few bad apples. With all of the giant bucks available today, why would anyone buy semen or animals from a questionable breeder? If a breeder would lie about antler scores, what else would he lie about? Maybe the animals health? If we know a breeder has done another person wrong, what makes us think that they are going to do us right? This industry has come a long way since I first got into it. I remember dealing with crooked breeders on more than one occasion during those early years. Most of them have been eliminated from this business and all of the worst ones seem to be gone. Still, with so many honest and ethical folks raising whitetails, why would we ever buy from the rare “shady breeder” that remains? As we address issues dealing with honesty and integrity do we really need to look to an organization such as NADEFA to police our ranks? I think the best solution lies within each of us. When considering purchases of semen or live animals it is easy to fall in love with a particular buck or sale lot and maybe overlook just where (or to whom) our money is going. Dishonesty among our ranks will only be present as long as it is profitable. This industry has grown to the point where we now have choices. Think about that the next time you make a purchase.
