Buck weight (field dressed) - what's a "big one" in NY

[buckchaser]

Wondering what is considered to be a "big buck" (field dressed weight) in northern New York (in particular the Adirondacks)?  NY biologists tell me the deer on the eastern side of the Adirondacks tend to be larger in body size because of the easier winters vs the western part of the Adirondacks.

Here in Eastern Ontario anything between 200 and 250 lbs field dressed is a big buck.  

Edited September 19, 2016 by buckchaser

[Buckmaster7600]

I have always said 175lbs and up is a big one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I've shot quite a few that were around the 175 mark. two at the 195 and one at 205. These were all field dressed and scaled. I haven't seen a 250 yet by anyone I know. I feel they are pretty rare a I would bet that many that are claimed to be that are weighed by how difficult they drag and not by using a scale...lol

Edited September 19, 2016 by Culvercreek hunt club

[moog5050]

250 dressed is close to 300 on hoof.  Huge buck for around here for sure.  I saw the mount of one that the hunter claimed dressed at 225 and it was huge (not the rack which was still nice).

[BizCT]

Lots of bad estimates out there too. Unless its on a scale, a lot of people overestimate


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[moog5050]

4 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Lots of bad estimates out there too. Unless its on a scale, a lot of people overestimate


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My bow buck last year dressed at 158 I think and I was surprised.  I thought he was bigger.  I then put the scale away and all of a sudden, he was 180.  lol

[Culvercreek hunt club]

anyone wanna guess the weight on the one on the left? for comparison a nice healthy 1.5 year old on the right. 

[grampy]

A lot of the old time Adirondack hunters used the 200lb mark, for a big buck, not so much antler size. I have killed close to 70 bucks and have only three that were weighed over 200lb.

[moog5050]

4 minutes ago, grampy said:

A lot of the old time Adirondack hunters used the 200lb mark, for a big buck, not so much antler size. I have killed close to 70 bucks and have only three that were weighed over 200lb.

That's a lot of bucks to kill before your 40th Birthday.

[grampy]

3 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

That's a lot of bucks to kill before your 40th Birthday.

I hunted in South Carolina for a few years. At the time you could shoot a buck a day from the end of August to January. Eight of them were shot there. Never shot one down there more than 135lbs. though. 40th birthday? You are very kind!

[jjb4900]

17 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

anyone wanna guess the weight on the one on the left? for comparison a nice healthy 1.5 year old on the right. 

165

[Culvercreek hunt club]

16 minutes ago, jjb4900 said:

165

pretty close. 176# and taken in the SZ ML season. wasn't a drop of fat left on that one which made it very hard to cape out. I have noticed a big difference in Dressed weight throughout the season. The one I took that hit the 205 mark was in NZ (5H) and was the second weekend of regular season up there. He was not really that much bigger than this deer in frame but was much heavier and loaded with fat. 

[jjb4900]

biggest body to date.....any guesses?

[Fletch]

Up in the Dack's 200 is the bench mark for a Big buck. I have seen a few scaled in the 200-215 range and one in the 230s. Personally myself the biggest was 186 dressed weighed by the DEC shot in bow season SZ near Syracuse. The thing that struck me was how tall that buck was. Also barely any fat he was shot the day before gun. Back then you had to get a new tag in person so I missed opening day Monday morning downtown at the DEC office getting a new tag.

[chas0218]

1 hour ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

anyone wanna guess the weight on the one on the left? for comparison a nice healthy 1.5 year old on the right. 

Ill bite, right 130 left 160. Guess I was off a little just saw your numbers.

Edited September 19, 2016 by chas0218

[Culvercreek hunt club]

10 minutes ago, chas0218 said:

Ill bite, right 130 left 160. Guess I was off a little just saw your numbers.

118 on the right. 

[Pygmy]

Down here in Little Appallachia along the Pennsyltucky border, a buck that dresses 160 or more is a big buck...The heaviest I have ever shot dressed 175... The heaviest I have ever WITNESSED hanging weighed 185, and that was an early season bow buck larded with fat.

I am aware that they shoot a few 200 Lb. dressed bucks here in the Southern Tier every year, but  those are the heaviest I have ever laid eyes on ( on the scales) in over 50 years of hunting.

[Lawdwaz]

If this post pertained to the southern zone I could add something.

 

[jjb4900]

3 minutes ago, Lawdwaz said:

If this post pertained to the southern zone I could add something.

 

do it anyway.......

[WNY Bowhunter]

I've seen several archery deer that hit the 200 lb mark...a big one during guns season will go 160-175. 

[BowmanMike]

A buddy of mine shot a 6 point a few years back that dressed out at 178. Last day of bow season in SZ. That was a long and tall deer.

I heard of a couple going just over 200 here in 4F, and those were slammers.

I am still waiting for that,but if I meet the 10 point that hangs around here during bowseason I will let you know how much he weighs.

[ATbuckhunter]

Anything over 200 dressed is a darn big deer for these parts. Id go as far and say anything above 185 is respectable. Now where I hunt, id be really happy with a buck that is 185 dressed even 175. 

[letinmfly]

My biggest NY buck field dressed at 200lbs and my biggest buck was taken in IL and field dressed at 250lbs.  Both were taken during bow season.

[wolc123]

I did not have a scale up there, but I am 5'-11" tall and weight 200 lbs.  With a rope thru a pulley, I was able to lift my feet off the ground while this 8-point's rear-end was still planted on the ground in the shed.    We had to hook my father-in-law's 4-wheeler on the rope to pull him up.  I killed him 2 years ago, midway thru rifle season, on private land just off the NW edge of the Adirondack park.   Assuming a bit for friction on the pulley, I would guess his dressed weight at around 210 lbs.   He had to be considerably heavier than the heaviest one I ever killed in the southern zone (weighed 178 lbs on the scale), based on the amount of freezer space the boned out meat took up.      

[chrisw]

Without a scale you don't know what the deer weighed. Period. I've killed a lot of deer and dragged more than that, I bought a scale a few years back and it's very humbling to say the least. That deer you think "feels like" 200 lbs is most likely far short of that. Most of the 2+yr old bucks we've killed are around 150lbs dressed, if you'd have asked me before I got the scale I'd have said 180 on a few of them. My 9 point last year tipped the scale at 143 dressed. Scales are cheap, buy one if you want true numbers. It's eye opening.