Eye guards count?

[haugenna]

When you are talking about a whitetail you count all the points.....example a 12 point buck. When you talk about muledeer or blacktail you call them 4points or 3 points or 4x4's or 2x3's with or without eyeguards. 

[TheHunt]

Great thread btw...  I visit mature folks that are friends of the family and a few are in their 80's.  When we talk hunting they say we shot a 6x6 up there and a 7X8 here blah, blah, This is all in the 1930's - 60's.  They do not count the eye guards or bowtines.  When I show them my bulls they always say that is a 4x4.  It used to really piss me off but that is how they counted.  They have racks in their barns that are off the hook. 

I thought I would just throw this in.  I also love the people on TV that say I have just shot a 10 pointers. 

[Machias]

    I love this topic every year.

[HornHoarder]

what an interesting topic. Seems that it is one that will never be agreed upon, but since you asked heres my opinion. I would count any point that is over 1" long, including eyeguards. If it counts for a legal point in antler restriction GMUs, and is also measured for P/Y & B/C records why would I exclude eyeguards?

[CedarPants]

   I love this topic every year.

    I can hear the anti's now ..... "look here Tom, those animal killers over on Hunt-WA are at it again.  Couple weeks ago they threw down amongst themselves over ATV access and closed roads, last week they had to take a discussion outside about what is and what isn't private land, it seems a war is constantly inevitable between them about tribal vs. non-tribal hunting, and now this week they are debating what is and what isn't an antler point.  Do these guys agree on ANYTHING?"

[str8meat]

yes eye gaurds count. and yes they are a point in however you say 3x3 with eye guards. its whatever ya like. you'd shoot him if he had forks and guards right? kinda like using only half the deer for food because some people dont think " eye gaurds" count. its a legal point just like his left hind quarter is roasts and steaks.

[CascadeHillbilly]

For all the information I can find,  eyeguards DO count as long as they are one inch long. This is read straight out of the WDFW Regulations handbook for 2011 page 16. Same goes for elk However a spike with a rare double eyeguard is NOT a 3 point.  The antlers have to branch above the ears to be considered a branched antler. So a branch above the ears, and an inch long eyeguard is a 3pt.

[724wd]

i was going to screenshot the regs with the picture showing the eye guard measured at an inch, but they changed the pic!  non of the deer in the regs have eye guards now!  gonna have to check previous years regs to see when the changed that. 

now the important stuff... how I count deer points!     whitetail:  count each point per side equally, ie 4x5, 2x4, etc.  if equal points per side it's a X point (3 point, not 3x3).  Mule deer:  count each side individually without eyeguards ie 4x4, 3x5, etc.  if eye guards are present, add to your description "plus eye guards."  if no eye guards are present, "no eye guards." 

the southern way of counting ("got me a 8 pointer, yall!")  is not descriptive enough!  was it a 3x5?  a 4 point?  1x7?    

[BULLBLASTER]

For all the information I can find,  eyeguards DO count as long as they are one inch long. This is read straight out of the WDFW Regulations handbook for 2011 page 16. Same goes for elk However a spike with a rare double eyeguard is NOT a 3 point.  The antlers have to branch above the ears to be considered a branched antler. So a branch above the ears, and an inch long eyeguard is a 3pt.

the regs page 39 say that "2antler points above the ear" not points origionating above the ear. I would think with longer eyeguards the point would be above the ear and legal. So a spike double eyeguard would be legal if the point of one eyeguard is above the ear.
I count any scoreable point for deer or elk.
Careful miles... I bet polar bear has plenty of pope and young unicorns...

[LincolnTWilliams]

This argument always makes me chuckle

For sure! I'm from Pa and we would call a 4x4 with eye guards a 10. Funny though your west coast lingo is wearing off on me... But I will never refer to a 2 point as a forked horn... ever. In Pa they would be refered to as a Y buck... Which might be as equally humrous to you as forked horn is to me.

[bobcat]

In Oregon a 2 point is called a "forken horn".        

[Dhoey07]

This argument will go on forever.  Now after saying that, i don't count eyeguards 

[724wd]

In Oregon a 2 point is called a "forken horn".        

forken horn?       tee hee... he said forken!     every one knows it's a fork-ed horn!  not forked horn, but two syllables, fork-ed.   

[Bean Counter]

I think hes saying they count for legality but calls it a 4pt with eyeguards. Do you just like to argue or what?    who cares how he says it.

I understand what he's saying, and I'm sure he's intelligent enough to figure out what I'm saying. And yes, I do like to argue, but I'm not going to argue with you. Sorry.

What would that make a spike elk Bean?  A no-point with eyeguards? 

haha.. but I just call a spike a 'spike.' 

[LincolnTWilliams]

Hahaha Right a fork-ed horn... sorry. Forken Horn? Really? Even better!