Weigh These Deer

[TruthWalleyes]

My buddy and his dad harvested these bucks in SW MN recently. Last year's buck claimed to weigh over 200 lbs (Hand scale) and these two he claims to be well over 150 lbs (again, hand scale)

I call bologna and told him he's getting a scale from me for christmas so he can prove what his deer weigh next year...Or so he can get a reality check...

Guess the weights:

[CANOPY SAM]

Deer #1 = 167 lbs. field dressed.

Deer #2 = is hanging from a very tiny twig, so maybe 3-4 lbs. I think the camera is just VERY close to the deer. Okay, just kidding.

Deer #2 = 149 lbs. field dressed.

[TruthWalleyes]

Does look like its hanging from a twig...Must be a cardboard cutout!

[fivebucks]

The 3 1/2 yr old and oldernorthern MN deer we sometimes shoot weigh in around 155 lbs. It would not surprise me to have a 1 1/2 yr old farmland buck weigh 150 lbs.

[hockeybc69]

Better pics would help. But using the racks as all I have to age them, no way are they older than 2.5 years old.

I think he is a bit high on weights, especially on that second one.

But the pics are not very good for judging.

[bigbucks]

I'd say 172 & 142. The second one's definitely a yearling. I think the first one must be a two year-old.

[nofishfisherman]

If he's claiming these are both over 150 pounds he's probably a little high on both, for sure the last one. But doesn't sound like he's that far off by saying over 150, probably not exaggerating enough to worry much about it.

[TruthWalleyes]

Thanks for the replies guys. I look at necks before i look at racks. These deer both appear to be similar in size (Yes they are bad pics) and the necks look to me like a 1.5yr deer. I was thinking more along the lines of 135 dressed...But it appears like i might be the one who needs a scale

[Bear55]

1st buck maybe 155-160

2nd buck 130-135

[Greybeard53]

I miss the way it was 20-30 years ago, when most registration stations (at least around my hometown) had scales so you could weigh your deer. Most had big deer contests by weight so they had to. If someone got a large buck they knew exactly what it weighed. Now if someone shoots an adult buck it's automatically a 200 lb deer. My neighbor just shot one last week that he swore was 230# dressed. Ended up when he did put it on a scale, it was 170#.

Getting back to the photo's. I tend to go along with the other posts. The hanging one is probably around 140#, but the one in the truck bed looks like it would top 150# by a little.

[Musky Buck]

No need to reply, I'm with Bear55, I like when you hear the doe is 160 dressed, hey where's that guy on here where all there does dress 170-180, 8 years in a row I think he stated the biggest doe dressed 170+, I think in the history of our old big buck big doe contest the largest doe I ever heard in that was 147 pounds. I miss the DNR aging expert at Gene's standard in New York Mills MN, it was worth driving him there for that.

[96trigger]

I'm with the rest, we generally weight our deer, that one in the back of the truck looks like it would be around 160-170, the one hanging up would be around 140-150. I don't think either one is well over 150. My brother shot one this year that was so much heavier than the rest we had to weight it, it was 225lbs dressed. We had a heck of time hanging that one. It made the other deer we shot look very small, even though they were 170-180lb deer.

[surewood]

170 and 140

3.5 year old Northern mn deer 155lbs seems a little light. Sure they weren't 2.5?

[eyeguy 54]

155 135 I'd guess. I weighed a 226 8 pointer 30 years ago at an event and it was a beast. It mada a nice 10 beside it look small lol. Saw them weigh a 258 pounder at Ripley maybe 1 dozen years ago. It too was a beast. All dressed of course. I don't think any of us quote live weight. Sure a re a lot on monsters this year.

[muskiemanAD]

I had a buddy who used to always send pics and say like 190 lb 10 pt or 200 lb 9 pt. I always thought no way. Well a few years back I hunted with him second weekend and they had a few of their "200" lb bucks in camp still. They thought the scale was off when we weighed them at 165-170 lbs....Everyone thinks their deer and fish are always a little bigger then they are.

[Getanet]

Everyone thinks their deer and fish are always a little bigger then they are.

Yet curiously, when guessing our own weight we usually estimate 10-20 pounds less than we actually weigh.

[BigTen]

Ok, I have a question then. Some of you surely have cut up many deer over the years. We have always taken them to the meat locker to be cut up. This year I watched the locker workers cut up the buck I brought in, and they put the tub on the scale and got 85 net lbs of boneless meat. It was a hog of a deer from corn country. Anyone know approximately what it would have weighed dressed? The locker didn't have a big scale. I've been told 215 to 225 generally from other people. Agree or disagree?

[Bear55]

If they don't have a scale, I always knock off 20-25 lbs.

[nonteepical]

they're all heavy when you drag by hand, heck i've drug some 200# fawns.

"...man i gotta stop and take a break, (outa breath,heavy breathing, stripped down to your long johns) that deer is bigger than it looks, it's gotta be like....200 pounds!"

[eyeguy 54]

depends if the 85 pounds is red meat or red and white meat.

[CANOPY SAM]

85 lbs of boneless meat from one deer? Wonder when the locker plant's scale was last calibrated and certified?

In other words, that would be a VERY large deer!

Hhhhhmmmmmm? Don't they get paid by the pound?

[BigTen]

The meat had a normal amount of fat on it. Obviously I don't know the answer on the scale. It was a huge deer but the meat weight caught me off guard too. Who knows I guess. When we make sausage I will have to check the weight to see if that's really what it weighed.

[BigTen]

Missed the last question.....no, it was a flat rate just to de-bone the meat.

[TruthWalleyes]

If they don't have a scale, I always knock off 20-25 lbs.

minimum haha

[hockeybc69]

A whole lotta 200+ lb bucks in the Outdoor News.... If only people actually got to see a true 200 lbs dressed deer... They would need stitches on their chin from hitting the ground...

Here is a nice guide of sorts. Camp Ripley average deer weights by age class.

It is averages so there are some lighter and some heavier in each age group obviously.

I do realize this is central MN data, and Ripley doesnt have the ag land like other areas. Take it for what its worth....

Fawn Males 60.8

Yearling Males 105.9

2-year old Males 136.0

3-year old Males 164.6

4-year old Males 175.2

5-year old Males 198.1

6-year old Males 196.2

And I always like the numerous claims of 150 lb dressed does...

Fawn Females 55.9

Yearling Females 90.8

2-year old Females 104.4

3-year old Females 110.6

4-year old Females 113.2

5-year old Females 115.7

6-year old Females 115.7

7-year old Females 107.7

8-year old Females 122.1

9-year olds Females 120.5