The West Virginia Big Buck Contest was established in 1964 to recognize sportsmen who bag extraordinarily big antlered bucks. The contest is co-sponsored by the Division of Natural Resources, the Izaak Walton League of West Virginia, and the West Virginia Bowhunter's Association.

The Boone and Crockett or Pope and Young Club scoring systems are used to score bucks depending upon method of kill. Guidelines for the annual contest are as follows:

•  The deer must have been checked at an Official Game Checking Station, and the official West Virginia Game Check Tag must be attached to the antlers.

•  A Fair Chase Affidavit must be signed and attached to the Official Score Sheet.

•  Field photos of the freshly killed deer with antlers attached must be submitted at the time of scoring for state record entries.

•  Any bow-killed buck that scores at least 125 typical or 155 non-typical, gun-killed bucks that score at least 140 typical or 165 non-typical must be scored by an Official Scorer approved by the Pope and Young or Boone and Crockett Club.

A Review Committee was established by the Director of the Division of Natural Resources to consider all deer entries. The committee has the power to make judgements as to the legitimacy of each entry and to accept or reject any entry in question. The West Virginia Big Buck Contest Review Committee consists of representatives from the Izaak Walton League of West Virginia, the West Virginia Bowhunter's Association, the DNR's Wildlife Resources Section and the Law Enforcement Section, and a citizen member with an interest in deer hunting.

In 2004, 220 hunters had their deer antlers scored at one of the six DNR District Offices, Field Offices, or the West Virginia Hunting and Fishing Show in Charleston (sponsored by the West Virginia Trophy Hunter's Association). There are 15 DNR Wildlife Biologists and Wildlife Managers distributed throughout the state that are certified by both the Pope and Young and Boone and Crockett Clubs and 10 private individuals certified by the Pope and Young Club as Official Scorers. In the 2004 Big Buck Contest hunters took 57 big bucks (Table 1.) with gun or bow that met the score minimums, the requirements concerning Game Check Tags and Fair Chase Statements, and were not excluded for cause by the Big Buck Contest Review Committee. An additional 25 bucks from former years were scored that met the requirements for a Big Buck Certificate.

It is noteworthy that an additional 8 score-sheets that met the minimum score requirements did not have the Game Check Tag verified or Fair Case Statement attached. These are the common reasons why hunter's bucks are excluded from the contest list and do not receive a Big Buck Certificate. A good practice is to staple the Game Check Tag to the back of a mounted head so that it is not misplaced. A hunter may only take their rack to be scored by one Official Scorer. Score shopping is prohibited by the WV Big Buck Contest and will be dealt with according to B&C and P&Y guidelines. It is the hunter's responsibility to work with their Official Scorer to make sure that all documentation is completed (by the contest deadline of January 31) and sent to the Big Buck Contest Review Committee Chairman.

Eight bucks killed by gun hunters scored above 140 points typical or 165 points non-typical. In the Typical-Gun category, the winner was Johnny Hatfield from Iaeger , WV with a 10-point buck killed in Boone County that scored 156 0/8. There was a 12-point non-typical buck harvested in Mason County by Joe Day of Winfield , WV that scored 175 0/8 and won the Non-Typical Gun category.

Bowhunters killed 49 deer that scored above 125 points typical or 155 points non-typical. The winner of the Typical-Bow category was James Horrocks of Pax , WV with a 12-point buck from Kanawha County that scored 161 1/8. The Non-Typical Bow category winner was Michael Mills of Ghent , WV with a huge 13-point buck killed in Raleigh County that scored 177 1/8.

Written by Eugene R. Thorn

Click On Links Below For PDF Versions of Tables 1-2.

Table 1. West Virginia Big Buck Contest, 2004.
(PDF format, 10KB)

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