CIC tips for trophy measuring

The CIC UK Trophy Evaulation Board provide tips for trophy measuring, so if you do manage to bag that buck you have the best chance of a good score

There are a few things to consider if you take a potential medal buck:

1. Typically, most late middle-aged and old bucks will be clean of velvet by 1 April, and there have already been reports of clean bucks across social media from the middle of March. If you shoot a buck and think it may make a medal, all remaining velvet needs to be removed from the trophy prior to evaluation. Also, don’t be tempted to colour the antler before it is scored, as artificially coloured trophies will receive a zero score for colour. More often that not, half points for light early-season antler colour can push the trophy up into the different medal score bands. If you have the luxury of time, leave the animal as long as possible, as the colour on the antler will improve as the season progresses.

2. As we have stated before (it can never be said enough), if you want a trophy measured, leave the skull complete or ‘full skull’. This is beneficial for the weight element of the evaluation, but we also record skull dimensions for all gold medals. It is also preferable to retain the lower jaw if you want a more accurate age classification for your animal. Remember that roe, like red and fallow, are subject to a 90-day drying period after the trophy has been prepared.

3. Many hunters will want the buck of a lifetime, or a special trophy, mounted by a taxidermist. If you would like your trophy evaluated then this must be done before the taxidermist assembles the mount. Once mounted, the trophy cannot be measured. Have the taxidermist prepare the trophy as a full skull and sent to a certified CIC measurer; while this is happening the skin can be tanned and, once measured, the trophy returned for mounting in the skin.