TOO MANY ANTLERS IS NEVER ENOUGH!

NEWS Brian Boyle

For most deer hunters in the Hunter Valley, the start of the year means many things - checking trail cameras, dusting off gear, and reliving last year’s finest moments over a cold one. But for a dedicated crew of antler enthusiasts, it also meant heading to ‘Wagga Twice’ in early February for the Australian Deer Association Douglas Scoring measuring clinic, held specifically for the Hunter Valley lads.

This year’s event was run by none other than Ted Wohlers, the ADA’s Chief Measurer. There’s no denying Ted’s incredible knowledge; he’s been scoring antlers for the past 50 or 60 years and shows no signs of slowing down.

The weekend saw five members of the ADA Hunter Valley Branch (Richard, Brendon, Adam, Ben, and Brian) make the pilgrimage to Wagga, bringing along a couple of heads to be officially measured. It was particularly great to have Ben and Adam at the workshop, two fine young men representing the next generation of hunters, and not a grey hair between them! Ben turned up with an absolute belter of rusa head that measured something like 38 inches long, an impressive trophy by any standard.

The Douglas Score system, the gold standard for scoring deer antlers in Australia, takes into account length, spread, beam thickness, and tine symmetry. This gives you a score. Now some hunters may get caught up in the scoring or say it’s not for them, but a wise old hunter in the HV Branch once said:”It’s really about giving an idea to someone else what the head was like dimension wise, not just being #1”. For those that attended, the clinic was more than just numbers, it was also about catching up with like-minded hunters, swapping stories, having a quiet ale or two and a yarn at night and learning from others.

Adding to the weekend’s success, Warren Flannigan and his good wife were fantastic hosts, making sure everyone was well looked after. It was also great to have Adam and Col from the Wagga Twice Branch sharing their knowledge and showing off some incredible head pics. And, of course, no story about Ted Wohlers would be complete without mentioning his lovely wife, Judith, his number one supporter, co-pilot and navigator on these antler-measuring expeditions across the country. The real question is, when is she going to run workshops on this for our long-suffering wives and partners!

So, if you’ve got a set of antlers sitting at home that you think might be worth measuring, or if you just want an excuse to talk deer for a weekend, make sure you mark it in your calendar. If your Branch is running one of these weekends, you won’t be disappointed. After all, when it comes down to it, too many antlers is never enough!