Difference Between a Typical and a Nontypical Rack

The male white tailed deer, called a buck, has antlers. These antlers are commonly called racks by hunters. Racks fall into two categories: typical and non-typical. These categories are based on how symmetrical the antlers are to one another. The hunter decides based on measurements and the scoring system whether the rack is typical or non-typical.

  1. Typical Rack

    • A typical rack of a white tail deer has antlers that are symmetrical to each other. The points on the antlers occur at the normal areas and the rack looks normal. This means that each antler has the same amount of points, spaced the same distance apart and are the same diameter. Most white tail deer racks fall into the typical rack category.

    Non-typical Rack

    • A non-typical rack on a white tail deer does not display symmetry. These racks come in a number of variations. Racks may have mismatched points such as a 12 point buck with 4 points on one side and 8 on another or racks that are malformed. Some non-typical racks will display a huge amount of points off tangled masses of antler. The reasons these types of racks develop include genetics and if the deer had an injury to the antler during the velvet stage of development.

    Scoring

    • The scoring of a buck is based on measurements of the antlers. The measurements taken for a typical rack and a non-typical rack are the same. The inside diameter of the antlers are measured. Measurements are taken for the length of the points, beam length, circumferences, and distances between points of the antlers. The totals are added together, deductions are taken for mismatched points and other differences between the totals of measurements from one antler to the other. A typical rack will have few deductions so its net score will be similar to the gross score. A non-typical rack will have many deductions.

    Deciding Typical or Non-Typical

    • Many white tail deer fall in between typical and non-typical racks. A hunter must decide if the deer is classified as typical or non-typical. For example, a deer may have an extra point on one antler, making it more non-typical. However, if this is the only difference between the antler, the rack should be classed as typical. This will also reflect in the scoring since the only difference between the gross score and net score is the length of the odd point. Typical rack classification is much more common than a non-typical rack.