I tried to explain this to stuff to Mason the other day. Some deer just do not have what it takes to score. It doesn't make them less of a trophy, to me. Mason uses Mrex as a benchmark; "Would Mike have shot him"?, he asked regarding the deer I shot last week. "Nope". He just couldn't understand that. Mrex is in a club that scores deer by specifics. In other words, a great deer with "one too many" tines on a side is punished, score wise. Mrex shoots deer based on score. He works hard at finding deer that meet all the criteria to score. I'm not that good. I'll never be, cause all I have for a goal is a fairly old deer that strikes my fancy. The beams on CJ are enough to strike my fancy. If his tines were longer, he would score higher, but he wouldn't be any "better" deer to me. The deer I hunted last year was a fine example of that. He was 6.5 yrs old. I knew him like a pet, and it was time to go. If my arrow would have clipped the other lung, I'd have plastered this site with "hero-pics" of one of the ugliest and most beautiful deer I've ever hunted. His antlers are in Mason's room as I type, and I remember him as one of the best, meanest, most dominant bucks I've ever met. Knowing him for four seasons adds to the memory and the regret.
Capt. Jack is a great one, Jesse. Don't let the number assigned to his antlers sway your thoughts on that. Go kill him!