I need some expert advice on mule deer! I plan on going out west for a mule deer hunt and I need info on how to score mule deer on the hoof. Also does anyone have any outfitters that you would recommend?
I am by far any expert. but i was on two Mule deer hunts. Wyoming with Miller Outfitting (archery) Doug Miller great hunt. www.milleroutfitting.com Montana with Montana Whitetails (gun) with Keith Miller www.montanawhitetails.com
Great post (I'll be looking for the info. in here, also). I'll be purchasing a mule deer tag when I head to CO in Sept.. BUT....I REALLY want to hunt them the way I see it done on TV (spot and stalk), some day. The coolest hunt I ever saw on TV was a mule deer hunt. I can't imagine a more exciting hunt with a bow in your hand.
The two areas I killed my mule deer vary. In Montana I hunted near the shields river area and the buck I killed there was a top Buck he was mid 150's He had everything you want in a muley except spread he was only 22 in inside. Here is a pic. The one I shot in North east Wyoming was average. there are bigger up north and there was a few bigger in the area i hunted. He was also the mid 150's he wa wider than my Montana one he is the buck in my avatar.
First off, I am far from an expert. Honestly, they are pretty easy to judge. If you are looking for an exact score, then you can estimate basing on their ears for reference, but it is obvious when you are looking at a big mulie. It'll be the one that looks like its head should fall over. The big ones look disproportional. Good spreads are anything outside the ears IMO, but I assume that would vary from place to place. Awesome animal. I have never hunted them as anything but a "secondary" animal when elk hunting, but I have gotten to stalk quite a few and been able to take a couple as well. They are just a neat animal to watch also. Their gate when they run is phenominal, and the way they "bounce" over extreme terrain is just amazing.
spot and stalk all the way. if you are going to CO it is a draw hunt for deer. if you are going to CO i would highly reccomend an elk hunt as well. there are alot of OTC either sex units. i did it last year and scored on a cow. was into elk everyday. called in 2 big bulls but didnt have a shot. i was hunting the dark timber
Look for deep forks on both the front and back forks and then try and compare how far the antlers go out in comparison to the ears (a buck that goes out past his ears is generally going to be considered respectable IMO). Tall racks score really well, mass is self explanatory for the most part, and of course nothing like the way a nice wide muley looks...
