Tips for field judging Mule Deer?

WildHawg · 07-04-2002, 07:05 AM

Howdy folks,
I am curious if you all could give me some tips for judging bucks through glasses. I drew one of Oregon's best tags (Trout Creek Mountains), and want to make sure I take the best one I can.
The only time I've ever hunted pure muley's (I mostly hunt muley/blacktail crosses in the Cascade Mountains)was 13 seasons ago, and I got a buck of a lifetime (almost 32" with a drop ball tine covered in velvet). I got ****** off listening to the horse camp next to us talking about the buck they were going to hunt the next day that "was so far in, I'll draw you an X on the map where he lives, cause you aint going in after him on foot, ha ha ha ha !!". One particular jerk had shot three of the parties deer aleady, and just couldn't keep his mouth shut once he got a few shots in him.
Through shear determination (I left my camp 3 hours before first light), and pure $#!^house luck, I stumbled onto the buck as he was moving away from the sound of the horses into another draw. I'd give alot of money to have a picture of the look on the main braggarts face as they rode over and saw me with my trophy. Needless to say, they didn't offer to help me pack him out.
The only drawback was I didn't get to do much judging of critters, so I could use a little field judging help. All I know for sure is those big ones sure stand out!
Thanks in advance, Charlie.

TheRogue · 07-04-2002, 09:32 AM

A really, really big mulie will spread 22-24" between his ears laid out flat. This means a big bodied animal, with antlers 2" past his ears on each side, may run 25-28" wide.

It depends what type of trophy you're after!! If you're most interested in a B&C buck, get a copy of their scoring sheet off of http://www.boone-crockett.org/ and look at how they score the points, and where the most points add up. Then, go to your neighborhood video store, and rent all the videos you can find.

Personally, my type of trophy is a little different than a lot of others. I would rather have a really heavy, symetrical rack that only T's out at 40" than a spindly rack that 36" wide and 20" tall. Yes, I've actually seen both types in the wild. But, I have to admit, there's no way I could pass up the 36" rack!!

I'm so envious, what a great tag!!

Are you going to be able to do some scouting this summer??

kyle

Chukrchaser · 07-05-2002, 08:46 AM

Good rule of thumb on Muley's--

Inside the ears = outside in the garage.

Outside the ears = inside on the Wall.

Rogue has the info I've gotten and never been disappointed. Though one time I chose an inside the ear buck because the mass was just too incredible.

Good luck on an excellent draw-

tailchaser · 07-16-2002, 06:21 AM

I've hunted near there and see a lot of bucks in the 22-26" range. Hold out!! Don't shoot one of these bucks until the last couple of days or you'll be fretting away a great tag. There's a reason why it's coveted and very limited. There's some real monsters there but they'll be hard to find. If you're finding a lot of deer you should probably move. The monsters over there are sometimes paired up, but usually alone and it'll be the only deer you see.

A good buck will be three to four inches past each ear and at least as tall as he is wide. That would put him in the 30" range and a very respectable buck.

tc

TheRogue · 07-16-2002, 06:31 AM

Quote:

If you're finding a lot of deer you should probably move.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Very, Very TRUE!!! Really, for all mule deer, not just these

blacktail · 07-17-2002, 09:48 AM

The Trout Creek hunt is almost a once in a lifetime hunt now with the poor drawing odds.

I would rather hunt hard til the last miute of the last day holding out for Mr. Big than finish the hunt earlier with a "mediocre" buck.

Good advice on previous posts above. Antler spread is definitely not all important. Length of tines, mass and symmetry are very important if you are thinking B&C numbers.

I'd also make sure and do a couple scouting trips pre-season even though it's a long drive.

Good luck and make sure and report back to us how you do.

Mike

WildHawg · 07-18-2002, 06:14 AM

:grin: Man, I just can't seem to wipe that silly grin off my face!! I am pumped up, to say the least (I've waited 9 years and invested 9 preference points). While I don't think I could pass up a buck that was well over 30 with some mass, I like the idea of taking a heavy horned, more even tined buck. Done some more research on my own, and I wont shoot a spindly, flat horned buck even if he's in the 30's. Realistically, my goal is to take a 26-28 inch buck like I described above.Thanks for the tips gentlemen, if you can think of any more, let me know.

BlindSquirrel · 07-18-2002, 03:01 PM

Hi WildHawg,

After hunting for many years without getting any monsters -- last year my Dad and brother-in-law ran into these (on public land)...

My dad's deer outside spread was 27 inches and it scored 184 1/8 net B+C, while my brother-in-law's had a spread of 24 inches and scored 187 0/8 net B+C. Mine is the baby in the middle

of the top photo. We got them in eastern oregon

and they were both huge bodied deer. It was the first year we hunted in that unit and we were just plain extremely lucky.

Good luck with the Trout Creek hunt -- I hear it has great potential for big bucks.

Pete

[ 07-18-2002, 06:56 PM: Message edited by: Blind Squirel ]

Huntar · 07-18-2002, 08:55 PM

Buy Mike Eastman's book "Hunting High Country Mulies", it has a very good chapter on field judging, he calls it rack bracketing.

TheRogue · 07-20-2002, 08:20 PM

Those buck are................Beautiful!!!!!!!!

ZACKYDAD · 07-21-2002, 12:47 AM

Man, those bucks look nice.Congratulations to you and your dad for those fine bucks.