Sizing up mule deer

By By Otha Barham / outdoors editor
October 15, 2004
October is the month that thousands of hunters from across the nation, including hoards from our area of the Deep South, head west in pursuit of elk and mule deer. I will be seeking a big muley buck this season myself.
I have hunted this fine deer for many years, yet have never taken a real trophy buck. I have several sets of mule deer antlers that seemed big at the time I spotted them in the field. And when compared with our southern whitetails, they are big. But when set against trophy size mule deer bucks, they are unimpressive.
Here are some observations on mule deer that could be helpful for those hunting them for the first time or those with little experience in pursuing them.
Hold your fire
For hunters who are after a trophy rack, don't shoot what appears to be a big buck unless those antlers look stunningly large that is the area they cover is something like a third the area of the whole animal. If the antlers shock you into dropping your jaw and losing your breath, it is probable that you are looking at a trophy buck.
Still, don't rush the shot unless the trophy is about to get away. Take your time. Out West, these deer are often in the open and easy to check over thoroughly before you make the decision to shoot. Many of the big ones are taken in mid-day as they lie in their bed beside a rock or the trunk of a scrubby tree. There is no hurry.
Does this mean that giant mule deer are standing around the sagebrush flats waiting for you to arrive and pick them off? No. But when you finally spot one after hunting for days, perhaps seasons, he is more often in a more vulnerable position than his crafty cousin the whitetail. I have seen several mule deer super bucks, three of them within 40 yards, just not when I had an unfilled license during an open season.
Try to look at the antlers from the side and, more importantly, from the front or rear. Antlers that curl out beyond a muley's ears are considered trophy size by most hunters. When a big mule deer's ears lay straight out to the side (horizontal) they are said to span about 24 inches. They have big ears, thus their name of mule deer. If one's antlers are even with his ears and you want a 30-incher, hold your fire and find another buck. However there are plenty of hunt areas out West where a 24-inch buck is a big one.
Width is not the only antler characteristic to be considered. Some muley racks are tall, and some are heavy. It's your choice; high, wide and thin, tall and heavy, low and wide, etc.
Although the very biggest mule deer are about the size of the very biggest whitetail deer when considering the entire continent, the average muley buck is larger than the average whitetail buck, in my opinion. Mind you I have been around a lot of smallish whitetails, and so my view could be slanted. But I believe I am right.
Make sure
So don't get giddy and swallow your dentures when a 275-pound mule deer with a 2-foot antler spread appears out of the sage brush. Stay cool and make a good decision. The states where I have hunted mule deer allow only one buck. Once you have pulled the trigger, you have shot your limit. I shot a decent buck once near Paonia, Colo., and the next day a buck with three times the antler mass nearly ran me over.
Warning: The neck of a big mule deer buck during the rut, and sometimes even during the pre-rut, is often massive. Broadside, the neck can appear to be as deep vertically as the deer's body. Like a Hereford bull. Big. Really big. On such bucks the antlers can appear smaller than they really are.
Consider these traits of the marvelous western deer, go out in the gray world of sagebrush and have yourself a good hunt.