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Mule deer 101?
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<blockquote data-quote="Country Bumpkin" data-source="post: 1549327" data-attributes="member: 92230"><p>Given that you are accustomed to whitetails, the first average size 4x4 mulie you see will look huge. I have only hunted public land, but from my experience, 8 mulies and a lot of whitetails, I have a smaller perspective on what size is reasonable. </p><p></p><p>What are you after with this hunt? Are you paying for a nice "representative specimen" (what I would say falls in the 140"-160")? Are you looking for a "decent trophy" (160"-170"). Are you after what most working-class/blue-collar/saved-for-years folks would call a true "trophy" (170"-190")? Or are you looking for something that's truly magnificent (190" +) and really reserved for either A) those that pay top-dollar, B) those that work their *** off with scouting and years of perseverance, or C) lucky-bastards? </p><p></p><p>Is size really that important to you? If yes, My suggestion would be to ask the guide to provide you with photos of bucks taken on each ranch in the last year. Tell him to label each photo with how many inches he says they score. Share them on here with a description of what size the guide says they are. Let some of the folks on this forum tell you if he's full of $h!t. A guide could easily tell an Easterner that they are looking at a 180" buck when really they are looking at a 150". Same for elk, if you don't know how to score elk, a 300" bull is pretty impressive and a guide could tell you that he's a 330 and might not even be "lying" to you (because they are really tough to judge). Nothing wrong with those size animals, they are darned impressive over the fireplace. </p><p></p><p>Most people grossly overestimate mulies. A friend taught me this year that when he's sizing up a buck, he uses the 190" scale. If a buck has 12" front forks and 12" rear forks, and given that he's got decent mass and is not overly wide or really narrow, then he should score 190" (that's a truly huge buck IMO). Any fork that doesn't meet these minimums needs to be deducted and multiplied by 4 (one fork x both sides). This is obviously a rough-guide, to really be accurate you need to take all factors into consideration and really try to put measurements to them. We did this to a buck my buddy shot this fall, after looking at him through the spotter for 10 minutes. We judged him at 174" and he taped 172"</p><p></p><p>Best of luck. Curious to see where this goes</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Country Bumpkin, post: 1549327, member: 92230"] Given that you are accustomed to whitetails, the first average size 4x4 mulie you see will look huge. I have only hunted public land, but from my experience, 8 mulies and a lot of whitetails, I have a smaller perspective on what size is reasonable. What are you after with this hunt? Are you paying for a nice “representative specimen” (what I would say falls in the 140”-160”)? Are you looking for a “decent trophy” (160”-170”). Are you after what most working-class/blue-collar/saved-for-years folks would call a true “trophy” (170”-190”)? Or are you looking for something that’s truly magnificent (190” +) and really reserved for either A) those that pay top-dollar, B) those that work their *** off with scouting and years of perseverance, or C) lucky-bastards? Is size really that important to you? If yes, My suggestion would be to ask the guide to provide you with photos of bucks taken on each ranch in the last year. Tell him to label each photo with how many inches he says they score. Share them on here with a description of what size the guide says they are. Let some of the folks on this forum tell you if he’s full of $h!t. A guide could easily tell an Easterner that they are looking at a 180” buck when really they are looking at a 150”. Same for elk, if you don’t know how to score elk, a 300” bull is pretty impressive and a guide could tell you that he’s a 330 and might not even be “lying” to you (because they are really tough to judge). Nothing wrong with those size animals, they are darned impressive over the fireplace. Most people grossly overestimate mulies. A friend taught me this year that when he’s sizing up a buck, he uses the 190” scale. If a buck has 12” front forks and 12” rear forks, and given that he’s got decent mass and is not overly wide or really narrow, then he should score 190” (that’s a truly huge buck IMO). Any fork that doesn’t meet these minimums needs to be deducted and multiplied by 4 (one fork x both sides). This is obviously a rough-guide, to really be accurate you need to take all factors into consideration and really try to put measurements to them. We did this to a buck my buddy shot this fall, after looking at him through the spotter for 10 minutes. We judged him at 174” and he taped 172” Best of luck. Curious to see where this goes [/QUOTE]
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