Questions on a Mule Shed

[ndking1126]

On my elk hunt, we found a single mule deer antler that is clearly a little weathered. I don't have a lot of experience with mule deer antlers, so I'm hoping you can answer a few basic questions like:

-guesses on deer's age?
-how long/how much do you think broke off on the main beam?
-are kicker tines normal for mule deer? This one has two (one broken off).
-How much bigger would a true mature trophy antler be?

All measures are taken along the curve of the antler, and not straight line point to point.

24" bottom of antler to farthest tip.
12.5" from top of antler to the main fork
11" from the main fork to the tip of the second tine.
I added the little black lines of course to show where I measured.

Thank you

 

[Dosh]

Fun to find sheds. Hard to tell age, genetics are different everywhere. Non typical points again are unique to genetics. A trophy would have much deeper forks, more length and much heavier mass. I saw a 3X3 from Mexico score over 190", he was quite wide as well.

 

[Bob Wright]

That antler certainly would have belonged to a shooter buck.

 

[sp6x6]

Looks like a skinnish horn from a younger buck.They get extra points all the time,very common. Look up Boone or pope for score detail.You measure length of main from base to tip,then each for off that,and brows.Then 4 circumference. If you hit 100 on one horn you got something special.

 

[ndking1126]

That antler certainly would have belonged to a shooter buck.

Haha, yeah my first thought was i wouldn't have hesitated to shoot it. The more I thought about it the more I realized I was comparing it to whitetail down here in the south. Maybe it wasn't a shooter? Haha.

Sp6x6 I'll do a little research and see what it measures at. I don't see 100.. maybe 70 if I were to take a guess.

 

[sp6x6]

Deep front forks are 65% of the score,so a good part and spread credit helps but its air,heh.

 

[ndking1126]

I found a video from Eastmans' Hunting Journals and followed his guidance. Exactly as is, I scored it 59". I added 4" for the broken tine, doubled it for the right antler and then added a conservative 12" for inside spread and came to 138 total (if it was complete).

I know they are measured as-is and don't add anything for broken tines, I was just curious.

I would have guessed a higher score than 138, but I don't really care either.

 

[sp6x6]

This a last day,last hr meat buck my son packing.Score doesnt matter,fun finding horns.I have 100's

 

[Recon$$]

That's a 155" mule deer. 138" no way. Hard to know exactly without all the numbers.

 

[ndking1126]

Fun to find sheds. Hard to tell age, genetics are different everywhere. Non typical points again are unique to genetics. A trophy would have much deeper forks, more length and much heavier mass. I saw a 3X3 from Mexico score over 190", he was quite wide as well.

That's impressive for a 3x3! This is the first shed I've ever found. It was very unexpected. Hopefully not the last though.

This one definitely lacks good mass. Circumference measurements were about 3.5" each.

 

[sp6x6]

Most muleys have 20'' spread or more,up to 30'' on a good one.

 

[ndking1126]

That's a 155" mule deer. 138" no way. Hard to know exactly without all the numbers.

I certainly could be wrong. Youtube an expert does not make!

I measured twice and got:
21.5" (including the 4") main beam
1.25" eye guard
16" g2
3.5" g3
6" g4
Circumference measurements were 3.5 to 3 and 7/8".
And as mentioned, I assumed 12" spspread.

Nice buck by the way!

 

[Recon$$]

Not trying to bust em, just giving you a reference.

 

[ndking1126]

Most muleys have 20'' spread or more,up to 30'' on a good one.

This one doesn't have much of a spread. I measured about 5.5". Multipled by 2 and added 1" for the space between the antlers. 14 or 15 is probably more accurate.