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A couple of Muleys got patterned......

D

Deerslayer

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...........well, I think Buzzy is fixing to post the HOG Muley his wife shot.

He and I worked our butts off scouting this year, and we were able to locate 4-6 bucks in the 25-30 inch range......or so they appeared at a distance.

The question was, would they stay put when the season started. The answer.......the "proof is in the pudding". :D

Between the two of us, we scouted the Snowy's, the Medicine Bow Encampment area, and the Shirley Mountains.

When the dust settled, we both had taken dandy bucks on different weekends not too far apart...........in the Medicine Bow.
I ran into he and his wife a couple of different times, and they had past up several bucks, knowing there were bigger ones available. They're patience paid off............she killed a BRUTE!

I hunted my buck for the better part of a week, and as luck would have it, he held tight to his preseason stomping grounds, and I was finally able to get to where he was going before he did, and the rest is history.

But I don't think the odds are too good at killing a big Muley by just jumping out there hoping to see one. I would venture many big muleys killed were previously sighted then gone back after by a hunter who knew where he'd be........just my thought on it.....
DS
 
Sounds like y'all had a heckuva good hunt DS. Can't wait to see the pics, us flatlanders only get to look at them mulies through pictures ya know. :D
 
Thanks Snite........I think Buzz will get his pick up today with the help of Elkhunter.
It had a 28" spread and was a beautiful buck, and his wife is a fine hunter as he is.
My buck supposedly is a tad bit wifer, but you can never tell about me ;) ......I tend to stretch the tape :eek:

Buzz also killed a great whitetail last week in Montanny, but is not sure he will post the pics for fear of being labeled a poacher for posting two dandy dear in the same season! :rolleyes:
DS
 
Hey DS, Someone from Wyoming said you can't pattern big muleys. Sounds like you are saying he's wrong? :D Congrats. Deer is deer and big deer is better. :cool:
 
DS said "

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> My buck supposedly is a tad bit wifer <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What does that exactly meen ?!?!!? HEhe congrats on your's and BUZZ's wife success !!!!!!
 
DS,

All kidding aside, is a Mule deer buck similar to a white-tail?
Do they just change patterns with the food source so folks think they don't do the same thing more than once?
I imagine a mature deer is a mature deer and they are not that different other than terrain and the size of territory thay cover.

Ok, from a different angle. Is it true that a mature white-tail is the most difficult?
JB
 
JB Florida, just try and kill a mature 30" wide mule deer and you will answer your own question. Not even Mr. Greenhorn has killed a mature 30" buck yet, but he does have one heck-a-va collection of trophy whitetails. Mulies are also not as pattern-able as whitetails. Sure mule deer will stay in the same general area for a while, and they may even use the same trail now and then. However it's pretty tough to set your watch by what a mule deer will or won't do. I've seen whitetails use the same trail, field, ravine to walk down day after day unless they are scared off. A mule deer can be patterned to a degree, but when comparing apples to apples the whitetail is easier to pattern.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ November 27, 2001 14:08: Message edited by: Big Sky ]</font>
 
what is a 30 ince mullie comparable too when you talk whitetail? 180 or 190 class?

if thats the case you cant pattern them either.

many of big buck's here go completely nocturnal when deer season starts.
 
My opinion is ...smart whitetails are lots harder to nail than mule deer, more common, but whittails are smarter deer. But really big mule deer are rarer to find, probably tougher to pattern, and less common to get. I've never "patterned" any mule deer but I'm sure it could be done at the right times when they aren't traveling or pushed. A friend in WY took me on a hill one morning to show me a big non-typical muley. Sure enough, at daylight it came through the saddle we were watching...maybe 210 B&C or so. Then a while later, we watched one typical that we thought would net over 200. That one was killed this year and grossed 208, netted 198 is the word. The big non-typical is still out there and I believe it is earmarked for killing next October by one of the two pals of mine that hunt there. They keep pretty good tabs on them. The only weakness is that buck has been missing his back split on one side for the last two years. Those 2 guys took bucks there this fall and they scored 198 and 202, I believe. Neither were 30" wide. One of the guys killed a 36" wide buck last year that doesn't even compare to the 27"ers they got this fall.

Don't know whey people get hung up on 30" as a guage for a deer's antler's size. It's a measurement of thin air. I've seen quite a few racks over 30" that ain't much and just as many under 25" that are giants.
 
I call BS on DS. I have it on good authority that you can not pattern a mule deer.

Either way you got yourself one heck of a buck DS. ;)
 
JB.......In my meager experience , I believe that a magnum whitetail is much harder to kill than a magnum Muley, for much of the same reasons Jason Lee listed in his post.

However, as Greenhorn stated, you may have a much more difficult time "locating a magnum Muley, as the whitetails are more common.

But I know this............the big Muleys DO NOT REACT like the big whitetails. Once you have them in your sights, he's pretty much yours........not so with a big Whitey.

As far as the patterning of Muleys. For two years in a row now, I have been lucky enough to finf big muleys that stayed put for up to a week in the exact same spot..........with moderate pressure around. This may be a freak thing, but I believe it happns more times than not. They didn't get big by bumbling around all over...........I think they go with what works for them, and finding that little niche where that is is the tough part.

Like Big Sky said though......you won't be setting your watch by him like you can some whitetails...........only with a little luck know the general area to find him.

But there have not been a lot of watches set by big whitetails of the south, either ;)
DS
 
Regardless of whether muley bucks can be patterned or not I've killed more muley bucks than DS and Greenhorn combined, however the size of their bucks speak for themselves. That being said I'd listen to their advice as they must be doing something right. I've certainly learned from both of them. Myself I can't seem to pattern a muley buck in this country. I may sometimes know what square mile or two (section) a buck hangs out in. Two of the 3 big muley bucks I saw this year were in areas that I was aware they hang out. The third buck I just stumbled into. One of the 3 I had seen before a couple years ago, it was good to know he's still alive. Unfortunately my tag was filled by the time I ran in to any of these deer. I saw them all in the last 3 days of a 5 week season. I had hunted these areas all through the season every chance I had. It was just a matter of time before they showed up. I sure wish I could say "such and such" buck should be in "such and such" coulee at approximately 6:30am. on November 18th, but it hasn't happened yet. About the best I can do is say I've seen a big buck around here before and hope he's still around here somewhere if I look hard enough. I'm convinced they stay within about a 5 square mile area, but darn it, there's a lot of places to hide in that 5 square miles. Plus I think they see me far more often than I see them and just simply avoid me. Most of the time I try to find the does that hang out there all the time and keep an eye on them hoping there big-bad boyfriend shows up sooner or later. Unfortunately this year it was later.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ November 28, 2001 09:08: Message edited by: Big Sky ]</font>
 
Deerslayer,

First off CONGRATS on your fine trophy, it sounds as if you surely earned it


I have never hunted mule deer but I do have a couple of buddies that live out west and guide for mule deer. From what they tell me the mule deer is easier to kill but tougher to get to simply based on the terrain.

I have only been hunting whitetails for 36 years now and it has been my findings that a big ole buck cannot be patterned. I saw a 160 class buck 2 times before our deer season started this past Monday. That big boy didn't get that big by being stupid, thats for sure. We have so many deer hunters in PA and there is so much pressure on the deer that as soon as opening day those big boys go stricly nocturnal. To bad night hunting isn't legal here.

I shot a little dinker buck late yesterday at 420 yards. HIs rack was SO BIG I tossed it in the dumpster, :D He will eat well


Don
 
Don........I come from Louisiana where they don't even have a tag system! :eek: ......legally you could take six a year on the honor system, and I was only 30 minutes from both Texas and Arkansas where I could take an additional 10 deer legally. Being able to harvest up to 16 deer a year legally within 30 minutes of my home allowed me to kill in access of some 200 whitetails over a few decades, and I learned a little about them, ......at least the ones that live in the south.

The mature whitetail you say can't be patterned may not be true. The way I successfully hunted them is to find his little 100 acres.......his "zone".......the place where he spends most of his time outside of the ruts. It will be thick as hell, but he will eat and sleep and spend the vast majority of his time there. Look for his track, one in excess of 3 1/2 inches, is the best way to find him. He won't be using heavy game trails, but will rather skirt them by a few hundred yards. Whne you hunt him in his "zone", pick and choose when you hunt him. If you go daily, your hunt will be over before it begins, as he will detect your presence after your long gone. Your best chance is the first time you go in. If you don't get him, wait at least 3 or 4 days.......or he will pattern you long before you get the chance to pattern him. I generally was able to take a couple of bruiser bucks each year using this technique, but the key is having a lot of time to hunt.....

Big Sky.....you know far more than me when it comes to Muleys, no doubt. I would concur with you on anyday with whatever advice you had to say about hunting them.
I have been real fortunate mainly, and the muleys I have gotten on are not of the same terrain as the ones your hunting. I would imagine the more open the country, the more thay move and harder to get a handle on them.

And the pattern I found was certainly not finding them in a said coulee at say 6:30.........but rather if I satked out a certain ravine for several days in a row, he would materialize somewhere within it sooner or later, as that is the place I have seen him a few times before. The big Wyo buck I hunted for 5 straight days before I got the opportunity. I had seen him there two weeks prior and a week before that. In those 5 days, I spotted him one other time but he was not where I expected him exactly, and I got no shot.........then 4 days later, I was where he was previously and luckily it all worked out.

On the "which is harder to kill" thing.............all I am saying is, the big Whiteys I've taken can be gone in thick cover in an instant, either because they sensed you or smelled you or just got itchy........so you always hate to hold out for a better shot on him and sometimes rush into a bad shot because you know that crafty devil is fixing to vanish on you.

On the otherhand......I was able to take a real nice 25 inch buck last year, a 26 inch buck in Co this year, and one close to 30 iches in Wyo this year......and in all 3 cases, those deer stood like statues for sevral minutes just staring at me in the open, well aware that I was a human predator, but yet they stood motionless as if in a trance. I had several minutes to gather myself and analize the best shot, then take it. Now I know they are not stupid......I'm just saying they don't seem as wary as big whitetails to me. But I agree with you that there won't be many watches set by when and where they will be......
DS
 
Oh..and Greenhorn........I hear you about "whats the fuss over the spread, its a measurment of thin air"...........but try telling that to the guy that just killed a 12 each buck while he looks over at his bud who took an 18incher ;) .....he'll probably tell you he wishes he had a little more "air" between his antler beams :D

Big Sky.....I have tried emailing you on your post e-mail logo and it says I can't access......I had a question for you if you could shoot me your e-mail.
DS
 
Spread don't mean SH1T. The #2 non-typical mule deer has a 9" inside spread, the world record non-typical muley has a 22" inside spread. If that 12"er had five 10" coke bottle tines per side and the 18"er was a splayed out forkie... guess which one i'm shooting.
 
I'll have to agree with Greenhorn, spread doesnt mean a thing to me. Think of this also, even a buck with a 30 inch inside spread has to have another 160 inches of antler to make the book. The spread is a small portion of the over-all score, yet it seems you need to kill a 30 incher or your mule deer is subpar. Never could figure why so many people gauge mule deer by spread alone.
 
Guess that's why I said a "mature" 30" buck. Not some willow horned short-tine puny buck with a wide spread. Trust me heavy long tined bucks with 30+" spreads are impressive as hell. I'll just ignore Greenhorn he's been complaining about inches ever since he lost his virginity and found out inches matter to some people. Sort'a of a little man's syndrome thing. As for me I'll stay HUNG up on 30" spreads as I like hanging there.
 
B/S... So are you saying big things come in small packages or small things come with big packages? I know.. it may be short, but it sure is skinny, right. Remember, no matter what your wife or hunting buddies say.. SIZE DOES MATTER. But it's always nice to be able to convince yourself otherwise.
 
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