Mule deer whitetail Hybrid?

[Fishnride]

Well, what do you guys think? Mule deer, whitetail or hybrid?

I got him out in the eastern plains of Colorado where mule deer and whitetail and their habitat overlap. When I first spotted him from about a mile away I thought for sure mule deer. After sealing the deal I noticed that his antlers were actually more consistent with the structure of a whitetail. They have one main beam with single tall points, big eye guards and a little crab claw on his left. His body was absolutely huge and had all the characteristics of a giant mule deer, biggest deer I’ve ever seen by far! I didn’t really pay much attention to his tail but I do remember thinking his metatarsal gland was a little strange.
Either way I’m super happy but when I went to score him just for fun he really didn’t fit with the mule deer score sheet.

 

[SnowyMountaineer]

The tail is a big indicator in the hybrids I've seen. That looks like a muley with no back forks to me.

 

[utah400elk]

I would tend to agree, looks like a mule deer to me. Do you have a picture that might show the tail.

 

[QuazyQuinton]

I don't see why he can't be just a big, cool 3x3 muley. Antler structure is an easy point of speculation for hybrids, but from what I gather, it's really not reliable.

QQ

 

[Walkathon]

Face and ears look like a muley. I think he's a big 3X3 mule deer.

 

[Valley1320]

Looks like a muley to me.

 

[WNC2500]

Great job! Good muley. Impressive

 

[Fishnride]

Unfortunately I don’t have a pic of his tail. I was by myself and just happy to get him. The non forking antlers is what made me question but that wasn’t until I got home.

 

[Greenhorn]

muley

 

[gonhunting247]

Muley. Pretty cool, congrats

 

[ccc23454]

Muley, no reason to think other

 

[antlerradar]

100% mule deer. I have found thousands of mule deer antlers that didn't have G3's and maybe fifty whitetail antlers with a fork on the G2

 

[JEL]

yep full on muley

 

[Talk2elk]

They do interbreed not sure what the characteristics would be other than some type of DNA test. Nice buck for sure.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Mule deer antlers can be all over the place and really varied. Part of what makes them the coolest animal out there.

 

[recon6036]

Nice Mulie

 

[Huntmt28]

Cool deer!! I agree Mule deer

 

[swhunt21]

really cool deer, i'd call him a hybrid if I were telling this hunting story, don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!

 

[JLS]

https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_other/rmrs_2012_heffelfinger_j001.pdf

 

[nodakpursuit]

Well, what do you guys think? Mule deer, whitetail or hybrid?

I got him out in the eastern plains of Colorado where mule deer and whitetail and their habitat overlap. When I first spotted him from about a mile away I thought for sure mule deer. After sealing the deal I noticed that his antlers were actually more consistent with the structure of a whitetail. They have one main beam with single tall points, big eye guards and a little crab claw on his left. His body was absolutely huge and had all the characteristics of a giant mule deer, biggest deer I’ve ever seen by far! I didn’t really pay much attention to his tail but I do remember thinking his metatarsal gland was a little strange.
Either way I’m super happy but when I went to score him just for fun he really didn’t fit with the mule deer score sheet.

Without seeing the tail I'm guessing the lack of a throat and belly patch means it's a full-on muley.