Where to go for Big Muley?

[Calif. Hunter]

I have a couple of hunting goals left ( ), a big muley buck, a moose and a nice caribou. Where is the best place to get a nice, repreentative buck, not necessarily a record book, but a good one? I'm not that picky - 24+ wide, 4 points, etc. I'm picky enough to wait or even eat the tag. Is it the fabled Kaibab?

 

[Elkasaurous]

Colorado. Look into Eagle, Pitkin, Mesa, Montrose and Garfield counties. There are also big muley's on the plains but it is mostly private land and near impossible to access. Check the Colorado Division of Wildlife website early next year to see how and where you can put in for raffle Governor deer and elk tags. Most of the tickets are sold out or have already been raffled off for this year. The odd's aren't great but for 20 bucks and a little luck you could bypass 10 years of trying to draw a license and select a premium hunt. Good luck.

 

[DaleT]

Around Eagle CO can be good I don't know that much about the other places. I know a guy who gets bucks over 24" every year. But he lives there and is a heck of a hunter.

Other than that start putting in for NV. You will go in about 3 years and you should be able to get at least a 24".

 

[Cutthroat]

I will chime in with the rest go for Colo, alot of units you can draw even on second choice and put in for the third season and hope for snow.

 

[Delw]

24" plus.. damn pretty much anywhere in AZ.. those desert bucks are wide but they lack mass.....

A good spot for a big desert muley is about 20 mins from my house.... in the last 8 years 6 have been over 33" that I know of...
up by lake pleasant there are lots of 24-26" deer.....

units 12 A&B 13A&B 5a 22, 23 21 4A.(az units) are also good trophy units lots of mass and wide racks...

unit 31 and 32 33 have some decent bucks but not as many as the other more northern units....

Should also mention if you bow hunt the units are over the counter for all deer during archery... dates are from aug23- jan 31 with time off....

Delw

 

[DeerKing]

You guys are crazy! Colorado doesn't have any deer bigger than 24 inches. You might want to try Wyoming or Arizona....

 

[Moosie]

Deer king.... How about a 23 7/8" one then when I come next year ...

 

[danr55]

If it were me, and I was setting out looking for big Muleys, I would look into the units in Southern Utah, North eastern Nevada, or western Nebraska and Kansas. Arizona is almost impossible to draw north of the river and the herds there are pretty well depleted by drought. Wyoming and Montana have some good potential areas for big deer right now. They've had relatively mild winters for a couple of years and they have consideralbly more water than the more southern states.

 

[ELKCHSR]

There are a lot of second hand stores around here that have all of the animals you are looking for..most for aroune $500....

 

[DKO]

British columbia !!

 

[ELKCHSR]

HOLY COW!!!!!
that is a very nice animal....

 

[wyomingtim]

Nope, no big muleys in Wyoming. Better try elsewhere.

 

[Silent But Deadly]

Ha Ha!
Who took that photo! That deer's head is as wide as that guy's shoulders. Is that mini-me posing behind that deer?
That is actually a wopper deer, I just get a kick at how far back people stand behind their animals when taking photos. I do trick photography too, but it isn't quite as obvious.

 

[Greenhorn]

WW.. That guy has obviously seen too many of the photos we've taken. We need to get some Extreme Trick Photography shots next fall. Should be funny. Nice buck though.

 

[Cutthroat]

I'm thinking that cali hunter would like to kill a good buck in this century. All those places in NV, AZ, UT are awesome but takes a while to draw. All he is asking is for 24" or better not too hard to fill that in Colo on second choice hunt even with no snow. Out of seven of us we got 6 deer only one was under 24" and I'm the one with no deer I was picky.

 

[Erik in AK]

Southeast Idaho. Period. Dot.

Over the counter $200. The only catch is non-resident tags are limited to 1200 total(I think). First come, first serve. They go on sale at midnight MST on the 5th or 6th of December most years and usually sell out within 12 hours. You can buy online or over the phone.

Best place on the continent for Joe Average to take a 30 incher on public land in the general season. If you go, get up high, above 8000 feet. Watered basins with pockets of cover far from the roads and main trails.

During my pre-season scouting on the 7th, 8th and 9th of Sept(I know I know) I found such a place. 8 bucks in one bunch in one such basin. Assuming an average ear-tip to ear-tip spread of 22" the smallest buck was 23-24" the largest 32-33".

Got deployed(again) shortly thereafter and came home in January to orders back to AK so I never got to go.

 

[DKO]

no trick photography intended Jays feet are right up against the rock the deers cape is on! its just the way the it worked out ,this picture really shows the mass thats all! no really it weighed 800lbs and his neck was like 7' in diameter and the spread would be like 50"

ok hows this one !

 

[Elkhunter]

Nice deer for sure.
Looks a little small for an 800 pound deer though

 

[danr55]

....and his daddy was an Eland on vacation. He has long canine teeth and eats meat occassionally. He is one of the rare three toed Rocky Mountain Carniverous Muleys. Not many of those kind left. One of the only deer known to hunt man.

 

[Silent But Deadly]

Awesome deer.
Better than anything I've got. If I shoot a forky next year, I am going to prop it up on a rock and stand behind it to the point where I am barely in focus. Then I will hold my arms straight out to each side so it looks like I am sitting on its neck and holding each base. This should make it look like a 180" 2 x 2 on a mammoth sized head.