pass or tag?

JMF

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we have a winner 21" and 185". I was always thinking i needed a wide mule deer to score good but the taxi told me the deep forks is where you can make some inches.

I have a 171" and 174" gross mule deer. One is 21" wide and the other is 19" wide. You don't need width, but the wide ones sure look nice. Yours is a stud BTW.
 


jdinny

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deep forks and mass, you can have a stellar main frame, main beam, without forks your deer will be worthless ( score wise)
those in-lines kurt R helped a ton on your score. if you get a muley with in-line 5's and 6's she'll add inches quick.

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same with speed goats everyone brags about the 15"height without mass and cutters its worthless....gimme a 14.5" goat with 7" bases anyday over a 15-16" pencil again score wise. 15.5" pencil looks big on a wall though..
 

FishFinder97

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They're all backstraps, tenderloin, and sausage to me. Looks like a nice trip in some scenic country for sure.
 


Wrkn2hunt

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Def pass! Can't kill a big one if you should a decent one. This year I was in region G after waiting 6 years to draw. Got there early to hike in and scout and found a stud right away. Talking 190-200. Tall, wide, deep, matching kickers, brows, and an inline. Slept on it and watched it til opening morning. 9 bucks in that basin about 4.5 miles in. Opening day sitting at about 10,000 feet glassing all the bucks in the basin with the plan to let them feed closer or bed then make the move. All of a sudden BOOM!!!! My buck of a lifetime drops and tumbles down the mountain. We thought we had the basin to ourselves but guess what. A local knew of the deer and parked by our truck and hiked in and shot it out from under me! Hardest lesson I have ever learned. I always try to be patient with mule deer which is hard for me and when I finally try to do it right it backfires. Damn thing was full velvet also. My dream buck. Anyway we finished the hunt and passed a bunch of bucks but were set at 180' or better so now that is 4 years in a row I have eaten tags in Id, Co, Wy, and Mt trying to kill a giant and will continue to do so.
 

snow

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that sucks 2hunt,guy was a dickhead knowing you where there,thats public land hunting,surprised the guy did'nt ride a wheeler in.

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BrokenBackJack

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Kurt
Looks like yours has 2 busted tines. Must have been a fighting fool maybe ran into a bigger one also.
Darn nice buck.
 

Kurtr

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Looks like yours has 2 busted tines. Must have been a fighting fool maybe ran into a bigger one also.
Darn nice buck.

Had them the weekend before and i bet it was with the other guy he was with who was a straight 4x4 classic mule deer about 28 ish wide but not as deep of forks. Have not been able to find him this year i have a muzzle loader tag with his name on it.
 

Retired Educator

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Lots of opinions on to shoot or not, all of them valid. It comes down to what you want out of the hunt. Last fall I had one of the coveted ND Antlered Mule Deer tags. Hunted 8 or 9 days of the season and the last weekend found a decent (not going on the wall but a nice 4X4). Decided to shoot it and finished a very fun season as a lot of the time was spent with family sharing a camp and some backstraps for me.

Pretty sure the buck I shot was the same one I passed on opening day. Broke the rule of 'don't pass on the first day what you would shoot on the last day." The deer wasn't the main reason I hunt. The camp and all that goes on is my trophy.
 


jdinny

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honestly shoot what makes you happy. sounds stupid but if your worried about passing too many small bucks and need the meat by all means shoot it. if your dead set on a trophy pass on it. social media has turned hunting into a big dick contest unless you shoot the biggest deer your season was worthless. fwiw im in my mid 30's wife 3 kids. been fortunate enough to shoot some decent critters with one in the BC club. I can tell you that hunt doesn't even crack the top 5 of my life. the archery doe kill with my wife and son in the blind takes the cake you wanna see passion for a hunt bring your 5-6 year old out in a blind it doesn't matter if its a 150" buck or a doe your the man in their eyes and that is what it is all about, from finding the lighted knock to following the blood. im finally starting to realize what some old timers mean when they don't care if they shoot anything every again they just enjoy being out....
 

snow

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Back in colorado night before yesterdays blizzard,beautiful rocky mtn sunset

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