Mule Deer ears?

mickeyelk · Jul 24, 2005

I was wondering what the width of a good muley buck's ear were in Colorado? I'm guessing 22 inches tip to tip, but, unlike Antelope, depending where you hunt there ears are a different size. In Wyoming there ears are 5 1/2" and in New Mexico 7". Is the standard size for a good muley 22 inches or are they different in each region?

dakotakid · Jul 24, 2005

They vary from region to region, but I always figger 24".

Mike

BCBOY · Jul 24, 2005

Don't think it is a regional thing. It's no different than people, some have big ears, some don't.

I have seen mature bucks with 18 inch ears all the way up to 26 inch ears.

jakstr · Jul 24, 2005

remember can't always go by ears for width... the muscle structure could also be different,some deer might have better flexiblity in the ear butt.I think 24 is a good all around guess, Idaho,montanta (rockys) generally have bigger heads then lets say arizona or southern utah, and california and southern oregon generally have smaller and narrower heads . habitat and weather play a big part. all this doesen't mean much " It all changes on the ground anyways" goodluck hunting this year.

deerbedead · Jul 24, 2005

BC Boy is right on the money. Deer are like people in that some have small ears, and others have big ears.
I have mounted a couple of thousand mule deer over the last 10 or 12 years, and ear size varies from animal to animal, not region to region. Also think about this. The actual ears are normally very close to the same size from tip, to where they attach to the head, but the width of the head itself is also different from deer to deer.
Good idea to not rely on the ear spread to determine the width of the antlers!
Deerbedead

RACKMASTER · Jul 24, 2005

THAT WHY MASS NEVER LIES!
RM

mickeyelk · Jul 24, 2005

Thanks for the info. The reason I asked is that I have 3 bucks mounted and they all have 22 inch ear to ear. I shot them in Nevada and Southern Utah. I have that hunt in Colorado for High Country Mule deer and wanted to know how to judge them. Thanks for the info guys.

graybeard · Jul 25, 2005

Look at a lot of deer before you shoot and watch the size of the box between the G2s.....Steve

camuleycrazy · Jul 25, 2005

I measured a buck on the Ariz. Strip that had 28" ears but most good sized deer are only 24 inches.

OSOK · Jul 25, 2005

I would use 22" as more of the norm from my personal experience.

DallanC · Jul 25, 2005

>I would use 22" as more
>of the norm from my
>personal experience.

Ditto.

-DallanC
HuntingNut.com

jakstr · Jul 25, 2005

also remember if your measuring mounts, taxidermy varies from the quality. correct muscle structure, size of ear butt, etc....

idhunters · Jul 26, 2005

My 2003 wyoming buck was 26" ear tip to ear tip. However, when I saw him there was no question he was a shooter (180" or better).

I would use 24" as a general rule in any of the "mountain" states (ID, WY, CO, etc). Sounds like the deer you are hunting in the southern areas are a bit smaller, which makes sense...the farther north you go the bigger the animals generally are (body wise).

Width is the least important component of score.

jakstr · Jul 26, 2005

right on the nail!

elk_horn · Jul 26, 2005

We dont worry too much about score or width ...we look for good mass. I would rather have mass and 24" spread than 28" spindley horns.

Texas_Hunter · Jul 27, 2005

Alot of guys are much more experienced mule deer hunters than I. These are my two best mulies...

The buck on the left has 24 3/4" tip-to-tip ears and was taken in Canada. The right buck has 23 3/8" tip-to-tip ears and was taken in New Mexico.

The other two bucks we have mounted are 23" and 23 3/4" inch. Hope this helps.

mickeyelk · Jul 27, 2005

So if I was to guess the width of your bucks then the one on the left is about 28 inches and the one on the right is 25 inches? Am I close? Thanks for the nice pictures to compare.

ansonlynn · Jul 27, 2005

I've posted this before - not the greatest quality photo, but a great demonstration of individuals' variable ear width. WY photo.

camuleycrazy · Jul 28, 2005

I'm with you Elk_horn! Mass is almost everything! Spread is the least important to me.

Texas_Hunter · Jul 30, 2005

The one on the left was 25" wide and the one on the right is 27" - his outer forks flare out. The one on the left has 40"+ mass measurements and extremely long beams. The right is long tined, but thinner antlers.

Gator · Jul 31, 2005

Yes a couple of years ago I shot a deer I thought would go 26" but his ears was really small(19") and this spread was only 23" but was still a good ML just the ground shrinkage hurt alittle.