Muley vs Blacktail hybrid ID

I will be headed out on my first mule deer hunt in just over a month. I have been told there are a lot of hybrid/crosses in the area near susanville. So how do you identify a hybrid vs pure mule deer?

Guess with conviction lol.

Most of the deer near town are crosses. They have a black stripe down the back their tail. The farther East you go the more that disappears and you only have a black tip on the tail. All muley.

Other than shear body size the tail is the indication like the above post says.

So they tail is a clear indication? I've heard both sides on that. I know size shows as well, but if a buck is all by its self for the inexperienced eye could be difficult. I guess when I find that "ONE" I will know it.

It's all in the tail

If you see one that looks big to you just shoot it. The tail inspection time might not be sufficient. If you're going to be picky and want only muley then just the tip of the tail should have black.

Guess I be looking for some nice racks and some specific tail.

>Guess I be looking for some
>nice racks and some specific
>tail.


Don't fall in love with just 1.

Here is a perfect example. The near left side doe is muley, her companions are black tail ( you can see the difference in tails). Took this picture today at work.

LAST EDITED ON Oct-30-16 AT 04:00PM (MST)[p]The blacktails are hybrids, correct. The thin black strip?
I just need a reference point when judging bucks. Knowing that the ear width is different on a blacktail, hybrids and mule deer. A good buck is a good buck, however this being my first muley hunt I would like harvest a mule deer

Thanks for the pic!!! I have been looking at a lot of pics of cali mule deer and crosses. Nice to see both in one pic.

Yup

I could be wrong with the area but I believe that the boundaries of hyw 152 north to the oregon border and between the 5 and the coast is the only area that a deer can be scored b&c as a black tail all other areas score as muley in ca. except sci desert muley.

There is no simple answer simply because ANY deer you kill near Susanville is going to have some blacktail blood--the question is how much. Blacktails typically congregate on the west side of the Sierra's during breeding season, while mule deer tend to congregate to the east. However, there will always be strays (partly because of their confused genetics), and so the two interbreed on both sides of the mountains. Those that do not migrate entirely out of the mountains mix genes in the high basins (Indian Valley, for example) where they over-winter.

As a result, every local mule deer will carry at least some of the genetics of the blacktail. These hybrids will carry these genes further to the east, etc. What prevents the eventual hybridization of all deer across all western states is the fact that blacktail genes are less well adapted for life in the high desert, and so they eventually die out. This explains the higher percentage of black-tipped rather than black-striped deer in eastern populations.

Of course, the gradual disappearance of black-striped tails does not necessarily mean that all blacktail genes are eliminated. For this reason, any attempt to distinguish between mulies and blacktails becomes somewhat arbitrary--such Boone and Crockett's decision to use I-5 as the divisiding line between the two.

Rather than focus on differences between the two, it may make more sense to focus on similarities. Both mulies and blacktails are evolved from the same ancestral species. Variation has occurred largely in response to different environmental pressures along the coast in comparison to those existing inland. Rather than think of these as two different species (which they are, as a consequence of the habit of biologists to plop creatures into neat categories) that sometimes mix, it makes more sense to think of them as one species that maintains slight differences across its range as a result of different survival needs.

I am pretty sure of this, 'cause they all shoot good, and taste the same.