LAST EDITED ON Jul-23-12 AT 10:23AM (MST)[p]
LAST EDITED ON Jul-23-12 AT 10:21?AM (MST)
LAST EDITED ON Jul-23-12 AT 10:20?AM (MST)
EDITED FOR GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, and SPELLING correction.
After looking carefully at both pics on both threads, and re-reading some good field judging best practices, I'm gonna say somewhere around 26 for an outside spread, 24 for the inside. Here are my reasonings. Stick with me and feel free to disagree. I am just having some fun with this.
Most experts agree that typical ear length for a muley with ears in the "alert" position, is between 20-22", some might even say 24". I tend to agree with the more conservative numbers on this buck. Judging from the length of that first browtine, which I am estimating at 3.5 inches, I would put the length of his right ear at 7 inches. Give him another 7 for the other ear, 8 for base of ear to base of ear for a total 22". He is not on "full alert" but has the left ear cocked a little, but figure he is at least 1.5, but not more than 2 inches past each ear, add it up and you get 26 at best.
So to take a crack-pot guess and his backside width, you pretty much have to look at the length of his tail. According to the MDF "Mule deer tails are less than 7 1/2 inches long." (
http://www.muledeer.org/hunting/mule-deer-facts/whats-name)
So, to me, it looks like that deer, if he has a 7.5 inch tail, isn't much more than 1 3/4 tail lengths across his rump. He is also walking away, so his left side, the side he is stepping with, appears larger so just going from white to white and picturing the tail laying across it, no way in hell are you going to say it streches across there twice. 1.75 at best, give you a 12-13(at most) inch rump. So if Oso is right in saying that he is antlers are at least twice as wide as his rump, that puts this buck in the 24-26 inch wide category.
Maybe a better question to ask is "how long are his mainbeams"? That is going to give you a better indication and perspective of is width. I would say around 23 each. He is pretty symmetrical. He looks to be about a 130 - 140 inch 3 pt, that would be pretty consistent with 22 - 23 inch mainbeams, somewhere in that neighborhood. Can you really picture his mainbeam laying between each antler with 3 1/2 inches on either side?
As I see it, his width is pretty comparable to the length of the mainbeam. Figure he is 22 inches from ear tip to ear tip, split that in half (pretty much down the middle of his face like you see on his right side in the first pic on the other thread) and measure 11 inches from the middle of his face to the tip of his ear, you really can't put that much again from of where his ear ends to the tip of his mainbeam. Even if you give him 25 from ear to ear you are still only looking at a 24 inch mainbeam at best, and it doesn't appear to me that his inside spread really exceeds the length of his mainbeams. Photos are deceiving though so I could be tottaly wrong, proportionately, it just doesn't seem to be greater than that length by much, and I can't see this buck being more than a 140, maybe 145 inch buck depending on his mass (and he has great mass).
Even if you give him 30 inch mainbeams that is going to put him in the 160-170 range. Are we really going to call this buck a 160 inch 3 point?
No, didn't think so. Even if you disagree with me scoring him at an estimated 130-145 buck and think I might be too high, that just proves my point all the more.
Plus, from that backside pic, he just looks a lot like a bunch of other 25 - 26 inch bucks I have seen.
What are you wanting him to measure Oso?
All that aside, the biggest buck of the bunch however, is the one at the front of the pack! At least from looking at those monster G2's. Got any more pics of him?
Also, is that a big club droptine on that second buck?
I wouldn't mind plugging any one of those 3 bigger bucks on most units.
HOOK 'EM!
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