Huge mule deer where to start

[MTGomer]

I'd be tickled pink with a solid, mature 180" typical in a general/easy to draw unit in Montana. Even that is tough to find.

 

[hank4elk]

I thought I had a problem with my 30" personal width record goal.
Out of the many mulie bucks I have taken over the years I have 1@ 29 3/4"...and a 26" Blacktail.
Hope to find the 36"+ buck I spotted twice this year in my draw unit, but I will not be holding my breath for 5 days.

 

[tjones]

loaded whole into the razor. difficult hunt eh? To me, this is not hunting but to each is own. This squashes my original idea of find the least accessible and most limited areas.

Back to the post. As long as you are in it for the journey and not about killing, sounds like you will have the opportunity to see lots of deer. I hope you don't pull the trigger on one that is 39 inches like the one above and regret it though!

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Biggest bucks in Montana now are coming out of a unit with swing sets in most pics.

 

[OriginalOscar]

loaded whole into the razor. difficult hunt eh? To me, this is not hunting but to each is own. This squashes my original idea of find the least accessible and most limited areas.

Back to the post. As long as you are in it for the journey and not about killing, sounds like you will have the opportunity to see lots of deer. I hope you don't pull the trigger on one that is 39 inches like the one above and regret it though!

Just getting to the Henry's is an adventure. Don't be a hater. It's an amazing location and hunt.

 

[mtmuley]

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Biggest bucks in Montana now are coming out of a unit with swing sets in most pics.

Yep. Positioning is difficult for some kill photos. mtmuley

 

[Rooster52]

A big buck is where you find him. I have hunted for over 50years and have seen big bucks in almost every unit I ever hunted at one time or another. getting in a shooting situation is another thing.

 

[tjones]

Yep. Positioning is difficult for some kill photos. mtmuley

I have seen two legit 200" taken, how about you?

 

[Duck-Slayer]

This. And who wants to kill dinky 207 inch typicals anyway? mtmuley

I do.... lol
Matt

 

[mtmuley]

I have seen two legit 200" taken, how about you?

Two also. Same bucks perhaps? mtmuley

 

[Southwind]

Personally I hope you realize your dream, but I believe a 40" mule deer is akin to hitting the lottery. I don't have to take the biggest buck on the mountain, a good mature representative animal makes me happy.

Being a highly skilled hunter isn't enough you need the genetics, the right area and a whole LOT of luck! Good luck to you!

 

[joelweb]

loaded whole into the razor. difficult hunt eh? To me, this is not hunting but to each is own. This squashes my original idea of find the least accessible and most limited areas.

Back to the post. As long as you are in it for the journey and not about killing, sounds like you will have the opportunity to see lots of deer. I hope you don't pull the trigger on one that is 39 inches like the one above and regret it though!

It's not my favorite photo and I know nothing about the hunt for that deer, but the Henrys are cool. A bunch of the unit is under BLM wilderness study, so you can get away from the posse hunters and machines and glass in peace. It is like going to Yellowstone and watching giant bulls, but giant mule deer instead. Pretty remarkable, really. The impossible part is drawing a tag.

 

[bobbydean]

I appreciated a 39 inch buck in the back of a ATV.

I saw two bucks in the 80's running together in the 80's. Stopped 100 yards of the highway. Both 30 inchers. On the way to my area. Not my area. I looked at those deer for an hour.

Cannot see anyone passing on a 30 incher.

 

[shootbrownelk]

I was on a late season elk hunt northwest of Dubois, Wyoming around 20 years ago. The snow was deep and we were on snow machines heading into the backcountry. I spotted 2 bull elk on a hillside and stopped to glass them, we only had cow tags but they looked huge.

After I got to glassing them I realized that they were in fact, 2 HUGE mule deer bucks. Standing belly deep in snow heading down to lower elevations I guess. Those guys were the biggest mule deer bucks I have ever seen. I have one mule deer that is 28" wide but these bucks eclipsed him easily. They were and still are burned into my memory.

 

[johnp]

When whitetail rack widths are discussed , the measurement is usually inside spread. Are giant mule racks also measured inside or are they measured at the widest width ? A 40 in buck would be lofty goal indeed measured either way .

 

[Duck-Slayer]

When whitetail rack widths are discussed , the measurement is usually inside spread. Are giant mule racks also measured inside or are they measured at the widest width ? A 40 in buck would be lofty goal indeed measured either way .

Outside mostly, but it also depends on who you talk too,
Matt

 

[slipinonem]

You could always go hunt the one they call the Drama buck over in Region G in Wyoming. Of course he'll most likely be dead of old age by the time you draw the tag

 

[1_pointer]

I'd think Mexico would be one's best shot at a 40" buck...

 

[3855WIN]

Hunt in your home state. Spend the summer glassing and find a great one. Kill him as soon as archery opens.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I'd think Mexico would be one's best shot at a 40" buck...

It used to be that when hunters went to Mexico to hunt mulies they were just big old bucks that were rarely if ever hunted and were truly a trophy of a lifetime. I'm sure the locals shot some just for meat but they weren't hunting for antlers.
Now most of the time you see them being hunted in Mexico they are hunting on a leased ranch and they are putting out feeders and food plots. They are culling the smaller bucks and soon they will be artificially big antlered like many of the whitetail deer that are being farmed.

 

[Dinkshooter]

40s, one for me and one for my homies