What little I know and have seen, Mule.
What little I know and have seen, Mule.
3pt Muley!!!
"BORN TO HUNT"
Foxton's Cuervo Gold "KEELA" Oct. 2004-June 2017. Always in my blind and my heart.
I've found spikes, twos and threes to be pretty hard to distinguish by antlers alone. That one is definitely a mule deer however.
Muley.......
"My biggest fear is that when I die, my wife sells all my hunting gear for what I told her I paid for it"
"Take your boy hunting, and you won't have to hunt for your boy".
"Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching- even when doing the wrong thing is legal.”
What did it's tail look like? If it wasn't a white tail flag, then it's not a hybrid, it's a mulie or blacktail hybrid.
Hybrids will have excentuated or however its spelt white patches around the eyes and throat just as whitetails do. Will be much more prominent .ears may be smaller but still have mule deer markings . A freind of mine shot a deer 9 years ago . It had a whitetail head anters and coat color . But had a mule deer tail . Some are obvious hybrids some not so much .
"My biggest fear is that when I die, my wife sells all my hunting gear for what I told her I paid for it"
"Take your boy hunting, and you won't have to hunt for your boy".
"Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching- even when doing the wrong thing is legal.”
Here is the tail area with just a smoothed over stub. I was not present when the deer was gutted but there is no evidence of a saw cut and we are aware that the the tail must be kept attached to the carcass. The individual that shot this deer is a 47 year old experienced hunter and I certainly believe his claim that no tail was present. It would have been nice to have that evidence available as there was some disagreement among those present re: the species. In any event, seems like the overwhelming opinion here is muley.
Some interesting info on hybrids from Dr. Valerius Geist. He said they cannot evade predators as they cannot jump over obstacles correctly. Whitetails tuck their legs up and clear fences or blowdown, gracefully,by inches. Mule deer keep their legs hang low and they clear anything with ease. Hybrid will keep legs low like a mulie but they don't get the mule deer's bounce. Result is ass over teakettle. Easy pickings.
Also a whitetail will run away from coyotes etc. Mule deer often stand their ground and will kick predators. They took a large dog into a pen of hybrids and they herded up and walked right up to the dog but then stood there. Their wiring is all crossed up
"If you ever go into the bush, there are grizzly bears lurking behind just about every bush, waiting to pounce, so you need a powerful gun, with huge bullets" - Gatehouse ~ 2004