Mulie scouting, score this one.

[Brambles]

Went out and got a better look at a buck I'd spotted Two weeks ago, he was in the exact same spot, which is a good sign but he's still too small for me to cancel my tag on him. Maybe if it was a last day thing but I got the whole season to find some bigger bucks. He's got good brow's and his G2's arn't as short as the pictures make them look, but I don't think they are taller than the G3's, maybe 1/2 inch shorter or so. Width looks to be even with his ears so 22-26 outside spread, but looking at him I'd say he's probably closer to 22-23" outside. I think he'll go high 150's to Low 160's

This is the pic from 2 weeks ago.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/IMG_1321.jpg


And this is him 2 weeks after that, sorry for the grainy pictures, he wan't staying still very long.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/P1010053.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/P1010054.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/P1010055.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/P1010057.jpg

[kennyj]

Nice buck.Should be excellent next year.
Kenny

[Elkaholic]

I would give him a few years. He has real potential.

[Brambles]

I'm not going to shoot him, hopefully he lasts the season, he's pretty even and with decent forks I also think he has potential to get into the 180's if he lives long enough

[ruttinbuck]

I bet he's a 160 class now and if he keeps growing at the same rate for the next 3 weeks he will end up around 166-168.Its not too hard to put 8 inches of grow on 8 tines not considering a bit more mass or brow tines as well.If you can count on his pattern and not disturbed he would be a great bow hunt.RB

[Brambles]

Hey RB so you think they still got some growing to do?

I'm wondering, hypothetically speaking of course, if whitetails are still growing too?

[todbartell]

Id say 160s now

[ruttinbuck]

Yes I believe he will sprout some more.
How much depends on feed conditions.
It has'nt been extremely dry this summer so the feed is staying good.
According to Geist in years of drought an early frost will preserve the value of the high country browse and keep the bucks on better food.A drought and no frost drops the quality of the browse in the high country,if the bucks stay put the antler growth can be affected.RB

[Brambles]

Definitly be interesting to see how much more he grows by the time he harden's up then.

Maybe I'll consider a little archery action...

[Shed Hunter]

I would score him on last day

[Mr. Dean]

Definitly be interesting to see how much more he grows by the time he harden's up then.

Maybe I'll consider a little archery action...

Only way to be sure is to put a tape to him. :wink:
Hard to do with him out there walking around and all. :smile:

FWIW, I think he's better than 160. I'd lean towards 168ish. His fronts seem real nice, then again....... No tellin' with him on the hoof.

How far out was he?

[hunter1947]

Hey RB so you think they still got some growing to do?

I'm wondering, hypothetically speaking of course, if whitetails are still growing too?

You are real clouse to the right score there brambles ,I would say the low 160ties as well.

[SHAKER]

One that Velvet comes off I say he's be hard pressed to hit the 160 mark. Definatly not a tagger so early in the year.......but on the last day?

[Brambles]

How far out was he?



He was about 1km away

[muzzy]

Dink, 145/150 , go look for another...

[dana]

I think he'd be hard pressed to squeek out much more than 160. Tines look well defined, not balled up at the ends, which indicates he's pretty much done growing tine length. Aside from a little more mass to the points, he won't look much different by the time he's hard horned. The mains are really short. That's the killer to his frame. I'd be passin on him, even on the last day. Face looks young, he's got some potential if he lives a couple of years more.

[Brambles]

I did figure he was a younger buck, a doe and twin fawns came walking up on him when he was feeding and he actually played with the fawns for a bit and hung out with the doe arranging a date for later in the season. Definilty not an old recluse.

[dana]

Then you should also have a good idea of his body size. Was he about the same size as the doe, a tad bigger, or did he look like a tank standing next to her? The only way to really get a feel for antler size is to get a feel for the body size. Sometimes a tank can make his antlers look small. Tanks have the 25-27 inch ear spread. Average bucks have the 18-22 inch ear spread. From what I'm seeing in these pics, I doubt he's a tank. That is why I doubt he'll be any bigger than 160 gross when he's done.

[Brambles]

Then you should also have a good idea of his body size. Was he about the same size as the doe, a tad bigger, or did he look like a tank standing next to her? The only way to really get a feel for antler size is to get a feel for the body size. Sometimes a tank can make his antlers look small. Tanks have the 25-27 inch ear spread. Average bucks have the 18-22 inch ear spread. From what I'm seeing in these pics, I doubt he's a tank. That is why I doubt he'll be any bigger than 160 gross when he's done.


He was bigger than the Doe but I never got that "man he has a huge body" feeling, or "man he's got big ears". Knowing how my buck from last year scored and what this guy looks like. I've come to this conclusion

1. This deer has better brows, he has between 2-3" brows
2. This deer has better G4's
3. My 07 buck had better back splits by a bit
4. My 07 buck was 24" outside spread and I think this deer is Close to that.
5. I think mass is about the same after the velvet is off.

Using this info I came up with perhaps 160-163 Gross, but I'm really not sure about the width so he might be under 160 because of that.

[riflebuilder]

that buck would only go 140 144 at the most right now. Not enough length in the back forks and the spread it tight and not much mass. I would say it is a good young 3 1/2 year old buck and would be a dandy in a couple of years.

[BCBear]

I've got the 2 point curse so IMO he's already in the freezer and on the wall! Hope he's out in the open when your time comes

[Brambles]

I got my heart set on something bigger, I hope he lives a couple more seasons but something tells me he's going to get shot. By someone other than myself that is. My whole season is dedicated to mulies, I do have a stint off in Oct for bighorns but big mulies are intermixed with them so I'll be hunting bucks too.

[.308win]

My 2 biggest bucks had smaller racks than this guy....and they both went 145ish gross. I would be willing to say that he is in the 155-160 range!He'd be my biggest yet.....I'd put him in the frezzer!!:-P

Perry

[blackbart]

Brambles. Good work on spotting and following a buck for a couple of weeks to show us the difference in antler size. I do not think that this particular buck will be much better than 150-155 once the velvet is off. The mass, even with velvet is weak. Given that you have an ample amount of time to hunt let this guy ride for another year or two. Even if you don't get him then, he will have had some time to pass on some nice genetics in the area.

Don't forget that the velvet makes the rack look bigger. As an earlier post pointed out, look for bulged up tine ends to indicate more growth to come. I personally believe that with most ungulates in B.C. the majority of antler growth is pretty much done by now. If anyone knows differently I am open to correction.

Only three more weeks to alpine Mulie hunting in my part of the province. As a side note I watched a couple of bucks similar to the one in Brambles post shedding their velvet on Sept 1, 2007. A day or two later some bucks were still in full velvet, while some had nice polished brown antlers. At this time of year (early Sept) some deer will still in "their reds", while some were greyish. Ironically, there was no correlation between coat colour and velvet condition.

Good luck come opening morning to all. For those wanting some early meat, pass on the 200" buck - I will be happy to eat him over a forkie.

[ruttinbuck]

Point taken on Dana's and Black Barts post.
If the tines are thinning down on the ends then growth probably is slowing down regardless howlong the buck has until shedding his velvet.RB