Field judging colorado mule deer

[ColoradoV]

He scores a trip to the freezer, what a unique buck! Did you ever see him hard horned?

Nope I only saw him in his summer home not sure where he wintered and I believe his sheds were picked up "early" on public so not much of a story there either. The next year after the pic was taken he scored right around 220"... 20+ score able points + the mass got him there. Not sure if they aged him of not but I believe he was 6 in the pic and 7 the year he was killed.. My 10 year old daughter I took backpacking in there called him a moose when she saw him and the name stuck.

As for the bucks celk posted my take is bigger buck in the double pic is 26- 27"ish = maybe hits 180" pry in the mid 170's tho, shorter tines hurt him his extra makes up a bit of it. Smaller one in the pic is a 160+ class buck..

Bottom one is a pry a low to possibly mid 180" class buck real good backs but still not over 17", real weak fronts, good mass.. Basically a crab on one side might keep him in the 170's, and together w small brows keeps him in that class. Width is hard to tell w only one flattering pic but again I would say 27" give or take a inch..

Good luck on your hunt.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Nope I only saw him in his summer home not sure where he wintered and I believe his sheds were picked up "early" on public so not much of a story there either. The next year after the pic was taken he scored right around 220"... 20+ score able points + the mass got him there. Not sure if they aged him of not but I believe he was 6 in the pic and 7 the year he was killed.. My 10 year old daughter I took backpacking in there called him a moose when she saw him and the name stuck.

As for the bucks celk posted my take is bigger buck in the double pic is 26- 27"ish = maybe hits 180" pry in the mid 170's tho, shorter tines hurt him his extra makes up a bit of it. Smaller one in the pic is a 160+ class buck..

Bottom one is a pry a low to possibly mid 180" class buck real good backs but still not over 17", real weak fronts, good mass.. Basically a crab on one side might keep him in the 170's, and together w small brows keeps him in that class. Width is hard to tell w only one flattering pic but again I would say 27" give or take a inch..

Good luck on your hunt.

That’s fantastic, moose is a fitting name for sure! Thanks for sharing

 

[roadhntr]

How wide do you guys think this buck is?

 

[squirrel]

If you are insisting on being a "one trick pony" of spread only it is pretty simple. You must start with the assumption that not many deer will be over the 26-28" window without a horizontal NT point. Just a basic fact of MD in general no matter the location or the size of the herds average ear width.

With a horizontal sticker they will almost all make the magic 30" mark (counting the sticker, of course). Estimating score is much more difficult with so many things adding their "$.02" worth to the total.

So you are looking for a buck that looks "odd" with exceptional spread for his size over-all.

Forget sticker bucks they are their own beast and most will make the cut because of the sticker.
Here are some bucks for your judging pleasure. Keep in mind that only a very discerning hunter wouldn't shoot first and measure after on most of these, but that is kinda the point, right.