The last weekend of the general gun season out here in Montana. Scott, a buddy and former neighbor from Bozeman called me up wondering how my season was going. He hadn't shot a deer or an elk yet so I invited him up to a spot I had seen some good mule deer this season but just not anything I wanted to take. This was the only buck we saw in the small section of State land Saturday and Scott was happy to get some venison in the freezer.
Here's a little fun info for you. There's a game check station in Augusta, near the area I've been hunting. They weigh, measure, and age the deer that are brought in. As of Saturday, the biggest whitetail they had checked this year was 185 lbs. The biggest mule deer--234. My whitetail was 3 1/2 years old and weighed 138 lbs. This mule deer was 2 1/2 years old and weighed 143.
The question is: are mule deer bigger than whitetails on average? That all depends on where you go. I have shot whitetails in Montana that pushed 200 lbs. dressed out. The biggest whitetail I've ever shot was in Minnesota weighing 215 lbs. but that was after hanging for a few days. It was common, however, to see whitetails in Northern Minnesota dressing out at well over 230 lbs. In Eastern Montana, the mule deer body size seemed to be a bit smaller on average. A lot of factors contribute to the size of the deer regardless of whether you are talking mule deer or whitetails. Genetics, age, population, food sources, climate...all that comes into play.
Keep 'em where they live...And just wear the damn mask!
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