What makes a big buck

[hunter399]

The nice thing about most 200 inch bucks is that you don’t have to worry about field judging them, and if you do, you better be up on your math skills. 

BOL.
Buck of lifetime right there.

[muleyslayer#1]

Here’s a straight 2 that I consider to myself a “big” buck. Massive body, long beams and G2.

[boneaddict]

This is what I consider one of the rarest trophies in this state.   An old recessed super buck.  He has survived the elements, roadkill, poaching, non stop predator, technology,  bounties on his head  or what we call gov tags.   Unbelievable hunting pressure from about August 1st to shedding, and even shed hunting pressure. Heck, he survived huntwa.   He has eluded it all!

[MeepDog]

This is what I consider one of the rarest trophies in this state.   An old recessed super buck.  He has survived the elements, roadkill, poaching, non stop predator, technology,  bounties on his head  or what we call gov tags.   Unbelievable hunting pressure from about August 1st to shedding, and even shed hunting pressure. Heck, he survived huntwa.   He has eluded it all!

I've only seen 1 old white face like that! It's a benchleg we get on camera every once in awhile that has regressed to dink antlers with split up ears from years of fighting. Those deer are far more interesting than some genetically blessed 3.5yo in my opinion.

[muleyslayer#1]

This is what I consider one of the rarest trophies in this state.   An old recessed super buck.  He has survived the elements, roadkill, poaching, non stop predator, technology,  bounties on his head  or what we call gov tags.   Unbelievable hunting pressure from about August 1st to shedding, and even shed hunting pressure. Heck, he survived huntwa.   He has eluded it all!

That is an awesome buck Doug!

[dvolmer]

What makes a big Mule Deer buck in the state of Washington?  Now that is a question with a lot of answers.  It's definitely in the eyes of the beholder. For me it has changed in the last 40 years or maybe better said, evolved over the years.  Bucks I saw back in the 80's and 90's that I thought were huge could possibly be bucks I would pass on now.  Im 57 years old and have hunted mule deer for 40 years here in Washington State.  I remember back in the 80's before the 3 point minimum law. You hunted the entire season hiking 10 plus miles a day and was thrilled to shoot a forky!  I now hunt in Montana and Wyoming too.  If you were to ask a Wyoming resident who has hunted for 40 years, you would probably get a different answer than the Washington hunter.  I am always hunting and dreaming of that 30 inch wide mule deer or that mule deer that hits the 200 inch mark.  I have only seen one deer in Washington that I feel could have possibly hit the 200 mark (he wasn't 30 inches wide) but it could have been under. Saw it with a group of 4 deer in the summer of 2021 and tried to film him. In the first week of August he simply disappeared, never to be seen again (that is what really big bucks do!). The other 3 bucks I watched until the beginning of the season and me and my buddy harvested two of them in the high 150's and the low 160's.  Ill try to show you some of the bucks that I thought or now think are nice for the state of Washington. I have harvested two bucks that have broke the 180 mark, or better said, I have layed down next to two of my daughters and helped and watched them as they have harvested the two bucks. One in 2009 and the other in 2010. Nothing more rewarding than to hunt a really big buck and then to lay down next to your teenage daughter and let her have first shot at the deer.  Both times I was laying next to them with rifle ready to make a follow up shot if needed and both times it wasn't needed.  Ill add some posts of some pictures of the deer over the years that I felt are big or did feel they were big at the time.  Now that I am older, bucks in the 155-165 class get me excited. bucks in the 165-175 give me buck fever for sure. Bucks over that can haunt your dreams and Im not much of a dreamer but some of my screw-ups over the years and the ones that got away do seem to haunt me for sure. But that is what keeps you going and getting out of bed early in the morning in the month of October!

[dvolmer]

Here are a couple of bucks I shot in 1998 and 1999. First four point bucks I had ever taken. I thought they were huge at the time.  I have since passed on deer the same size here in Washington. Both deer are probably somewhere in the 120's.

[dvolmer]

In 2005 I shot this big mature funky 3x3 mule deer in the late muzzleloader season. 27 inches wide but not to many points.  This was the first mature mule deer I had ever shot. Probably 4 plus years old

[dvolmer]

During the 2008 muzzleloader general season I shot this 26 inch wide 169 inch (all measurements are gross) pig of a buck. At the time I thought I had shot the biggest buck in all of Washington. I thought that I could never come close to shooting a bigger buck in my lifetime again. I would take the antlers out and just stare at them while I was waiting for the hide to get back to the taxidermist. This was the first buck I ever had mounted. And yes, I did jump on his back and ride him!!!!  Thats what my buddies said after they saw the pictures.

[dvolmer]

2009 Me and my daughter were hunting on the Wednesday after the opener. right at dusk she saw this buck and the rest was history. 170 inch main frame with 16 inches of scorable points in the eye-guards and below. Total gross of 185 and 5/8. He was 25 and 1/2 inches wide.

[dvolmer]

more

[dvolmer]

2010 was epic also. Another daughter (I have 6) shot this typical 183 inch 28 inch wide buck.

[dvolmer]

2013 My only son shot this Ritzville buck. Low 130's. He thought it was a monster at 14 years old.

[dvolmer]

2014 My daughter shot this buck. This is what a mid 140's inch deer looks like.

[dvolmer]

2015 I shot this narly old Washington buck. This is what a 155 inch buck looks like.