Minnesota mule deer!

[03mossy]

Yep you read the title right...

We were hunting last weekend in the southwest corner of MN. Sunday morning I hear a number of rapid shots coming from my dad's direction. Kinda smiled and thought well dad got one. He then sends me a text saying "got a buck". I replied good work and asked for him to send me pics. The pics came and I was shocked. It sure didn't look like any whitetail I have ever seen and it looked like a mule deer. The odd thing is we do not have Mule deer in MN. I send the pics to a couple of buddies, one that grew up in Wyoming and the other who lives and hunts western SD. Figuring they would know for sure. They both confirmed my thoughts, it's a mule deer! He must have worked his way across the Dakotas or maybe up from Nebraska? Who knows? Only in 2020 would this happen. We called the DNR to make sure we were ok and since MN does not specify and our licenses just say "Deer" everything is ok. It's at the taxidermist now and will make for a great story for many years!

 

[03mossy]

 

[MrTom]

Yep. That's a muley. Nice job Dad.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Sweet! Can't wait for them to make it to Michigan

 

[ShawnT]

Very Cool. Congrads to Dad! Does it have the Mule Deer tail or one like a Whitetail? Just curious.

 

[OXN]

Yep you read the title right...

We were hunting last weekend in the southwest corner of MN. Sunday morning I hear a number of rapid shots coming from my dad's direction. Kinda smiled and thought well dad got one. He then sends me a text saying "got a buck". I replied good work and asked for him to send me pics. The pics came and I was shocked. It sure didn't look like any whitetail I have ever seen and it looked like a mule deer. The odd thing is we do not have Mule deer in MN. I send the pics to a couple of buddies, one that grew up in Wyoming and the other who lives and hunts western SD. Figuring they would know for sure. They both confirmed my thoughts, it's a mule deer! He must have worked his way across the Dakotas or maybe up from Nebraska? Who knows? Only in 2020 would this happen. We called the DNR to make sure we were ok and since MN does not specify and our licenses just say "Deer" everything is ok. It's at the taxidermist now and will make for a great story for many years!

Very cool story. Talked with the wildlife biologist in Tok, Alaska, near the Canadian border this summer while up there Caribou hunting... apparently, there have been several verified sightings of Mulies up there, on the AK side. Animals' ranges are constantly changing.

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

Congrats to your Dad!

 

[sdporter]

Nice buck! I keep hoping white tails will make it to Utah.

 

[user 20307]

Nice buck! I keep hoping white tails will make it to Utah.

I have seen a whitetail in Utah near the Salt Lake area, Oquirrh Mountains. My brother-in-law shot one in Northern Utah many years ago. Also have a friend that spotted one on the Oquirrh range. They are making they're way West.

 

[user 20307]

Pretty cool seeing a muley that far East. That will make a great conversation piece. Congrats!

 

[sdporter]

I have seen a whitetail in Utah near the Salt Lake area, Oquirrh Mountains. My brother-in-law shot one in Northern Utah many years ago. Also have a friend that spotted one on the Oquirrh range. They are making they're way West.

I saw a wolf in the Uintahs up the West Fork of the Duchesne about 15 years ago and heard a few of them howling. There aren’t supposed to be wolves in Utah.
Someone killed an old grizzly bear on Pine Valley Mountain in southern Utah decades ago. There are pictures and the story in the little restaurant there in town. So yeah, animals do travel long distances. I hope I get to see white tails down here during my lifetime.

 

[deermanok]

Way cool, congrats.

 

[mnoland30]

When I lived in southern AZ, we saw a deer we couldn't identify. I was told that it is possible for mulies and whitetails (Coues deer) to breed. Never confirmed it, but it sounds plausible. I understand there is such a thing as a coywolf.

 

[Amudgett]

Congrats

 

[Rockman]

Yep. My dad grew up in NW MN, not too far from the Canadian border. Dad, or one of his brothers, shot a mule deer back when he was a teenager. The folks figured it wandered across the Red River from North Dakota, or came south from Manitoba.