are standing in a basin in Idaho (where this could conceivably occur).
You have stumbled across this isolated basin and you have just finished glassing the area. To your amazement you have seen the animals listed above within shooting distance (inside 300 yards).
You are set up to take a perfect shot on each.
You can only take one. The packout is not an issue.
Which one do you shoot?

I would shoot the mulie, large elk are not that difficult to find, never could quite get fired up about whitetails and I have been on a quest for a monster muley for 10 years.
Anybody else?

You are a winner any way you cut it.

Mulie first. If he left then the Elk, if he left then I guess I would just shoot the darn Whitetail!

The muley. Could you tell me where I can find one of these easy to find big bulls

At that size trophy, I would shoot and eat the elk. You can always find big mule deer.

Ivan,
I am lucky enough to live in Idaho and I see large 6 points all the time, granted not a lot of 370's but lots in the 300 to 350 class. It is not uncommon while scouting for mulies in the high country to see 3 or 4 nice bulls a day. Same again during bow season, lots of large bulls around.
Large mulies are much more scarce and difficult to find, I know there are some of them out there because I see them on the winter range around Boise.

The muley without a second thought.

I'd be wishing my single shot was a semi-auto!
Kidding of course, I would shoot the Muley. I have a Big Whitetale on the wall, I have no room for a Elk head that big on the wall. Yep it's the Muley.

[ 07-02-2003, 19:33: Message edited by: Mark G ]

Really big mule deer are one of the most rare and expensive species.

I don't have room for that size elk in my house.

I'd shoot the elk anyway.

I'd be shaking a lot. It's a bigger target.

I'd check my license, cause you ain't in Idaho!!

The elk for me .

I'd shoot the whitetail, 'cause I already shot the elk and mule deer!

rukidnme,

I think I'd take the whitetail. Have already taken the mulie and elk. Having done a lot of my hunting in the west, whitetail were not as common back then as they are now. Good luck.

I'd look at all three and be dreaming I was hunting moose instead. I guess I would take the elk. The elk would give more than two evening's worth of a dinner.

Mulie ! I got the other two on the wall!

As for me, the Elk without a doubt, and I have a darn good one on the wall. I have taken several of each, the only two close to the B.C. Minimums are whitetails, plus an Alaska Yukon Moose that made it into the last awards book. Good shooting.

Ray A.
Why do you say I am not in Idaho? I see your smiley face so I know you are must messin around.

There are places on the N and S side of the Salmon where their habitat interlaps that this scenario could "concievably" occur.
Yeah the odds of it are VERY remote but there are a few 370 bulls, 190 muleys and 170 whitetails running around in Idaho, the majority of which I would venture never do get harvested by a hunter.

It is just fun to speculate and see peoples thoughts on which game animals they get the most excited over.
Have a good one!!

Oh, I just had a brain fart about the wonderfull management processes conducted by the Idaho Fish and Wildlife....and half jokeingly made that statement...considering the 92-93 winter die off and they just keep pounding the herds, particularly the So. Hills....then the wolves and the greed for non residence licenses, maybe I wasn't kidding after all...just on my soapbox...

Today the chance of a 190 Mule deer in Idaho is rather remote but your probably correct it is possible....A 370 bull elk, I don't think so...anyway sorry if I offended, it was all in jest or rather to keep from crying...I have hunted the areas you mention a number of times. Its not as good as it was..

I'll take the elk cow at 75 yards, please...

jeffe

I would take the muley. I have gotten a decent 6x6 elk, but have yet to get a really good buck in my sights.

Ray A,
I wasn't offended, I feel your pain.
It could be so much better.
Yeah the wolves are a definite what the ____ were ya thinking!!

On the bright side though I feel very lucky to be living in Idaho, at least we get to give it a shot every year at harvesting the trophies.

I really feel the pain of the guys living back east. I would not want to have to go through what they go through to hunt. When I think about that I realize we don't have it so bad.
Have a good one!

Ray, get out of you truck cab and do some hiking. They took a 370 plus 7X7 out of the middle fork last year right where I hunt. It requires some foot work and lots of it.

In answer to the question, I have taken some nice mule deer and really enjoy hunting them but I would take the elk. Have been hunting them all my life and have been in camps where everyone has taken a 6X6, with one exception ..... namely me. They have eluded me all my life and one day, one sweet wonderful day. It will not have to be a 370 though.

[ 07-04-2003, 03:48: Message edited by: Customstox ]

From what I'm hearing from a bunch of the guides and hunters in Idaho and Wyoming the thing to do would be to hold your fire and wait for the pack of wolves to bust out of the brush they ran all three animalso out of and shoot the wolves.

I'm sure all three of these animals exsist in idaho. The problem is they most likely don't exsist on public lands.If they are found on public lands its because,the public land is surrounded by private land and may as well be private or the public land is so rugged that its cut off from other public lands. At any rate the animals spend most of there time on private property and little time on public land. Seeing and killing one of these animals on public lands is difficult and in some cases on par with winning the lotto. All the legwork in the world won't kill one of the animals,but private access will. With elk,most general areas will produce the occasional 370 class bull. The whole reason its a general area,is because of all the private land or limited access,which makes management a nightmare,yet grows good elk. A general elk area a few miles from me,is a mediocre archery area,a piss poor firearms area.Yet you have close to a dozen guys using 5000 to 8000 dollar commisioners tags on two private ranches in the same area to kill 350 to 380 class bulls every year. Right now the western states are experiencing with elk,what we saw in the 1950's and 1960's with mule deer,a boom.

Because a whitetail can spend its entire life in a couple hundred acres of land,the chances of seeing a 170 class buck is good,especially if the genetics are present and you have good nutrition available.

With a mule deer,you have a deer that is sensitive to pressure,migrates long distances and has had more damage done to it from fuckin' golf courses and subdivisions then most other big game short of elk. The bottom line is,mule deer are tough to manage and a guaranteed 190 class mule deer are pretty much unheard of. Shoot the mule deer the other two are much easier to come by.

I'd take the whitetail, and it wouldn't have to even go 170! Of my dozen or so trips out west, I've always hunted deer , never even had a desire to hunt elk, is something wrong with me?

On my last trip to Montana I passed on a NICE 27" muley, just out standing with his harem of about fifteen doe. I had the crosshairs on him four times till I finally said, "Let's leave".
After five mule deer bucks I would still rather hunt one of those big whitetails that you guys have out there!.....Big K

Rukidnme: The Mule Deer for me! Not even a moments hesitation for that decision! Great question by the way.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

if I ever see a 170 class whitetail its going down,Pamala Anderson couldnt get me off it.

Great question I hunt whitetail for 30 plus day each year in my home state, I've hunt elk once and have a rag horn, I've hunted mule deer once without taking one. I'd try for the mulie

Why so little on the muley, ID used to have some 300 Lb or bigger Mule deer before the 92 winter kill. I'd shot the muley though...

Prior to the winters of 92-93, I could shoot and did shoot 30" plus Mule deer every year in Unit 54 or 55 in Idaho...

One day my daughter shot a 32" buck at 10AM and I shot a Buck that went typical at 192 B&C....I would see 40 bucks a day and at least one 30 or better....Today a 24" buck is pretty nice....the winter killed the old boys as they were coming out of the rut and the game dept just kept hammering them until they killed out the gene pool IMO....this year they decided to cut the numbers of deer to be killed, to little to late I fear, hope I'm wrong...Politics and greed for financing is the downfall of game in Idaho.

If it were me, I'd take the elk even though the most unique would definately be the mule deer. Coin toss..

If it can't happen in Idaho or Wyoming, move to Montana. I already taken all three of them from public lands here and hope to find a few more even bigger ones, hopefully in just a couple months.

Or maybe I'll just stay home on the couch and piss'n moan about the shitty wildlife management practices in my state... then book some canned game farm holidays outing in Texas.