Although ear width in the alert position is much discussed and the TPWD gives this distance as 13", when dead a deer's ears flop down into a horizontal position and this is what we have to compare antlers to. Has anyone actually measured this distance? Obviously it is somewhat larger than 13" but I admit I don't pack a measuring tape with me when I hunt.

I've measured a couple over the years but not enough to get an average per-se.

This buck was a 3.5 year old that a lease hunter took on our place and was right at 16" ear tip to ear tip.



Where this one was 14.5"... don't get me wrong, I still think this was a good dear, but he had the worst case of ground shrinkage on any of the deer I've taken. He was taken on the same property as the first deer with 16" ears.

You mean it was 14.5" in the horizontal (dead) position, not the alert position shown in the last photo, right?

Holding the ears straight out away from each other, ear tip to ear tip. Honestly I just think that deer had some miniature ears.