will be going on my first Mule Deer hunt next week, with Muley Mike. I'm decent at judging Whitetail on the hoof, but no experience with Mule Deer yet. what should I be looking for in a 140-180 class Muley?

If ear to ear tip is 18-20" how wide are 140-150 bucks? 23-25”? Thanks.

I would just shoot one I liked and not worry about getting advise on the THF. What I always did before the THF and am proud of all the the ones I killed in the High Country. YOU are the judge and jury on what you want take if it is legal.

pay closer attention to how deep their backs are and length of their fronts.

West Texas mulies have around 22" ears. Look at body size and look for an older much heavier look deer. They are bigger than WT and look older at younger ages due to the body size and color. Look for deep back forks and good front forks. Brow tines are a bonus and don't expect much if any in some areas. Main beams spread and mass can be all over the place for TransPecos Mulies. So just look for a very heavy bodied older buck with great forks. If you do this they will grow on the ground. Good luck.

the one below is 26" wide 171 gross and 149 net....

Here is a link to a post from early Sept with lots of mule deer pics on it.
http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2562532/1

Mulie are just a bigger bodied deer, more so then wts. One tip...............look at the legs. If they look like they have nubs for legs, that also indicates a bigger deer. Best of luck

Shoot the one you want to put on your wall and don't worry about the score.

X2!

Just remember what the late Jack OConner said. "The big ones always LOOK big."

and if you're like me.. watch a lot of film on them

Admit it you just like horn porn.

watching jason carter shoot brutus as we speak...... for about the 100th time

Width is nice, but deep forks and mass score.