Judging Kudu

[KAROO WILD Safaris]

Magnificent, old bull. I don’t believe either horn will make 50 though, width at the first curl isn’t wide enough. Love that shape though, would shoot that over an ugly 55 any day.

 

[1r4rc]

As much as anything, a great trip w/ my daughter... success was icing on the cake!

 

[Tim1990]

I would say 49 left 52 maybe 53 right...(I am not an expert by any means on EC kudu...)
Great EC bull and the thickness and neck shows it is a very old bull...
Well done...
The memories and hunt experience is what it is about not the tape.....average kudu taken are smaller than this....
This is a dagga boy kudu....

Magnificent, old bull. I don’t believe either horn will make 50 though, width at the first curl isn’t wide enough. Love that shape though, would shoot that over an ugly 55 any day.

Thanks for you guesses

Yes Iam very happy with this Bull. It was an awsome Hunt with great memories and a beautiful Bull (nice shape, old,…)

My PH‘s guess was 49-50“, so i good size for an EC Kudu [emoji1]

 

[buck wild]

As much as anything, a great trip w/ my daughter... success was icing on the cake!
View attachment 524551

Dream Bull !!!!

 

[1r4rc]

Dream Bull !!!!

Yes, thank you. It was an extraordinary trip where everything went right...

 

[typilotguy]

Gerhard...........yes, field judging is always an interesting topic isn't it? With animals that are unlikely to hang around and give you a long time to pick the horns apart, like kudu or free range whitetail, you need to have the knowledge base so that you can form an almost instantaneous 'overall impression' of the horns/antlers.

I think there is a desire on the part of most hunters to have some knowledge on field judging the trophy quality and age class of the animals they are traveling a long ways to hunt. It ads to the hunt, as long as it is not all consuming................I get really irritated when I walk up to a recently expired big game animal with a hunter I am guiding and the first thing out of his mouth is, "What will it score?" or "Do you think it will make gold medal?"

Ah, but that is just me and some of my quirky ideas..........

Old post, but yes...

I certainly do not have the experience that many of you do, but I could not agree with you more. In my mind, there is no harm whatsoever in the score of an animal, in and of itself. I too, get irritated, when the first thing a hunter asks is what the animal will score. Almost as if the taking of that animal is less of an accomplishment if the horns do not tape out at a certain length.

For me, at least, score is at the bottom of the list. Is it a mature animal? Past their prime? How was the hunt itself? I've been just as thrilled with animals that won't make it into any record books as I have been with very good scoring heads.

"Trophy" is in the eye of the beholder, and for me, that word means so much more than just inches.

 

[1r4rc]

Old post, but yes...

I certainly do not have the experience that many of you do, but I could not agree with you more. In my mind, there is no harm whatsoever in the score of an animal, in and of itself. I too, get irritated, when the first thing a hunter asks is what the animal will score. Almost as if the taking of that animal is less of an accomplishment if the horns do not tape out at a certain length.

For me, at least, score is at the bottom of the list. Is it a mature animal? Past their prime? How was the hunt itself? I've been just as thrilled with animals that won't make it into any record books as I have been with very good scoring heads.

"Trophy" is in the eye of the beholder, and for me, that word means so much more than just inches.

+1 ... agree totally.

 

[Tim1990]

If you say you have a 50“ Kudu, what does that mean:
- 50“ Horn length?
Or
- 50“ SCI (length + base)?

 

[IvW]

RW not Sci....

 

[buck wild]

If you say you have a 50“ Kudu, what does that mean:
- 50“ Horn length?
Or
- 50“ SCI (length + base)?

Length of horn by following the ridge in the curl as measured in inches.

 

[Wyfox]

 

[fourfive8]

Most common for reference is Roland Ward (RW) method. It takes at least three hands to do it properly with a tape measure.

 

[Rickmt]

View attachment 573777

A 56 inch Kudu is a big Kudu and a great trophy in my world !

 

[curt672]

I was just thinking about this the other day, In the US the bigger the elk or deer the bigger the trophy to most hunters, In Africa I read that the " old warrior" is the way to go, regardless of size. I understand the taking of old bulls for the sake of the health of the heard, but I am one that will only be able to hunt Africa a limited number of times --I want a big one -- that's just me.

 

[Rumrunner]

I understand the experience is the real trophy, however I wouldn’t want a friend or guest to come into the house and ask “you went all the way to Africa and that’s what you harvested? Doesn’t seem worth the expense or effort.”
After I harvest a big one then I can work with the PH to take something very old or one that needs to be taken because it probably won’t make it through the winter. Broken horns or culls will then be fine.

I only measured the spread tip to tip, 36 inches, on my Kudu. Anyone have an estimate of the RW length? Hope to get the mount back in the next 6 months.

 

[curt672]

we all know there is a difference between greater and Cape Kudu I assume we are talking greater on this thread. This is my Cape Kudu.

 

[Warren Knudsen]

 

[Warren Knudsen]

View attachment 739444

Screen shot of a video I took in Botswana, very nice bull.

 

[IvW]

I understand the experience is the real trophy, however I wouldn’t want a friend or guest to come into the house and ask “you went all the way to Africa and that’s what you harvested? Doesn’t seem worth the expense or effort.”
After I harvest a big one then I can work with the PH to take something very old or one that needs to be taken because it probably won’t make it through the winter. Broken horns or culls will then be fine.

I only measured the spread tip to tip, 36 inches, on my Kudu. Anyone have an estimate of the RW length? Hope to get the mount back in the next 6 months.

View attachment 739373

Head is tilted too far forward in the pic. Nice shape and length but lacks depth of curl(from this pic)....my guess it wont make RW minimum.....mature bull but still soft growth at the bases....
Post more pics

 

[fourfive8]

I understand the experience is the real trophy, however I wouldn’t want a friend or guest to come into the house and ask “you went all the way to Africa and that’s what you harvested? Doesn’t seem worth the expense or effort.”
After I harvest a big one then I can work with the PH to take something very old or one that needs to be taken because it probably won’t make it through the winter. Broken horns or culls will then be fine.

I only measured the spread tip to tip, 36 inches, on my Kudu. Anyone have an estimate of the RW length? Hope to get the mount back in the next 6 months.

View attachment 739373

Some like the look of the wide spread angle that this kudu has. If you like it and your guests like it, that’s all that matters. I agree with IvW’s assessment. Based on the photo, this kudu isn’t overly long because the curls are fairly tight. But in any case, either your taxidermist can put a tape on them or you can when finished.

I will cut and paste a pic with one horn isolated (cropped) so the spread angle doesn’t bias the judgment. It may then be easier to evaluate against kudu with wide sweeping curls- the attribute that really adds length.