Judging Kudu

[siml]

Ladismith, KZN.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Jon, guessing 58 inches.

I did not get to the last posts before I thought the same thing.
An absolute beauty.

Apparently a close guess.

 

[siml]

@BRICKBURN , aaaah was more skill than guess......

 

[BRICKBURN]

@BRICKBURN , aaaah was more skill than guess......

With Kudu it is more like.....

 

[UKHunter]

With Kudu it is more like.....
View attachment 43521

Or..... Koodoo magic

sorry.. I couldn't resist!

 

[siml]

Brickburn, I hear you prefer to just walk up to the kudu and measure him.

 

[ROCKET]

Guys seems to be dancing hahaha.......

 

[BRICKBURN]

Brickburn, I hear you prefer to just walk up to the kudu and measure him.View attachment 43679

The closer you get the more accurate the guess!

 

[lazzo]

Hello Jay - see you have been busy with the posts on AH. Hope to see you soon - Larry A

 

[Jon Glajchen]

Hello Jay - see you have been busy with the posts on AH. Hope to see you soon - Larry A

Thanks Lazzo always a pleasure to hunt with you!

 

[fourfive8]

Pics of some fine kudu have been posted- thanks

Kudu- tough to judge length for sure. More experienced than some, less experienced than some but I've settled on a couple of visuals. 1) The curls on a good kudu need to be deep…. think coil spring . 2) The horns need to look big compared to the head and body.

Some tips may turn in, go straight or turn out. Tips may be whitened or not and by definition the distal tip portion of the horn has been with the animal the longest time or since birth. Some spreads may be wide and some nearly parallel. Width doesn't translate to length. Personally I like the more parallel looking form but that's just me. Older animals or those with heavy or chipped or broken horns appeal to me but such attributes are very subjective.

 

[CAustin]

@fourfive8 you have it summed up well. Frankly like the different horn shapes of various kudu bulls. They are amazing to watch from a distance with a spotting scope. Very majestic animals.

 

[fourfive8]

I'm no expert (not even close) compared to some who live with them and hunt for them almost daily during the season. I think all game is susceptible to "ground shrinkage". For me, caribou ground shrink the most. I've looked at maybe a few hundred kudu bulls and they are all appear and look thus "judge" differently given varying distances, attitudes, cover and lighting. I've passed (or hesitated too long!) on a couple that probably would have measured well (57-58" category) but no harm in that it just adds more opportunities and more hunt time. They are enjoyable to hunt as they can be very sneaky and can disappear instantly in their preferred thorn bush/sometimes broken habitat. Watching a big bull with horns laid back nosing and weaving so quickly and silently through the scrub is worth the price of admission.

Here are pics of four, being mine, I know the lengths. It might help for purposes of this thread… dunno. What should be obvious is three are decent- falling between 50 and 54 inches. One is really good. Two have tips turned out and are "nice looking" overall. One is more "stretched" out with tips turning in... but it is not the shortest of the group. The bottom bull- with the deep curls and long straight tips is over 63" .

 

[woods1126]

From top to bottom. All free range Eastern Cape Kudu. 41", 45", and 52 1/2".

 

[Ryan]

Someone smarter than me can judge them. My first is a 52" old bull with a big head. My second turned out to have a much slimmer head and upon measurement was 50". Each is perfect.

 

[Andy the Aussie]

He looks impressive but a tough angle to judge from, at this point I was however only hunting with a camera...

 

[TXHUNTER338]

South Africa 58.5 inch Kudu

 

[siml]

@TXHUNTER338 brilliant kudu, congrats.

 

[Ty Howard]

 

[Scott Slough]

I can guess he was in rut due to the swollen neck....but it is going to take a kudu measurement whisperer to get a length from these photos.