Dox - don't put too much thought into the inches!
I have a friend who went on a five day hunt and shot a 58" kudu while sitting on the back of a Toyota with his rifle over a cushioned rest on the vehicles roof. It was his first day in Africa, arrived that morning.
We have spent weeks hunting many areas; countless hours on foot and glassing mountains. When I finally took my kudu, we had been on foot tracking a waterbuck when we cut very fresh kudu spoor, so we changed our plan. We stalked at snail's pace and finally spotted him when the sun caught his horns as he fed. Only shot I could get was off hand at 75 yards; he bolted and we followed the blood for 20 minutes till we came upon him. Another off hand shot just a bit further away and he was down.
He went 47"; certainly no record breaker. But from 7am I had spent two-and-a-half heart-pounding hours moving very slowly, completely in the zone. It was an amazing experience that I was very proud of; it's not every day that a fellow gets to stalk up to the Grey Ghost of Africa and tap him on the shoulder! When my wife joined us a little while later she was completely in awe of this most beautiful antelope.
This is the only opportunity I have ever had on a kudu, and it's not from lack of effort! Surely the measure of our sport and the game we hunt shouldn't be in inches? If you did it right, throw that tape measure away and be proud of him every time you walk by that mount, look at a photo, or relive that stalk.