I am hoping to get myself to Africa (most likely RSA or Namibia) for a plains game hunt. I have never hunted over there and one thing I am trying to figure out is what trophy size would be acceptible to me. I do not consider myself to be a trophy hunter. I mainly like to hunt and if I can hunt well (make a good stalk on an animal that has the possibility of escape/evasion) and kill cleanly I honestly think I would be very happy with a representative sized mature male of the species I was after. Maybe female gemsbok would be okay but male preferred.



Anyway I do not need a monster. Sure I would love to take all monsters (who wouldn't?) but it is really not that big of a deal to me. At the same time if a friend came over to see my trophies I would not want to hear him say, "oh you shot a youngster". I am not one who would right off the bat say what the animal scored if it was a big one though. Personally I think that it kind of denigrates the animal, reducing it to a number like that. I would much rather tell the story of the hunt than just rattle off a bunch of numbers and associated SCI scores. But again I do not want to shoot immature animals either. With the high cost of taxidermy I would not be too keen on spending full price for a mount of an immature animal. Somewhat of a balance I guess is what I am after.



Anyway I am trying to figure out what should be considered minimums for the various animals I am possibly going to hunt. Those would be kudu, gemsbok, zebra, and possibly eland, hartebeest, impala, springbuck, and warthog. Having never hunted over there I know I could not easily judge the quality of the animal I was about to shoot. So I would need to trust my PH to tell me if said animal was meeting the minimum score I was after. Perhaps I should not even bother with talking scores with the PH before the hunt? Perhaps I should just tell him what I am trying to describe to you all in this post? With the right kind of PH I suspect that would work out just fine.



Still in the interest of learning more about how African animals are judged or scored, I would appreciate some advice. I looked at the SCI website and saw their list of trophy animals and the minimum scores required for entry into their record book. For example Eastern Cape greater kudu require a minimum score of 98 for entry. One problem is most of the outfits I have been looking at hunting with do not go into that great of detail as to whether or not I would be hunting Eastern Cape greater kudu or Southern greater kudu or East African greater kudu. Same problem with Gemsbok. Would I be after Kalahari or Fringe-eared or Angolan or Beisa oryx? Obviously I would need to just ask.



Let us assume I am after Eastern Cape greater kudu, which has a minimum score of 98 for entry into the SCI record book. Is a kudu which measures 98 like a Rocky Mtn elk that scores 375 and makes it into the Boone and Crockett record book? I would be very happy to take an elk that scored 300 (so far I have only taken cow elk and spike elk but then again I hunt on my own on public land, not with a guide in prime country). Or let�s take black bear as an example. I just went on a hunt in SE Alaska for black bear and took a mature boar that had a skull measuring 19 9/16�. That is a very nice bear and I am very happy with it but it sure was not 21�, which is the minimum score of all time entry into Boone and Crockett. So how do I get some idea of what a good trophy would be, whether or not it made it into some record book? Also I have heard about SCI gold or silver. What does that mean? I have never before heard someone tell me they shot a kudu that scored 103. I have heard that they shot a 48� or a 51� or a 55� kudu etc. Same with Gemsbok. I hear 38� or 39� or 40�, not SCI score of 88. Please help me sort this out, Rufous.

Rufous,



You are right that one should not get too caught up in the numbers. If you have a worthwhile PH, he will decide if an animal is worth going after. This is his job. He knows which animals are mature and which are to be considered "big" given the habitat available to them in the area. Remember that, while a 53" kudu is mature pretty much anywhere, he may be considered a very good trophy in one area and passed up for something bigger in another.



I also wouldn't be too quick to make the SCI/Boone&Crockett comparison. In my opinion, meeting the SCI minimum basically ensures that one has taken a mature animal. You might consider this as a guide for yourself. An animal making Rowland Ward's Records however is more closely related to B&C in terms of standards. If an animal makes the Rowland Ward minimum, the specimin is really something.



You should talk to outfitters before you book about what kind of trophy quality has been taken in the past and what is reasonable to expect in a particular area before you book a hunt. Make the necessary comparisons to SCI and RW minimums (note that there are technical measuring differences between the two) and go hunting. Understand that there are no guarantees but the hunting Godess may smile on you in unexpected ways. I hunted an area well known for its sable and kudu a couple of years ago . . . I took very nice but average sized kudu and sable and then MONSTER Bushbuck and Grysbok. The area had never produced great examples of these species before. You just never know what is out there!



My short advice . . . trust your PH. Your job is to enjoy yourself, his is to make sure you take the best trophies possible. Just do your homework before you book.



Best of Luck,



JohnTheGreek

To determine which species you will be hunting, decide on a hunting area, then ask the PH or check in a guide book for which subspecies live there. For example if you go to Namibia you will be hunting gemsbok or 'giant oryx' and southern greater kudu...
As John said, each property has its own 'trophy' but you should definitely get to know what a 'representative' is and what a 'trophy' is in terms of inches. There wouldn't be the same thrill if you didn't realise that you had just bagged a true trophy in every sense of the word.
My advice would be to forget the SCI scores, most hunters/PHs judge an animal based on a single measurement- the length of the horn. The rough guidelines may be Impala-25inches Southern Greater Kudu-55 Gemsbok-40 warthog-13. Note these would all be considered really nice trophies and anything within a few inches is still a good head! What I would do is check out the trophy pictures in the hunt reports section and then pm the hunter for the trophy sizes, that way you'll get an idea of what such and such looks like in 'trophy' form.

Thanks for the info. Still wondering what it means to be SCI silver or gold. Rufous.

Rufous,

SCI divides the trophy entries in their record book into thirds. The top third are "gold medal", the next third silver and the final bronze. If you enter animals in the SCI book you can buy gold, silver or bronze medalions as well.

I am a master measurer in the SCI system, and I got myself qualified as a way to donate labor to assist in raising funds for SCI's programs.

Your outfitter will want you to take good representative trophies because if you list your animals in the SCI record book hunters can judge how areas have performed in the past in thems of numbers of animals and trophy sizes. Also some countries won't let you export heads that are below their limits.

I like heads with mass, and I don't worry as much about length of horn or antler. Part of the fun of hunting in Africa is learning the animals there, and what makes a representative trophy. I also enjoy hunting animals in their native ranges. The SCI record book shows maps of what variations occur where, and I enjoy checking out ranges and the numbers when planning a trip for a certain animal.

jim dodd

You need to be very clear with your PH as to what you desire. If you want a 55inch kudu or go home without, he will try his best to get that kudu or he may tell you that your chances are very slim in the area you are going to hunt. When you are out in the bush and the Ph says "Take him" it is not the time to discuss trophy quality. On my safari, I told the PH I wanted good representative specimens and they were all near or above SCI minimums. They are all trophies to me although next time I may be more choosy.
Have a great hunt!
Russ

Just my definition of Gold, Silver, Bronze; Gold - Darn, you got a good one!!! Silver - Pretty good, but don't overload it and start bragging too much when you're drinking. Bronze - Good enough to enter if you want to get one of those inner circles or grand slams that SCI sells, but I wouldn't get too excited about it.

My personal thought is if the head makes SCI minimum you have a good representative head. Most SCI Gold will also make RW. If you just want a head sort of like meat hunting whitetails (wack the first buck you see) you could probabley take a half a dozen different animials a day. This is why most people who hunt Africa look for "trophy heads" and this is much tougher.

The answer to the question of what SCI Gold and Silver is too long to answer fully here; however, SCI has Copper, Bronze, Silver, and Diamond levels of "attainment," for lack of a better word, for taking specific species and subspecies of trophy animals. You can find a list of the animals required in the annual awards issue of the SCI magazine.



In order to attain Silver or Gold, one must have hunted over a range of countries in Africa including Namibia, Botswanna, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, CAR or Cameroon, and RSA. You might not have to go to all of these countries because some of the animals can be found in multiple countries, but you'll see central, western, eastern, and southern African for certain.



It is a heck of a task, and anyone who has accomplished the silver or gold level has put some time, treasure, and effort into the activity. I have been to Africa seven times, taken a bunch of animals, and still need a sable or roan to achieve the copper level. To achieve Bronze one needs, among other things, a big cat, i.e, lion or leopard, and for Silver, the other big cat plus elephant. What makes Silver really a challenge, is that it requires in addition to the animals one takes for Bronze, a 3d bushbuck, Sitatunga, Lesser Kudu, Central African Giant Eland, Roan, Fringe eared oryx, 2d waterbuck, 3d Hartebeest, Gerenuk, gazelle, dik-dik, 2d forrest duicker, bushpig and hippo. As you can see from the list, you're in Tanzania, Central Africa, and Western Africa.



Gold would require a 3d kudu, a 2d roan, 2d dik-dik, 2d bush duiker on top of the requirements for the Copper, Bronze, and Silver. You don't have to take the big five because of the Rhino situation. What gets really challenging are the variety of antelopes that you must take which take you on the grand tour of Africa. Size is not an issue in this "contest." Stamina and a deep pocket helps.



Regarding trophy hunting, while it is nice to take a trophy that makes the book, the goal is to have a challenging hunt, enjoy the experience, and take a representative animal. The Europeans really have it right when they enjoy taking the older animals, with scars, and battered horns. You will turn your ph totally off if the first think you call for is the tape! When your ph is relaxed, good things happen. Ku-dude