Last night I attended a gathering that included a Zimbabwe PH who was trying to sell some hunts. He claimed that last season he had a client take a 66" kudu. I asked to see a photo of that monster, he said he didn't have any. He had lots of photos from last season, but none of that monster kudu, which I found rather odd.

The man who's trophy room this get-together was held at did have a beautiful, full-mounted, honest 60" kudu on display, but then this fellow comes along and claims to have taken a 66 incher for a client.

I say he's full of it, but I'm still curious, what are the biggest kudu bulls you've seen or have heard about that have been taken by a hunting client?

AD

Allen: The biggest I've personally seen was a 61" taken by the gent who preceeded me on my John Sharp hunt is Sept of 01. Also, I believe a gent who posts here by the handle of "GA Hunter?" also took a 61 incher that is currently on John's website. Man, 66"! Like you say, I'd like to see it.jorge

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I've seen 62's in the salt, so I'm sure there are such things as 66+ kudu's. Whether this PH got one, who knows?!! You'd think he would have a pocket full of pics.

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Alan Day,

In 1995 I hunted with the late Bill Porteus and he took a 61" Kudu this remains the biggest Kudu that a hunter has shot with me.

However the next year a freind of mine Steve Tors (who also had a hunter take a 61" Kudu) went into Otjiwarongo for shopping and came back and said Vaughan do yourself a favor and go to the taxidermist in Otji and ask to see the big Kudu.
I did and this "baby" measured 68" and 67".
The story behind it is just as crazy. We have a few folks in Namibia that go around and buy skins, skulls and horns for curios, furniture etc. This guy was at a farmers place near Otavi and they were checking out the stuff and the buyer saw these horns lying there and after asking where the horns came from the rancher replied, "oh, we shot that for meat." Anyway the guy bought the skull and horns and took them into the taxidermy to put on a shield. This remains the biggest set of Kudu horns that I have personally seen and measured.
The Namibian record that was entered is I believe 67" however the shape of the horns are ugly and abnormal (based on the picture).

To come back to your experience, similar to
the Zim ph who you met last night, I too do not have a picture of Bill's Kudu (not 66" though). A friend of ours did bring a picture over for me but I have somehow misplaced it. Bill passed away last year he was a gentleman and really hard hunter and I don't have the heart or desire to ask his family for a picture.

A 66" Kudu is super exceptional and rare however still possible I guess. Maybe we shouldn't be too sceptical?

They are all that big if you measure them around the curve. A 48" measured straight will come to almost that on the curve. There seems to be more blue sky to kudu measurements than almost anything else.

A friend took a 61" last year and a 63" this year in Namibia. Have seen pics and talked with both him and the PH in Reno. Monster!

quote:

Originally posted by Mikelravy:
They are all that big if you measure them around the curve. A 48" measured straight will come to almost that on the curve. There seems to be more blue sky to kudu measurements than almost anything else.

I thought the proper way to measure Kudu was to follow the outside curve?

BOWHUNR

Elgin Gates reportedly shot a 67" kudu, but that was many long years ago.

I scouted a region in RSA that has some really excellent kudu. This is private ranch country, and most of the animals end on the walls of local farmers. The mounts I have seen run 64" or 65" on the longest horn. The genetics and year-around feed account for the horn size.

If you want such a kudu you go there and hunt for 10 days during the rut in April. Totally boring, except for those kudu.

jim

Seems to me Kudu measurements can get stretched like the length of a fish sometimes. The first Kudu I shot, which I was told by the PH was about 55", the booking agent called me when I got back to the states and said he heard I shot a 60" Kudu.

When the shoulder mount arrived and I taped it, it went about 51", same Kudu, just depends on who you talk to.

I have a 35MM photo of a 67 inch Kudu in my scrapbook that I show at SCI shows...It was killed on our old Chinhoyi concession along with quite a few over 60 inches...but it has been poached out of late..Also some 44 and 45 inch sable...

Only a few years ago they found a 73 inch plus Kudu that had been killed by a Lion in Mozambique, it was pictured in Man Magnum..

I saw a what may have been a 67 plus inch Kudu only a few years ago in a almost impossibly remote area in the high mountainous area of Northern RSA...accessable only by back pack and an extremely hard hunt that would test anyones metal, but some monster Kudu are in there...I BTW was in a Helicopter looking it over..

The biggest one that a client of mine has killed was 61" perfectly matched on both sides. I have seen countless photos of Kudu with numbers tossed around in the 60's. On the main consession I hunt on I have seen bigger kudu then the 61 inch bull we killed. Several were noticably bigger. I think the most interesting thing about this conversation is how easy it is to claim the size of a Kudu when you cannot measure it, photo or not.

The best bull I have ever seen alive or dead was just magnificent. Perfectly matched horns deep curls and a new curl started with points tipped forward. Just the absolute vision of Kudu perfection in every way. There were about 6 or so very experienced PH's at the lodge that night and all were in awe of this magnificent bull. The Estimates of the size ranged from 59 to 65" and all said it was the best bull they had ever seen.

When the tape was put on this bull the numbers shocked me and everyone else, several guys took the tape and remeausered it themeslves to see see it was correct.

That bull was 53.5" I would shoot this bull over any bull I have ever seen bigger in my life(so far). One of the reasons hunters with minimum size Kudu requests have always bothered me. I don't know a single client I have ever had would not have loved to kill this bull but so many have said they want one 55" or better. This 53.5" bull was much better then any 55" bull I have ever seen!

In a Photo if you told someone it was 65" I strongly doubt anyone would have questioned it.

I saw a 68" Kudu mounted at farm east of Thabazimbi, RSA. They shot it for "meat" as it was eating the sunflowers in their garden.

Jorge,
That 61" Kudu taken last July was me, Bobga

Well, I knew you were from Georgia anyway! great kudu! jorge

I saw (and measured) a 60" several years ago in the Turk Mine area of Zim and a 61" last year in the Matetsi. I personally have never taken anything over 55".

Allen, I saw one this past June that was a hair under 66" that a young guy shot in the Zambezi Valley (Chewore North). He was there with his Dad on his first African Safari and it was very cool to see him get it although I admit to being just a little jealous

It was an awesome specimen.

Hey, Vaughan, if you're checking this thread, do you know how long that huge skull mounted set of kudu horns at the Okaukuejo MET office measures?

That set still makes my heart beat harder every time I think of it.

quote:

Originally posted by BOWHUNR:

quote:

Originally posted by Mikelravy:
They are all that big if you measure them around the curve. A 48" measured straight will come to almost that on the curve. There seems to be more blue sky to kudu measurements than almost anything else.

I thought the proper way to measure Kudu was to follow the outside curve?

BOWHUNR

You are right, to measure for SCI and RW you start with the ridge on the front of the horn and follow the spiral to the tip. The numbers you normally see quoted are measured this way.

CFA

A fellow I know shot a 68.5 in bull with Hunters Rock Safaris located in Alldays, SA two or three years ago. He received an award for it at SCI convention in 2003. It is supposed to be new #1 SCI. Hunters Rock also had a hunter shoot a 62.5 in the Lowveld of Zim this past year. Five years ago I shot a 60.5 inch bull on the same Lowveld ranch and saw a bigger one. Go to Hunter's Rock's website and you will see the big boy.

A young fellow named Handley Sayers III killed something huge (way over 60") a number of years ago when he was age 11 or something like that.
He and his family are from TN as I recall and his dad went on a zillion elephant hunts before finding one he liked and shooting it.

quote:

Originally posted by Snake:
Allen, I saw one this past June that was a hair under 66" that a young guy shot in the Zambezi Valley (Chewore North). He was there with his Dad on his first African Safari and it was very cool to see him get it although I admit to being just a little jealous

It was an awesome specimen.

Yes, I hunted with their PH (Ian Gibson) a few months later in August 2004. PH said it was close to 66" and that they just spotted it on the way back to camp. I have killed a 56.5" kudu (Oct. 2001)and later a 55" kudu (August 2004) in the same area. Both kudu were killed on the last day of my safari.

Tim

1998 in Madikwe, NWP, RSA. I have a brochure with a section titled "The Over 60 Club" refering to the number of Kudu taken there over 60". This was mine, a 63".

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
A fellow I know shot a 68.5 in bull with Hunters Rock Safaris located in Alldays, SA two or three years ago. He received an award for it at SCI convention in 2003. It is supposed to be new #1 SCI. Hunters Rock also had a hunter shoot a 62.5 in the Lowveld of Zim this past year. Five years ago I shot a 60.5 inch bull on the same Lowveld ranch and saw a bigger one. Go to Hunter's Rock's website and you will see the big boy.

LJS; Would that fellow you know who shot the 68.5" Kudu live in Pittsburgh and go by the name Tallman?

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Mighty Joe

That's the man. Dave has collected some wonderful trophies with Hunters Rock.

Yes Larry D Jones hunted the 64" kudu with melorani safaris owned by Stewart Dorrington the now president of Phasa. Stewart told me that untill this kudu was taken he had never seen it on his property before. But I must say that I have spent two weekends on his farm and the quality of his animals are supberd. Maybe it was the kud's time.

Safari Hunt,
That does not surprise me, Kudu travel more than any plainsgame animal I know..I saw one broken horn Kudu, a huge bull with one horn over 60 by a good deal I believe, and he was over 75 miles from where I first saw him...My PH told me that Kudu will travel hundreds of miles and he was about as good a hunter as I have ever known so I would never doubt him...Unfortunatly he was a lousy PH...