I would prefer a difficult stalk or a difficult shot for a small animal over an easy hunt for an SCI record book trophy. That is because I care about the experience of the hunt, not about something that goes on the wall.

Odie,
A good Ph should be able to tell the length of Kudu horns almost to the inch and most of them with experience can do just that..

I am a bit surprised that so many are satisfied with 49 to 50 inch great southern Kudu, I believe that one should combine the hunting experience with the hunt for the best trophy he can find, at least on Kudu...because Kudu horns grow very slow, we must give them time to mature and shooting smaller Kudu bulls creates smaller Kudu in the area...

There are many safari companies in both Zimbabwe and So. Africa that average 54 inch Kudu bulls, if you shop around...Only those that cannot produce will argue this point. Big Kudu are geographical to some extent and certain areas are better than others, my advise is to hunt those hot spots, not a bad practice on any game that you are especially interrested in....

Well like I said both the PH's in camp judged him to be 53-54 inches and the more experienced of the two only had about 30 years experience. Further neither judged it to be a young animal either. Typically the area produced up to 58 inch Kudu on a consistent basis.

Kudu trophy quality is improving as the years go on. I shot that Kudu in 1995. Put your mind back then or better when you first hunted Africa and what were your standards then.... smaller?

Also during the hunt we had a 3 day cold front move in that "shut down" the animals. The difference was amazing however that basically took out the middle third of the 9 day hunt. We were after 8 main animals (not including baboons, jackals, etc) in what was originally supposed to be a 10 day hunt which because of scheduling problems became 9 days.

My personality is such is that I don't ask the big guy upstairs to do better. If he presents my minimum request I say thank you. It is the height of arrogance/ego/hubris to assume that you are going to get the opportunity to hunt Africa again, that is until you do.

Bottom line is sometimes it isn't in your hands much as you would like to think it is. That's why they call it hunting and not getting.

How about this for a PH: On my second hunt, I said I only wanted a Kudu if it exceeded 56", as I already had a nice one of 54". After a few days we put a really good, long stalk on 5, one of which the PH said was every bit of 56+". Well, I shot him, but the PH didn't like him when we walked up. I don't have a tape, but the PH measured him and he was 54". I was OK with the deal, but later that afternoon, we were obviously still hunting Kudu. I asked why? He said "Forget that other one. Consider it a free bonus". I later got one a bit over 56". When my heads/capes all showed up here, the extra Kudu skull and horns were included (nice Euro mount), no charge. I paid for 1 Kudu. Not too shabby!

Any guesses?

52", maybe 53. It's a nice looker, but on relooking, perhaps only 51"

none of the above are correct, other guesses?

Lesser Kudu is a monster at over 50" where I hunted. Nyala above 24" were the king of the pile as well. We never measured anything, just shot what the PH said was a good one.

I think you mean to say east cape kudu not lesser kudu. Lesser kudu are from east africa Tanzania, Kenya, etc.
lesser kudu

Lesser Kudu at 50 inches would be an unbelievable monster... they don't exist.

The Roland Ward record shot in 1999 in Ethiopia is 32 7/8 inches.

We of course are talking about southern greater Kudu mostly with someone mentioning Cape Kudu.

Odie,

Yes, and we have taken 2 in the Omo Valley since Dec.. 2002 that are 36"+

Rich Elliott

Rich,

On that same thought what is the total observer cost on that Omo hunt? And the larger plane is how much?

Regards,

Mark

Kevin,
No offense but I'd guess that kudu at 49" - 50". He's beautiful and very wide, but his curls aren't that deep and his tips don't turn out at the top. He may be fooling me (with kudu it has happened before) but he is a great animal and one i'd have been proud to hunt.

No offense taken of course. His curls are better than this view makes them look, the width throws you a bit. He is 40" from tip to tip and my PH said he gave it a quick measure that night at 48" so you were close. Of course I had a 53" or better with tips turned out stare at me broadside for a good 5 seconds from 40 yards the next day. Thats why I have to go back, darn.

That is some great width! But the shallow curls are reduce length more than anything else.
That is also a fine lesser kudu, how far did that stretch the tape?

Too much emphasis on tape. I remember a story about a man who told his PH he did not want to shoot a kudu under 52 inches and as it turned out he shot when the PH said. It turned out at 51. The hunter pitched a fit and demanded another kudu at no charge. After some heated discussion on fairness both ways the PH agreed to hunt him another at no charge. They eventually got one 55-56 inches or some such. The article wondered what the 51 inch kudu's opinion of the proceedings might be. I recognise the visiting hunter may have a hard time knowing a book animal from a lower average specimen and some standard must be used but I really detest the worshiping of an inch or two of extra length. (I tell my wife the same thing) "D"

Mark,

Re. the 15 day Omo Plains Game Safari Non-H are $2,250.
A Cessna Caravan Turbo Prop that can seat up to 11 (I believe) is $4,800 round trip.

Rich Elliott

Boghossian,

I grabbed the lesser kudu picture from the Tanzania Game Tracker Safaris website, that kind of hunt in not in my budget. I don't know what it measured but it looks mighty fine to me.

KevinNY



I would guess the lesser kudu in the photo is a tad under 31". For Tanzania that is a very fine trophy



Your 48 inch G. kudu is a fine trophy no less and one you should be proud off even if you never get another...

Bwanamrm,
It seems to be somewhat accepted by most Americans that a good Kudu must have tips that turn out at the top to indicate his old age and get that extra length. I have even seen this in print on ocassion in different rags..

However, this is a gene pool thing and is limited to only certain areas or visa versa would be more correct...The big Kudu of the Seleti all have massive heavy horns that turn in...I have seen many in the Ellestras area of RSA that turn in and I am talking 58 to 62 inch Kudu, so one might keep that in mind depending on where he is hunting...

An example of a near 59 inch Kudu is one I shot on Big 5 in RSA on my web page, note the horns are massive in weight and they definatly turn in , not a bit of kick on either side...

Just a post for what its worth, and not a contradiction to your posts as in most areas one does look for the traditional kick out...

Mike, you are on track here with the key word "representative" and the focus on hunting. Part of hunting is learning to judge the quarry. Your PH can help accelerate the process and being in the field is the best way to learn, as the books are pretty dry.

To start, think of conformation. For example, kudu horn tips that turn out look better to me than those that turn in. Impala horns that are parallel rather than bowed in are most attractive. Then, for size, note posters above who write about depth of curl in kudu horns, to that add mass of horn as judged by size of bases to that. For smaller antelope compare horn length and ear length. For gemsbok, look for (among bulls) mass and large bases AND horns that reach above the top of the back while nibbling grass with head all the way down. Lots of other such tips to get you started. Key is to listen to your PH, but make sure he knows you are interested in how he calculates qualities.

Again, an old animal with massive if worn down horns can be the best trophy, special maybe, rather than representative. Regards, Tim

On a sample of only 4, I agree with Ray. Lucky enough to get a 60 1/8 in Namibia. Tips turn in. Also, PH Peter Kibble of Namabia kept saying, "depth of curl, I have learned over 50 years, depth of curl is the best indication of a really good Kudu." Year I got mine, '02 got beat out for best of year by a 60 3/8 from the same area.

Just out of interest, how long does it take to grow a trophy kudu? All the debate about the exact age of lion has me wondering? Does 7-8 sound about right?

7 to 8 years was what I was told to grow a mature kudu bull.

Kevin,
Age of a mature bull is 5 to 8 years old on an average, but it depends on range conditions, gene pool and other factors but I think the closer a Kudu is to 10 or 12 the better he will be, after that he starts down hill with rubbed or broken horn tips etc..A lot of factors go into the making of a good bull and genetics is primary IMO, good feed is next, with that he can be very nice at 4 years old, if he doesn't get et....

However, Kudu are hunted hard and are the most popular of the plainsgame, therefore they really take a beating and the lesser bulls are killed severely before they have time to mature in most hunting areas, it makes finding a real trophy difficult to say the least, and that is the problem with the "representitive head", it is a two sided coin....

Ray,
Don't doubt the tips out, tips in..good, bad debate. I have had two PH's mention the same thing though (tips out) one in Zim and one in the RSA. I've been fortunate to shoot six greater kudu and two East Cape kudu in all flavors..... wide, shallow, tips out, narrow, deep, tips in, etc. A good mature bull is a good bull IMO. They were all fun to hunt and I won't pass up opportunities to hunt kudu whenever or wherever I am in Africa. They are without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable and regal of the plains game species to hunt!