I kind of sorted this out. It looks like mine is between a silver and gold, then. Thanks for posting!
BTW: Haven`t received any email, Die Ou Jagter..

Here are photos of the Damaraland Dik-dik that I shot last April. It was officially scored at 24.0 cm and won a Gold Medal from NAPHA (Namibian Professional Hunters Association).



My PH told me that it ranked #13 in the Namibian record book; but I have no idea how it would rank in SCI or Rowland Ward.

As I recall the horns were just a fraction over 3" long with 1.5" bases. About 1" of the horns are hidden down in the thick hair between the horns.

My PH must have been wrong. Yours is better Mark!
The total score (both bases + both horns) measured 21,1cm.
If I remember right the lenght of the horns was 6,7 and 6,4cm, both bases 4 cm.
Still a pretty good one! Can`t wait to get the fullmounted and elusive little dik dik inside my livingroom.
Here`s a picture! And thanks for your help!

Mark

Can you please tell us a short story of the hunt. What area, gun, caliber, hunting method etc etc..
Would be nice!

This is how mine was taken, if you`re interested.
We hunted in Otavi, pretty close, but a little south of Etosha. We lived in a farmers house. The farmer was a close friend of my PH. I borrowed a .223, loaded with 55 grain solid bullets. I had booked a 10 1:1 hunt in Namibia. The general hunting area was in Steinhausen, so we had travelled 6-7 hours, and intended to hunt the dik dik for the last two days.
We went out on the first morning. The area was pretty different. Heavy bush everywhere. I had read a book by P. Flack, where he discussed dik dik hunting. He said something like: "Most people seem to overlook the dik dik. When they`re spotting for them, they look to far away. The dik dik trust their camoflague, and will stand still on short ranges".
I remembered this, but still they fooled me the first time. The tracker whispered: "look, dik dik". I looked and looked. Only to discover they were 10 feet away, not 50 yards like I thought. I learned. Theese animals walked slowly into to bush, and we stalked after them. It was almost impossible. My underarms was cut by thorns imidiatly. I should have worn a long sleeved shirt.
We got back on the truck, and moved on a bit. Suddenly there was a dik dik on the road 200 m up front.
We stopped the car, and looked him over. It was a young male, but he didn`t stay tuned very long. When he went out into the bush, we jumped the car and stalked carefully to were we saw him last.
There we could see him, together with a female. We looked them over, and just when we decided to leave them, another animal appeared. My PH could see that this was a good male, and told me to shot. We had left the shooting sticks in the car, so I rested my left arm on his head (yes, I`m pretty tall )
Bang! Missed... I was shaking. It was to tense for me. This little fellow had been one of my major goals on this hunt. I was more nervous than shooting oryx and kudu.
But the animal didn`t run off. And the next shot went off. Bang! "You got him", the PH replied. We went slowly into the bush. Now we could see that I had broken his legs with my last shot. The poor animal was trying to push himself into the bush. "Shoot", said the PH, but the animal disappeared behind some bush. When he got out I fired. I must admit, I didn`t have control on that shot. It went right through the head. Luckily, the shot didn`t damage the horns or the characteristic snout. I really hope my taxidermist can repair it. I don`t think any skin was blown away.

The hunt was over! It ended a great 10 day hunt in Namibia.

Amazing animals with legs like pencils...Anders did you see them eating off their hing legs like a gerenuk?
When my father was a young man in Ethiopia they would shoot 1-2 at night to roast whole over the campfire.
Isn't it strange that dik dik exist in eastern Africa and Namibia, but nowhere in between??

May be the confusion over numbers is total score SCI and horn lenght for RW. I posted SCI total score.

Anders did you get my email?

I`m so facinated by the tiny antelopes, and the dik dik especially. When we visited Etosha after the hunt, we saw a lot of different game, but when the little dik dik showed up I was estatic. I was screaming and jumping around in the car (well not exsactly, but almost ).

And yes, I saw them eat on their hind legs. The one I shot, actually did it right before he became mine..

Hope the taxidermist will make a great mount out of him.
I`ve surfed the internet for pictures, and sent them to him. Have decided on a mount where one of the legs are raised into the air. And the head a bit down. And a lot of bush around him..

It certainly is strange about their range. What could be the explanation?? Maybe it`s because they need heavy bush for cover, and that humans have removed it during the last decades. And Namibia and Etiophia still have that kind of bush, because it`s no need to clear this bush.. If you know what I mean. Or have dik dik never inhabited theese areas??

Anders, I shot my Dik-dik with a .22 magnum rifle at about 40 yards. We were primarily hunting leopard just outside of Omaruru with Dirk de Bod and Nick Nolte. They had 9 leopard baits on 4 ranches over several hundred square kilometers.

Each day we would check and replace the baits. Several of the farms had excellent Dik-dik habitat and we would drive slowly through these rocky thornbrush areas looking for a good ram.

One day I saw a monster of a Dik-dik in the brush as we drove along, but by the time I got the drivers attention we were well down the road. We stalked back but did not find him. Since Dik-dik are territorial, every time we went through that area we were on full alert, but never saw him again.

We saw and stalked several good rams, but passed on them and decided to wait for a really good one. Late in the hunt I shot the 24.0 cm male.

I am very pleased with it and look forward to receiving the full mount. But at night, I still dream about the monster Dik-dik ram that disappeared without a trace!

For the story of our leopard hunts and several hundred photos go to our Namibian Hunt Photo Gallery.