My hunt to the Gras Ranch this past March had to be cancelled due to an infection which took the sight of my left eye. Unless something takes the sight from the right, I'll be at Gras next March.

After viewing some african game heads at Brian Dobson's shop, I realized there's much more to judging a trophy than horn size. For example, I want a Blue Wildebeest with exceptional brindling as compared to extra horn size and I want a kudu with a great mane as compared to extra horn size.

My question is,"What size of horn is respectable for the following species; kudu, gemsbok, blue wildebeest, black wildebeest, springbok and impala? What else should I judge a trophy by besides horn size? What does one judge a Hartmaan's Zebra by? I'm truly looking for the total experience as opposed to 'best trophy to brag of'. I'm simply curious as to what you experiences hunters look for in a trophy.

Bobby B.

Bobby B. I'm probably not the best person to answer your question, because I took my 1st plains game safari, last July. Screw the inches! Have a great trip! You decide whats big enough! You only go on one "first safari", so have a blast, go with the flow, and don't worry about what somebody says about your "trophies". After all, the only person you have to satisfy, is YOU!

Mad Dog

Bobby, I'm very sorry to hear about your eye. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. On judging trophies, that's a very individual thing with most hunters. You should be able to pick you a good color in a Blue Wildebeest, and your timing should put you in good shape on picking a Kudu bull with a good mane. But as a horn guideline, IMHO:
Southern Greater Kudu: 52"
Gemsbok: 38" male, 40" female (Kalahari/common)
Blue Wildebeest: 26" male (spread)
Black Wildebeest:20" (length of longest horn)
Kalahari Springbok: 14.5" (L of longest horn)
Southern Impala: 20" (length)
Mt. Zebra: what appeals to you; i.e., pattern.
Those are just nothing more than guidelines. Your trophies will have more to do with each experience in hunting them as much as the score. You may take some larger or smaller, but each animal in its own right will be the trophy, and from what you've just been through, they will all rank high in your memories. Good luck and good hunting next year. Gras has an exceptional reputation.
Cheers,
David

Mad Dog, I agree with you but was looking for something abit more tangible.

David, thank you for your guidelienes, it's just what I was looking for. Also, I'm happy to learn of Gras' exceptional reputation.

BTW, the left eyesight is 100% gone and will never return. I appreciate your well wishes nonetheless. In truth, it was abit of a traumatic experience but I do my best to adjust to my new perspective. My wife has been remarkably supportive throughout. I can still run my business, I can still enjoy a good meal and the company of friends, and I can still hunt. Before we ultimately cash in our chips, something will happen to each of us. I received mine abit earlier than most but I'm still enjoying life and Africa is next.

Bobby B.

Over 50 for the Kudu, Gemsbok male 38, Mtn Zebra a good old stallion, 14 on Springbok, 22 on impala

You really need to listen to Mad Dog, you only get one first African safari.

Bobby B: You have a great attitude, considering what you have been through. I wish you all the best and hope that your Safari next March will be the one that dreams are made of!! I think that the trophy sizes stated above are what you should be looking for, and BIGGER. Good luck and god bless.

You are welcome Bobby B. As mentioned, just enjoy yourself. No harm in letting your PH know in advance, your not looking for immature animals with milk on their lips. From all I know about Gras, they won't let you down or pull the trigger on Junior. Absorb the sounds, smell of fresh air in the morning and what surrounds you each day. Listen...you will hear Africa.
Cheers,
David

quote:

Originally posted by L. David Keith:
Bobby, I'm very sorry to hear about your eye. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. On judging trophies, that's a very individual thing with most hunters. You should be able to pick you a good color in a Blue Wildebeest, and your timing should put you in good shape on picking a Kudu bull with a good mane. But as a horn guideline, IMHO:
Southern Greater Kudu: 52"
Gemsbok: 38" male, 40" female (Kalahari/common)
Blue Wildebeest: 26" male (spread)
Black Wildebeest:20" (length of longest horn)
Kalahari Springbok: 14.5" (L of longest horn)
Southern Impala: 20" (length)
Mt. Zebra: what appeals to you; i.e., pattern.
Those are just nothing more than guidelines. Your trophies will have more to do with each experience in hunting them as much as the score. You may take some larger or smaller, but each animal in its own right will be the trophy, and from what you've just been through, they will all rank high in your memories. Good luck and good hunting next year. Gras has an exceptional reputation.
Cheers,
David

+1

quote:

Screw the inches! Have a great trip!

I second that!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Screw the inches! Have a great trip!

I second that!

Absolutly right. Enjoy the hunt and shot a mature male after a good stalk. You will always remember these animals.

caracal

Unless, of course, you ahe aspiration of being part of the SCI "Inner Circle"

Does anyone?

But no one wants to shoot a "baby" either.........

The rath of God will fall upon me for this reply. Get the SCI record listings and any decent head should make the book. SCI's requirements are not that hard to meet for Bronze. Rowland Ward is different story. Of course you may want to take at least half dozen of each.

Ask your Ph about animal size... Specificlly you want to hunt mature animals and you make the final decision.. Look at some of the hunt reports and see some of the animal pics and there are some great reference pics in the this forum to see some of the trophies..

Mike

Thanks guys for each response.

Believe me, I fully intend to savour every moment and each experience. I was a bit disappointed with having to cancell my safari this March so I'm really looking forward to March 2010.

I'm not stuck on horn size but, being a nube, was curious of what to expect from a mature respectable trophy head. Now I know.

In addition to the hunting, I'm also keen to try new foods, see new country and meet new people.

My path might reflect John Crighton's as my wife is interested in doing a sight seeing tour of Namibia in 2011. That could be fun, of cousre I'd have to squeeze in some hunting and some fishing as well.

Bobby B.

Bobby,

I hunted "next door" to the Gras on Nomtsas in 2007 with my son and a friend. Nomstas is similar in land size (huge!) to the Gras, and trophies should also be similar. We absolutely loved the wide-open spaces of Southern Namibia!

Nomstas isn't as heavily hunted as the Gras and trophies in the "Gold" category are common. (I'm sure the Gras, although more heavily hunted, is well mangaged and has an abundance of good trophies, also.) In fact, of the 15 horned animals we took, only one was "bronze", two "silver", and twelve "gold". We were first-timers and couldn't have cared less about "scores", but it was nice to know we were able to shoot good, mature trophy animals.

Simply let your guide advise you on which animals to shoot and you'll do just fine. The Namibia Professional Hunters Association has adopted the identical scores as SCI bronze, silver, and gold categories and discourages exporting anything that does not meet bronze. Locally, they will measure in CM rather than inches, so familiarize yourself with the conversion (x 2.54).

On the Gras, you can easily take "gold" in both oryx and springbok. Kudu will be a little harder as they don't grow as large in the dry climate, however we took bronze, silver, and gold in our three kudu. Wildebeest and hartebeest do great in the arid region, so a silver or gold is not too hard to come by. Impala will be difficult because they simply have a tough time in arid climates. If Impala is available at all, be happy with whatever you can get.

I take a trip back to Africa every few weeks -- via Google Earth. I have both the Nomtsas and Gras headquarters bookmarked and enjoy scanning the countryside along the (normally dry) Fish River between them. The dry bed of the Fish with its brushy banks is ideal habitat for kudu -- you'll get a thrill out of hunting them. But then there was nothing, including the jackals and baboons, that we didn't thoroughly enjoy hunting.

Bobby,
My father-in-law lost vision in his left eye (ironically he is named Bobby as well) to a traumatic injury at work a while back. Depth perception, distance judgment, and peripheral vision present some challenges for him, especially while hunting. (However, being an ornery old fart, I think he is too stubborn to let the injury overcome his love of the sport.) When anyone tries to start a pity party, he is quick to remind everyone that he did not lose both eyes or his life.
Like retreever said, you may spend a few extra minutes getting your point across to your PH when it comes to your expected trophies as you will probably be relying heavily on his judgment in the field.

I hope you enjoy your trip and are successful.

This may sound a bit strange, maybe it's just me, but one thing I take into consideration is conformation. I prefer a kudu with a wider spread, and slightly tighter spirals. That certainly won't score as well in the record books, but I like the way it looks on my wall. It's my wall not SCI's so it's my business.

Size is irrelevant. What is important is that you let it decide how it wants to die.

BTW - I agree wholeheartedly on the conformation thing. Especially on buffalo - a good drop, wide boss and sweep rearward wins the day over width anytime with me.

quote:

Originally posted by Die Ou Jagter:
The rath of God will fall upon me for this reply. Get the SCI record listings and any decent head should make the book. SCI's requirements are not that hard to meet for Bronze. Rowland Ward is different story. Of course you may want to take at least half dozen of each.

quote:

Originally posted by cable68:
This may sound a bit strange, maybe it's just me, but one thing I take into consideration is conformation. I prefer a kudu with a wider spread, and slightly tighter spirals. That certainly won't score as well in the record books, but I like the way it looks on my wall. It's my wall not SCI's so it's my business.

That's a very good point. Personal aesthetics come into the trophy thing........it's like trophy wives.