The Accurate Reloading Forums
Re: Judging Kudu Trophy
10 December 2004, 03:45
Mike_DettorreRe: Judging Kudu Trophy
btt
10 December 2004, 04:10
jorgeI've always found them very difficult to judge. I remember that every one I saw looked huge! My PH, John Sharp, kept saying "not good enough, not good enough," etc., then one day he said, "that's a good one," so i shot him at 125yards. He went 58 1/2" jorge
10 December 2004, 04:17
NickuduBeautiful Trophies, All. Thanks for posting!
10 December 2004, 04:28
T.CarrMike Dettorre's kudu, just shy of 53" taken in ZIM
10 December 2004, 04:35
BlacktailerMark,
That is an awesome kudu!
10 December 2004, 04:45
Labman95Chris (Canuck) - Good to see that Kudu again. Remember I was there when you bagged him. Brings back great memories of SA and Landelani lodge.
Tom
10 December 2004, 05:12
onefunzr2This one taped exactly 55" from northern Namibia.
However, the landowner, Fred Burchell (on the left) had 2 pictures in his ranch house of one that went 65" shot a few years ago.
02 December 2004, 06:59
Aspen Hill AdventuresThis one is 56 inches on the long side.
You've got a great kudu Scott, no matter the length.
03 December 2004, 06:27
30ott6Ramhunter- Now that is a neat looking and unusual bull. Congratulations!
John
02 December 2004, 11:01
1JDANIELHere is mine from June 2004. Probably 50"-51". Have not received them as of yet.
02 December 2004, 09:34
SBTWhen I shot my kudu, I was estatic. I was, and still am, very pleased and love his look. I was so pleased as a matter of fact, I never even measured him.
I wasn't until I got home that I asked the PH to send me the measurements so I could share them with all of you. He responded that the Kudu qualified for a Bronze Medal and measured 48". I couldn't believe it. Not even Silver. 30ott6's was a gold. I e-mailed him again and asked him to re-measure and to make certain he was measuring mine, after all we guessed him to be between 53" and 55". He confirmed it measured 48"!
So, I post this not to complain about my kudu, I love him. But, to illustrate that its not the inches that matter, but having a quality hunt and having the opportunity to collect an animal that is a trophy to you.
02 December 2004, 09:23
Widowmaker416hell if we're comparing Kudu here's mine - - - - 53 inches.
took it in Zimbabwe in 2002..
02 December 2004, 10:55
CanuckQuote:
Canuck,
Is that a muzzle brake I see on your rifle? Say it isn't so...............
It definitely ain't so! It isn't even my rifle, actually. The US gov't wouldn't let me transport my rifles through Atlanta, so I borrowed JJHack's rifle when I got there. That is a 375 H&H Model 70 SS and I was using JJ's handloads (270 Swift A-frames).
Cheers,
Canuck
02 December 2004, 09:54
Widowmaker416SBT,
funny you should mention that, about the hunt and not being the inches! I took a 54 inch Kudu the year before, very tight curl close tips, anyway, when I started my safari I told my PH that I'd like another Kudu, but a wide one, I told him I didn't care if it wasn't as big just wide. I am super happy with this bull!!
One other thing, this past June while in Zimbabwe, my PH (same Ph as in the past hunts), asked me which plains game animal did you enjoy hunting the most, out of all your safaris, it was this bull right here, a very long stalk or I should say hike, chased him and 5 other bulls for 4 hours, finally I got the shot on top of a very steep mountain. What a great hunt that was, I'll always remember that Kudu bull!
03 December 2004, 06:19
SBTRamhunter, that was interesting. Especially the part about the short looking horn being longer.
01 December 2004, 16:03
SBTWhen I went to Namibia last May, I wanted to kill a kudu of 55' or better. My partner, 30ott6, killed the kudu of my dreams on the first day. He measured 54". I never found a bull that measured up, so we went to a neighboring property. Here, I killed the first bull we saw. His photo is attached. Do you think I met my goal? I'll post his length after others have had an opportunity to guess.
01 December 2004, 16:08
T.CarrScott,
He's super thick and super wide. I wouldn't care if he is 50". That's one fine kudu.
Regards,
Terry
P.S.
If I have to guess, I would say his curls don't look very deep. 53" is my guess.
01 December 2004, 16:14
BwanahileBeautiful bull, but I vote you missed you goal by 1.5". Regardless, very nice!
01 December 2004, 16:24
Mike_DettorreDon't think it is 55...but who cares...did you like it? are you happy?
Another word about kudu...I hear lots of folks talk about 55...I even hear some agents/outfitters say "we only shoot stuff over 53 or 54"
I personally think most of that is locker room BS cause a 52 inch kudu is avery nice looking trophy.
so if your happy...that's all that matters
01 December 2004, 16:37
Widowmaker416Great kudu! He's nice and wide, sometimes that makes them appear larger then they really are, don't get me wrong, he's a beauty.
My guess is he's around 52 to 53 inches! one for the salt for sure!!
Con Grats!
01 December 2004, 16:39
<mikeh416Rigby>That is a very fine bull. It's nice and heavy, carrying the mass all the way out to the tips. I think it may come up a little bit short of 55" though, only because the tips haven't started to flair out. On the other hand, I might be fooled because it does have a fairly deep curl to it. At any rate, it's definitely a keeper. Congratulations on a super Kudu.
01 December 2004, 18:51
MARK H. YOUNGScott,
That's a nice kudu but I don't think he has the depth of curl to be 55" or better. Usually a real big one will have the first curl come out near the ends of the ears. I've killed a few kudu but am still looking for my bull over 55".
Regards,
Mark
01 December 2004, 18:56
ShumbaThat is a great kudu, regardless of size.
I have hunted Zim twice. Shot a kudu each time. While sighting our rifles on the first day, I told my PH that I was just looking for good representative animals and I would trust his judgement.
As a result, I ended up taking a 56.5" kudu on my first trip and a 55.5" on my 2nd trip. I never asked about size, I just pulled the trigger when the guide said "that's a good one"
Tim
01 December 2004, 19:16
AtkinsonThe type of bull you shot usually does not measure up well in inches, but your type of bull is, at least to me, a more desirable trophy...
The really big in inches Kudu have a big hole down through the horns, that yours does not, but you have the mass and width that makes a beatiful mount, the big inch bulls are rather ugly as a rule, too tight and round IMO, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder...
You should be very pleased with that bull, I would be...the biggest Kudu I ever shot, I didn't mount, he is 60 inches plus a little, but its just a skull on my shop wall, he isn't all that impressive to me, on the other hand I have a nice 57 inch bull on my web page that I really like.
01 December 2004, 22:59
BoghossianNice picture of a nice trophy.
I am rubbish at this, but I'm guessing 51-52??
I like the spread and ivory tips a lot.
01 December 2004, 23:07
WinkSBT, I have never measured any of my trophies! I suppose if it looked liked a world record I would accept to have it measured but I think the PH would have to convince me to do so. My only real criteria for a shoot/no shoot decision is, "Is it a mature male representative of the species". To be honest, the one and only Kudu I had a chance to shoot at was taken with what was basically a snap-shot, time for extensive trophy evaluation wasn't available. It is here below and I still don't know what it measures even though I look at it everyday and remember vividly the great hunt I had.
02 December 2004, 01:20
NickuduScott,
As Ray says, the widely configured bulls generally lack the depth of curl that gives those extra inches and I, too, prefer their mounted presentation. One of my bulls is configured much like yours and he went 55". Your bull looks wide at the bottom, as well as up top. He also has good mass. It's hard to guess from a photo but I would not be flabbergasted if he went 56.5" to 57.5" and I hope he did!
02 December 2004, 06:39
30ott6Don't know if this helps or not because the angle and distance of the pic is different but here is mine.
02 December 2004, 06:51
shakariIt's always a lot easier to judge when you see the animal in the flesh and it helps a lot to see both head on and profile views......the two seperate photographs show just how easy it is to make a trophy look larger or smaller than reality simply by moving the angle & position of the camera, or of the animals head.......but I would guess this animal is under 50 inches, probably not much under, but a little.
At the end of the day, it's YOUR kudu and if you have good memories of the hunt then it's the best kudu around.
Competition over trophy size is not a bad thing in moderation, but it's very easy for it to get out of hand.
So c'mon, fess up.........how big is he?
03 December 2004, 12:08
TJHere's a pic of my 2004 Namibian Kudu. He measures 52 5/8". Certainly not a book Kudu, but notice the tips are worn through the outter horn material into the core. I think he is a very old bull.
All the above Kudu pics are great. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
03 December 2004, 12:44
Blacktailer
They're all beautiful "in the salt"
This one is just under 50"
Hope to get a bigger one next time
03 December 2004, 17:59
Gringo Cazadorwell since we are posting Kudu pics heres mine.
04 December 2004, 13:23
Michael RobinsonDon't you love a nice kudu?
Here's another:
04 December 2004, 13:46
Kyler HamannIf we're all posting kudu photos:
This one was taken in Namibia and measures around 52". He had a weird little piece of horn growing out of the skin on his forehead, the PH said he sees it once in a while (you can just barely see it in the photo). My friend took a 55+" on the same trip. Of course periodically I would complement him on his fine trophy kudu.... it was especially good for a kudu with ONLY two horns!!!
As unique and royal as they are, I've long said if they were very scarce (e.g. bongo, LD eland, Mt. nyala, etc.), they'd be the most expensive animal in the world.
Kyler
04 December 2004, 14:59
Mark in SCFor comparison purposes, here are three more kudu bulls that Holly and I have taken.
Mine measured 60 1/2" and was shot in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.
Both of hers measured exactly 54 1/2". They were taken two years apart, one in South Africa, the other in Namibia.
Limpopo Province, South Africa
Even though they both measure exactly the same, the Namibian bull is the one she chose to have done as a shoulder mount, the South African bull was done as a skull mount.
Central Plains, Namibia
06 December 2004, 12:09
AndersThanks eyedoc and mho!
I guess it`s the lack of deap curls that make him score under 50", because "length of the horns" is not that bad.
He was old as well, with a lot of scars on the horns. That adds caracter, I think.
Maybe I just say this, because I do know he didn`t score well. Just to make myself feel better..
No, I don`t need to. The hunt was GREAT! And thats the most important thing for me..
10 December 2004, 19:37
BwanamichQuote:
...I notice not much imphasis has been put on horn mass, but to me that is critical in judging trophy Kudu... and most other species .
You should share this philosophy with Pierre on buffalo
11 December 2004, 04:23
CanuckHi Tom,
Me too...it brings back some great memories. That sure was a good group of guys we had in camp. I definitely remember you and Don being there for that Kudu. I refer to it as my "Commando Kudu".
How did your buff hunt go? Have you posted a report or photos?
All the best my friend,
Chris