Judging Kudu

[enysse]

Love the kudu, bumping thread to the front of the forum!

 

[tap]

here are some of the kudu I have killed and their measurements.

The very first kudu I took was a wide kudu and was right at the 53 inch mark


Next was the 55 inch kudu I took with the tips pointing out at the top. I think this kudu just barely broke the 55 inch mark


the next one is 58 3/4



The last kudu is right at 59 3/4 and doesn't even come close to pointing out and isn't near as beautiful as the 55 and 58 inch bulls or near as cool looking as my 53 inch bull but seeing a 60 inch kudu on the hoof is awesome. They just simply look massive. His bases were 12"! Even his body was absolutely enormous. I've never seen a kudu as impressive on the hoof.

 

[Robbie]

Hi Guys

Here are a couple of Kudu bulls that was taken at a farm near Stockpoort, Lephalale, South Africa.

Their measurements respectively are 48", 51" and 53".

Both the Bulls that measued in the fifties was taken with a BRNO 375 and a Weatherby 375. The 48 incher was taken by a SAKO 308.

The one guy that shot the biggest of the three had to stand on the roof of the Toyota Land Cruiser to make the shot and he almost lost his balance with the recoil of the migthy 375 Weatherby. Luckily he still has the balance of a 25 year old Fly Half!

My future father in law shot the pretiest Kudu of the three with its 2 and a half curls. It stood under a Matopi tree about 50meters from us and it's curiosity got the better of it. He shot it in the neck and the Bull fell like a sack of potatos right on the spot. We had to get a tracker to get it out of the dense bush it was hiding in. Congrats "Dad" on your first and proper Kudu Bull, hopefully its the first of many to come.

I was the luckiest of the three. Mine also was to curios and came from behind a termite mound to inspect the "new" comers to his domain and with the trusty 308 i shot it with a quatering to shot in the right shoulder with the exist wound coming out of the left hand side of it's belly. It was especailly excitting for me as it was my first Kudu Bul and i will cherries it for ever.

Regards guys and straight shooting!

Robbie

 

[enysse]

Yes, I like the third one too, he's a beauty.

 

[enysse]

here are some of the kudu I have killed and their measurements.

The very first kudu I took was a wide kudu and was right at the 53 inch mark
View attachment 6817

Next was the 55 inch kudu I took with the tips pointing out at the top. I think this kudu just barely broke the 55 inch mark
View attachment 6818

the next one is 58 3/4
View attachment 6819 View attachment 6820


The last kudu is right at 59 3/4 and doesn't even come close to pointing out and isn't near as beautiful as the 55 and 58 inch bulls or near as cool looking as my 53 inch bull but seeing a 60 inch kudu on the hoof is awesome. They just simply look massive. His bases were 12"! Even his body was absolutely enormous. I've never seen a kudu as impressive on the hoof.

View attachment 6821 View attachment 6822

Excellent kudu pictures, from a true addict in kudu hunting, very nice pictures!!!

 

[archerman]

Karl Stumpfe,

I also think you make a really good point when you say the PH should not allow a client to shoot immature bulls. I am a Bowhunter and in November 2012 My wife and I Hunted South Africa for plains game. It was our first trip to Africa. On Day one in late afternoon I had an opportunity to take a Greater Kudu, which had been a dream of mine for many years. A herd of Kudu that i had seen a glimpse of earlier in the day from my blind, decided to come in for a drink. Cows came in first, then i saw a bull appear and was ready to shoot. He was not mature but I was too inexperienced to tell the difference as I am not a trophy hunter. My PH, Evert, told me NOT to Shoot and then stepped to the back of the blind and sat down. I turned to him and whispered, Why??? He said it was immature and that I should wait for the one that is a mature bull. I had remembered that the earlier herd we saw walking out on the velt had a good spiraled horn bull in it. As I turned back to view the herd he came into range at about 15 to 20 yards. I drew my Fred Bear T/D recurve bow to anchor and loosed an arrow which hit the bull right in the center of the Heart/Lung area. The herd took off with my bull in tow. He ran out on the velt and dropped within view of the blind.

When we got to him I could see he was a dandy. Evert said he was a mature bull and a nice trophy. We never measured it so I do not know the score. I am still waiting for the shipment from SA.

Anyway, Evert told me that it is his game management policy to only take mature game. After reading your post today I can understand why.

I am sure I would have been happy with the younger bull, but I feel better in waiting to harvest this fine trophy Kudu. It is good management as stewards of the game recourses to hunt this way. I was glad to be part of that and glad my PH has that kind of ethics.

Here are pictures:

 

[JohannS]

When the tips are pointing outwards you know its a good one to take. Deep, long, and number of turns are the first things to look at. When considering the maturity of a kudu, an easy way is to look at the white stipe and dots on the face of the animal. When they are very visible the bull is most likely still young but when they are harder to see and faded, it is most likely an old bull. Here are some photos of a couple of bulls on the trail cams to show the difference between some bulls. Wide bulls like the one at night is always on everyones list and then the other one is a bull shot on the farm. Very interesting how the horns grew and how large they got.

 

[sestoppelman]

The bull in my avatar is 51 and 50, my best kudu. My smallest looks the best at just 47, with nice tips pointing out and 2.5 shallow curls. Note the deep curls on my avatar bull. The "hole" thru the horns is much bigger than my other bulls.

 

[LouisB]

Personally I like it when a bull is thick and warn down ivory tips are great! I must say when it comes to kudu we have to look closely at genes and age it is important to manage your gene pool well as well as to try and take only the oldest bulls off.

Here are some bulls we took over the last few years that stood out for me:



















Best Regards
Louis van Bergen

 

[JGRaider]

I'm almost obsessed with taking a good kudu. Love the pics. When I say (wildazz guess actually) that a 50" kudu is equivalent to a 180" whitetail, how far off am I ? Just trying to put things into perspective here.

 

[enysse]

I'd say a 180 whitetail is equal to a 53 inch kudu and 60 incher equal to 200 inch whitetail. A 62+ is equal to 220+ whitetail.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I'm almost obsessed with taking a good kudu. Love the pics. When I say (wildazz guess actually) that a 50" kudu is equivalent to a 180" whitetail, how far off am I ? Just trying to put things into perspective here.

(The weaknesses of the internet. Cross posted with E)

OK, B&C is 170 for WTD.
Which is about 1/1,000,000 free range.

Rowland Ward for Kudu is 53 7/8.
This is a very special critter.

So, I'd say a little off.
Go for 157 WTD (92% of RW) being about a 50 inch Greater Kudu.

The Holy Grail of Kudu is a 60 plus. = 200+ typical WTD in my opinion.
(The objective math only puts it as 190.)

I am a trophy hunter and measuring provides a framework for me. It does not make the hunt.

Still searching for a 60.

 

[1ObsessedHunter]

A good Kudu was on the top of my list. I don't know why, but I'm fascinated by them. I am very proud of the Kudu I took last July. Although not a monster, it's a respectable 51". But, it was a muture bull with worn tips and very wide. I was a happy camper!

 

[jduckhunter]

Here is a picture of a kudu my son shot on the 11th day of a 10 day hunt. We hunted for that bull for days with no luck, then when we were leaving to go to the airport for the trip home doesn't he walk across the pasture about a half mile away. Well we couldn't leave without giving him a chase so off go my son and the PH. About an hour and a half later I heard several shots that told me the chase was over. One horn taped out at 60" the other 61" it was our young PH's first 60"+ kudu and needless to say everyone was very happy. And we did make our flight. Some times the hunting Gods just smile on you! (I hope the photo is attached I'm not too good at this.)

 

[BRICKBURN]

..........

Yes sir, chase them for days and days and days and then you get lucky.
Works for me.
Gorgeous 60 Monster Kudu.

 

[enysse]

A good Kudu was on the top of my list. I don't know why, but I'm fascinated by them. I am very proud of the Kudu I took last July. Although not a monster, it's a respectable 51". But, it was a muture bull with worn tips and very wide. I was a happy camper!

He is nice, very respectable!

 

[archerman]

JDuckhunter,

Very nice bull !!!!!

Ain't that the way it goes !!!!! You can hunt for days and weeks and don't get a chance at the animal u want till the very very last minute !!!

That's Hunting !!!!!

 

[jduckhunter]

JDuckhunter,

Very nice bull !!!!!

Ain't that the way it goes !!!!! You can hunt for days and weeks and don't get a chance at the animal u want till the very very last minute !!!

That's Hunting !!!!!

Yeah, it's a tough lesson to learn but sometimes you just have to hang in there. I kind of pittied my son, the land owner whose farm that we were hunting on kept telling him that he had been seeing a bull that he thought would go 60". So for days George and his PH kept on passing on nice bulls looking for the one. On the ride back to the farm house that last night, George said to me that he thought maybe he screwed up and should have taken one of the other bulls. I told him how proud I was of him for not doing that and having what it took to hang in there and that there would be a next time. Little did we know that he would be rewarded for his patience early the next day.

 

[archerman]

Yeah,

That's a tough thing to do. Waiting it out can be nerve racking! It's not every day you can go back to Africa and try for that one again. It's a LOONG trip !!!!

With bowhunting you are more limited for opportunity as it is. (It's one thing to see your trophy and another to get within bow range.) With a rifle, If you see your trophy u have a better opportunity to get into range, though it may be a long shot.

Congrates Again to you and your Son !!


:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:

 

[enysse]

Jduckhunter, your son shot a dream kudu! It was like winning the lottery!