Judging Kudu

[ROCKET]

Rocket,


In my limited experience a representative Southern Greater Kudu would measure around 45 to 48"... that is average...... a good bull is in the 50 t0 53 ".. a very good bull would be in 54 to 59 " an excellent bull would be 60 - 65 "...

Remember, Length is not the only factor... the shape of the V , the 3rd spiral on the horn, and the ivory tips that point straight up all contribute to what a trophy Kudu should be. One that has all of this and measures 60 " +is excellent and over 70" would be incredible. My understanding is that the largest entry in Rowland and Ward was a set of horns that measured 72" and was actually not killed by a hunter but found on a carcass by a PH in Mozambique .

So, that should give you some Idea...

The picture of your bull looks good, his horns have 3 curls and the tips have a little ivory and are just starting to go straight up.

I would be curios to find out what he measures...

Congratulations,

Rocket,

BTW... your bull has a really nice dark coat, well defined Chevron and the horns have good mass. All around he is a fine trophy and will make a nice mount. You should have a great memory of the hunt. Those things should be the most important aspects of your hunting experience.

Enjoy,

Archerman......good point of view......makes a good idea.....by the pics here I can see tha the bulls passing the 54 inches start to look as a serius thing.....mounsters challengers........I will let you know how my kudu did finally in a month......!!!!!
You are right.....took me 3 days and unforgetable stalk to get a kudu and memorys will be allways number one reazon for a hunt....!!!!

Thank you very much for your reazon and sorry about my poor english.....!!!!!

53 7/8 is Rowland Ward Minimum.
That is an amazing Kudu.

(You have to remember that anything making Rowland Ward will blow the SCI min score out of the water.)

60 is over the top incredible.
Rare as hens teeth.

This is a good point to keep in mind...... the gap between the two differents formulas or way to measurement Kudu.....!!!!!

Thanks Brickburn....!!!

That's a 2 curl bull and I would guess it at about 46 or so inches.

I would guess also that is the true thing........my good guide saids and I sow him make a simple measurement by hand in some moment of the day and He tough that is a 48 inches Kudu so I can say that probable is a 45 or 46 inches Kudu just as you think sestoppelman......!!!!

Thank you very much.....!!!!


Thanks very much you all Boys........!!!!!

 

[sestoppelman]

You are very welcome. And don't feel too bad about your English, its better than a lot of Americans I know!

 

[Petrus Geldenhuys]

being a PH and hunting kudu bulls with the client is most probably one of the hardest hunts as they are hard to judge and are very illusive animal that can disappear in the african bush with the blink of an eye.

After years of practice i can tell the difference between a small, average, good trophy and a monster.
The hardest part about judging the kudu horns is that most of the length sits in the curl and can make it very hard to judge it 100% accurately.

What i look for when selecting a trophy bull is the following:
Thick prominent bases
good lenth with the second curl completed and on the 3rd curl
then you always look at how deep the curls are, this is the difference between a 50" and a 60" bull, all in the curl!
Thickness of neck will also give away allot about the horn mass
then lastly what is the client expecting....... if he wants a good representative you look for uniformity of horns rather than the biggest longest set of horns. you get kudu with one horn measuring 50" and the other one 60" so its important to decide what you are after when you come to hunt the illusive kudu

here is a good example of a mature old bull taken in South-Africa by one of my Fellow PH's longest horn was 60"

 

[Trap123]

How would you guys judge this one

 

[BRICKBURN]

How would you guys judge this one ................

The tracker says it all, but if you are talking inches; 52.

 

[Trap123]

First I must confess that we never measured him so I don't know the true number only that the tracker said he was old.But I am curious as to how you came up with your judgement. To my eye judging from some of the pictures on this thread I would have guessed 7 to 10 inches smaller.It looks to me as if his horns are pretty thick perhaps that gives the illusion of being shorter.

 

[BRICKBURN]

First I must confess that we never measured him so I don't know the true number only that the tracker said he was old.But I am curious as to how you came up with your judgement. To my eye judging from some of the pictures on this thread I would have guessed 7 to 10 inches smaller.It looks to me as if his horns are pretty thick perhaps that gives the illusion of being shorter.

The ear on a mature Kudu is 12 inches long. From that point it is perspective and guessing!
My first reaction was 48. So, ....

 

[Scott Slough]

With my limited experience of shooting two Eastern Cape Kudu and looking at them on the wall everyday ... I would say that he compares favorably with my 47 incher.

 

[JohannS]

How would you guys judge this one

I would say its 45-48.

 

[Red Leg]

This old Etosha bull would be a fabulous trophy, but likely "only" makes mid fifties due to lack of depth of curl. I would not pass him up!

 

[siml]

In one of the post from page 2, point 4 must be in good physical condition, I would maybe differ, if the animal is going downhill in condition, that is the perfect time for him to be hunted, he is no longer going to help the gene pool and needs to be hunted.

 

[Jon Glajchen]

An old bull taken towards the end of his days. How long???

 

[siml]

This was a huge bull, past

 

[siml]

Jon, guessing 58 inches.

 

[siml]

@Jon Glajchen , thats a dam fine kudu.

 

[Jon Glajchen]

Hahahaha outstanding!

 

[Jon Glajchen]

Thanks TMS

 

[siml]

Ok, you can call me a liar for 1/8 of an inch, but again congrats on a beautiful bull.

 

[siml]

@Jon Glajchen , here is your kudu's twin.

 

[Jon Glajchen]

Horns look the same, where was it hunted?