Who does the measuring and when does it happen?

[geoff rath]

To paraphrase what Jim P wrote, trust your PH. The man you intend to hunt with is obviously very experienced in his Bizness" and will know his craft. My outfitter and his understudies pointed out my Gemsbok from 300 yards +/- and said " he must be near 40"; Shoot"! So I did. They later tried to apologise as he fell a little short; measured since at exactly one meter; apology NOT necessary, or accepted. Well worth the beers I bought them.

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

Sir,
Please excuse my ignorance as I am new to this. I plan on having my animals shoulder mounted. You said to get my trophies to an official measurer. How do I do that if I am in the USA and they are at the taxidermy shop in RSA? Is it too late to do that once my mounts ship to me?
Thanx again for your help. And I will definitely read the attached forms.

Your ph may be an official measurerand most taxidermistsare official measurers
So its up to you
Its nice to know the sizes of your trophies just to know but it shouldnt affect the experience

Whats important is the hunt, the moments while out hunting

 

[Nyati]

I have never put pressure on my PH´s about measurements, just told them I wanted the oldest animals they could find.

In the end I got some very good trophies, and no, never got them officially measured.

Just don´t care.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I have never put pressure on my PH´s about measurements, just told them I wanted the oldest animals they could find.

In the end I got some very good trophies, and no, never got them officially measured.

Just don´t care.

Couldn't Agree More!

I have done four safaris, have I measured some of the animals with a tape, yes. Do I care what they measure, no. Never even thought about scoring for the books. A trophy is what you see in the animal, not inches of horn. I am there for the thrill and experience more than the animal itself. If you put to much pressure on a PH about inches you might not shoot much. As long as it was a mature older animal and I liked its characteristics I shot.

 

[Justbryan]

I don't measure in Africa nor care. I am looking for representative/mature animals for the area. My guide did measure my big Bushbuck and Cape Buffalo but nothing else not even the Kudu. Nobody but an avid African Hunter will even know what the numbers mean.

 

[buck wild]

Since you re going to measure, use a PH's tape. It always reads 1" longer That was a joke.

Ok, on to serious business. The horns must have at least a 60 day "drying period" after harvest. Once this period has passed, then any SCI measurer can score them and certify the paperwork. This is a free service also (or should be so don't get fleeced). You have to be a member of SCI to enter animals, so go ahead and join. Once the scorer certifies your score sheet, you turn it in plus $25 (maybe more) fee to SCI to have it listed in their resource book. If you are a member, you get free access to the on-line book. As others have noted, making bronze isn't all that hard with a mature animals of the species.

Where to find scorers

Safari Club International - Safari Club International

 

[migrabill]

Since you re going to measure, use a PH's tape. It always reads 1" longer That was a joke.

Ok, on to serious business. The horns must have at least a 60 day "drying period" after harvest. Once this period has passed, then any SCI measurer can score them and certify the paperwork. This is a free service also (or should be so don't get fleeced). You have to be a member of SCI to enter animals, so go ahead and join. Once the scorer certifies your score sheet, you turn it in plus $25 (maybe more) fee to SCI to have it listed in their resource book. If you are a member, you get free access to the on-line book. As others have noted, making bronze isn't all that hard with a mature animals of the species.

Where to find scorers

Safari Club International - Safari Club International

Thanks for the info. Very helpful - with one change. This is from the SCI manual that I was supplied a link to in this post.
"All new entries that rank in the overall Top 20 of a Record Book category, and all entries nominated for a Major Award, must be certified, which means they must be measured by a Master Measurer 60 days or more after the date of harvest (for exceptions see Methods 8, 14, 16-C and 16-D). Record Book entries that rank below the overall Top 20, and entries for the other awards programs, are not required to be certified; therefore, may be measured by any SCI Official Measurer, including the owner or hunter of that animal."
so - if it's a TOP 20 animal you are right. But for ordinary Bronze, Silver, and Gold entries they can be green scored immediately. I confirmed this with my PH.

 

[Hunt anything]

For the record I haven’t had any animals measured, I’m more into old mature animals, I have an SCI measurer in my town but just haven’t bothered. I wouldn’t get too caught up in the horn sizes. IMO your setting yourself up for disappointment and maybe not having the time of your life as any safari should be. Take what Africa gives you, enjoy and at the end of the day you will probably have a few heads that will make the book and great memories to boot!

 

[Flipper Dude]

Some of the best advice you’ll get from experienced safari hunters? Leave the tape at home.

 

[Rare Breed]

Very fair points Sir. Let me try to explain. I am new to Africa but not new to hunting. I have hunted for over 30 years and have taken world class animals. But I am clueless when it comes to Africa. I have 4 friends that have hunted with the outfitter i am going with in Africa. One friend has taken 30 animals with this PH and all 30 have been SCI animals. Another has taken 15 with him, and 14 are in the book. It’s not like that’s a must for me, just kind of a really good chance. Even if just one animal I take is good enough to get in the book I just want to know the process. It would suck if lack of knowledge led to me making a crucial error. I will take what Africa gives me. If I come home empty handed but saw 10 African sun sets, I will be richer for it. I am not going out demanding a certain type or quality of animal, I am just preparing for what all my friends tell me is probable.

Good attitude! The key for you also should be don’t pass up on day 2 what you would take on day7

 

[buck wild]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful - with one change. This is from the SCI manual that I was supplied a link to in this post.
"All new entries that rank in the overall Top 20 of a Record Book category, and all entries nominated for a Major Award, must be certified, which means they must be measured by a Master Measurer 60 days or more after the date of harvest (for exceptions see Methods 8, 14, 16-C and 16-D). Record Book entries that rank below the overall Top 20, and entries for the other awards programs, are not required to be certified; therefore, may be measured by any SCI Official Measurer, including the owner or hunter of that animal."
so - if it's a TOP 20 animal you are right. But for ordinary Bronze, Silver, and Gold entries they can be green scored immediately. I confirmed this with my PH.

Ok good. Reason I knew that info I guess is bc I have a potential #13 Arabian Oryx that I'm waiting on the 60 day drying period as we speak. Makes sense bc it's top 20 and will also be done by a master scorer.

Sounds like you have a plan o keep up with your buddies

 

[MT Griz]

I am an Official SCI measurer. We are not allowed to charge to score a animal. You do not have to be a member of SCI to have taken the animal but you do have to be a member to have it entered into the book. I have never hunted "for the book" to me it is more after the fact, as in how did I do?. I like to hunt for old animals and the best that me and the PH can find that is good for the area we are hunting and in the time frame I have to hunt. Given your "wish list' I would think half or better will most likely make the book. Maybe all of them if you are lucky. I would not even think about "scores" until the hunt is over. Let the PH know what you want and trust him to do his best (another reason to choose you PH carefully). Don't make this the focus of your trip. There is so much more to a hunt in Africa than the length of a horn. Good Luck!

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

On most of the 20+ African Animals I’ve just shot what the PH told me was a mature animal. They generally want you to shoot the best animal y’all can find. From what I can tell or have been told every animal would make SCI and most have been Silver or better, with multiple being RW. I know of two animals where I was happy when the PH said they were great animals squeezed the trigger and immediately after the PH’s were even more excited because they knew without a doubt that animal was going RW. I’ve also unknowingly passed on an animal (regret it now) because I just shot one and learned after how good it was.

The only animal I’ve been particular about with wanting something exceptional either because of its character or horn length is Kudu. Ironically the biggest Kudu I’ve had an opportunity at wasn’t fully mature and got the pass.

Having shot 20+ species combined on my previous 4 Safaris I have asked my taxidermist to give me some rough measurements on a bunch of my trophies should I have the opportunity to better them.

 

[Philip Glass]

I have read some posts on here that say don't worry about the measurements and the SCI minimums. I will be going to Africa for the first time in June of 2024. Unfortunately I probably will not ever be able to go a second time. For the money I'm going to pay, I definitely AM going to worry about horn size.
So, with that said... Who does it and when? I understand there may be a given period of time before the measurements are done. Does that mean the taxidermist does them? If so, how does he report them? Will the PH do some initial measurements? Are they often far off from the measurements taken later? How do you get the official measurement reports to SCI?
Thanks for your help!

Bring your own tape and measure at the skinning shed. For official scoring we usually wait until the trophies are home.