As many of the visitors to my site know there is an article about the size and appearance of Kudu Bulls. I worte this as a help to settle the confusion between the status of a "score" and the reality of what the hunter is actually looking for.
Here is another example of two 50ish inch Kudu's from this past season. Quite a bit of difference in appearance.
When you meet with the PH make sure you tell him a visual look, rather then a number. Otherwise you could end up with either one of these and it may not be what you're after.
As a good example of this I took a man this year who was shown several nice bulls in the 50" plus range. He did not at all specify a number, but rather he wanted a wider then average bull. Because of this communication he passed on a number of nice bulls that would have made anyone proud. We held out for the look not the score. This is what he eventually shot. Just exactly what he was looking for. He may have actually passed on higher scoring bulls, but this is what he wanted.
Keep in mind that a great percentage of bulls that are claimed to be 50" plus would not measure that size by an official scorrer. The vast majority of mature Kudu bulls shot are between 48-51 inches. Many PH's will say " oh it looks like a 55" bull" but the tape never comes out, or it's done by a less then skilled scorrer.
Kudu's that truely measure over 55" are few and far between. I would guess there are 100 to one kudu's above and below 55". I'm an official scorrer so I tend to measure all my hunters trophies. I have also measuered lots of these 55" bulls that only score 49"! It's for my personal benifit not to belittle anyone for shooting one of these. The more I measure the better I'm able to judge them later.
I had a PH last year say to me he had never shot a Kudu under 50" with a client in 30 years. The first Kudu he brought into the skinning shed that season was a beautiful big old bull. I asked how big. He stated a matter of fact it was 53.5 on the longer horn. It did not look anywhere near that big, but I've been fooled before.
Later that evening I scored it at 46.5" However it was deep curled and very VERY old and heavy. I asked him about the score and he rechecked it. Stunned and speachless at the "new score"! So don't be fooled into thinking it's an easy task to shoot a 55" bull. They are there, we shot 3 bulls over 55" this season, but we shot many more under that! Beware of anybody who is bragging about a 55" average, or all bulls they shoot are over 50". It can happen over the course of a single season, but not over the course of a very long career.
Just speak with the PH about the Look VS the score to be sure you get what you want.
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Here is another example of two 50ish inch Kudu's from this past season. Quite a bit of difference in appearance.
When you meet with the PH make sure you tell him a visual look, rather then a number. Otherwise you could end up with either one of these and it may not be what you're after.
As a good example of this I took a man this year who was shown several nice bulls in the 50" plus range. He did not at all specify a number, but rather he wanted a wider then average bull. Because of this communication he passed on a number of nice bulls that would have made anyone proud. We held out for the look not the score. This is what he eventually shot. Just exactly what he was looking for. He may have actually passed on higher scoring bulls, but this is what he wanted.
Keep in mind that a great percentage of bulls that are claimed to be 50" plus would not measure that size by an official scorrer. The vast majority of mature Kudu bulls shot are between 48-51 inches. Many PH's will say " oh it looks like a 55" bull" but the tape never comes out, or it's done by a less then skilled scorrer.
Kudu's that truely measure over 55" are few and far between. I would guess there are 100 to one kudu's above and below 55". I'm an official scorrer so I tend to measure all my hunters trophies. I have also measuered lots of these 55" bulls that only score 49"! It's for my personal benifit not to belittle anyone for shooting one of these. The more I measure the better I'm able to judge them later.
I had a PH last year say to me he had never shot a Kudu under 50" with a client in 30 years. The first Kudu he brought into the skinning shed that season was a beautiful big old bull. I asked how big. He stated a matter of fact it was 53.5 on the longer horn. It did not look anywhere near that big, but I've been fooled before.
Later that evening I scored it at 46.5" However it was deep curled and very VERY old and heavy. I asked him about the score and he rechecked it. Stunned and speachless at the "new score"! So don't be fooled into thinking it's an easy task to shoot a 55" bull. They are there, we shot 3 bulls over 55" this season, but we shot many more under that! Beware of anybody who is bragging about a 55" average, or all bulls they shoot are over 50". It can happen over the course of a single season, but not over the course of a very long career.
Just speak with the PH about the Look VS the score to be sure you get what you want.
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