Discussions like this are always interesting, especially when very detailed directions are given for precise estimates.
Last fall I hunted elk on the Whittington Center in northern New Mexico with a friend. We were guided by the center's two top guides. I have also seen a few elk killed, and killed a couple myself. My friend had never killed anything big, but had passed up a lot of bulls over the years looking for a really big one.
Each of us took a nice 7x6. Mine came on the first day, and we didn't get to look at too long, as he appeared suddenly with a companion about 100 yards away. But there was no hesitation on the part of either the guide or me. I didn't guess score, just knew the bull was quite mature, with long tines. My guide did make a quick guess at 340+, and it turned out a little optimistic. I didn't give a damn, because it was still a big, really mature bull.
My friend shot his bull on the next-to-last day. BOTH guides got to look at a long while, across a canyon, and neither thought it would gross over 300--but the hunt was gettng short. It turned out to gross 345. The reason? The body was huge, and made the antlers look small.
We later took a photo of my friend and me, standing side by side, holding the racks. They look to be really similar, and yet there is supposedly a big difference between a 320 bull and a 350 bull, easily noticeable to any experienced elk hunter.
This is yet another in a long line of stories I've accumulated about field-judging. In general the only animals that look really big, ARE really big. The rest of it is mostly guesswork, with "experts" getting fooled a lot more than they like to admit.
Dont want to get into a pissin match here, but ya, there is a big difference between a 320 and 350 bull.However, there are far more "experianced" elk hunters than there are trophy elk hunters..the average experienced elk hunter may encounter a 350+ bull one time in his carrer, or maybe even never.
Don't want to sound like a know it all, cuz I aint..but if a trophy guide around here missed a bull by 45", he wouldn't be around long.
