Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Kudu.......be careful what you ask for!

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.

They all look good to me and that narrow one would fit on a wall that the others would not.

Brent

I wanted a wide bull, so that is what I shot. I think it measured 48 inches. That said, Jim, I should have waited as Dave and I saw larger bulls later that were just as nice and wide, but longer, too. Are those both Chris' bulls? (I'm pretty sure the narrow one is his "Marilyn Monroe" kudu.) If so, the wider one is one of the ones we saw after I'd already bagged mine.

Nice post, Jim. I'll remember to specify a look rather than a number.

Jaywalker

Rick( calif.Hunter) was one of my hunters this past season. He's a good backup resource for what I have to offer and can be expected. It's always difficult to pass a good bull. The weather can change, or any number of things can happen to disrupt your chances. However as he said there are so many good bulls that waiting can sometime be a god idea.

I've had it work out both ways equal. Guys holding out for bigger bulls and then in a panic running out of time. Or those that shoot early and see bigger bulls during the time they have.

This is an excellent post and a "must' for those of us with little or limited african experience as I assume the true "book" guys are quite specific and pedantic when it comes to telling their PHs " I want a 60 incher or I won't pull the trigger" BS.

I trust my PH--and myself as to when to pull the trigger. On my first hunt, I just pulled the trigger on whatever animal he said "shoot" and was quite satisfied, in fact my kudu went 58 1/2" but with a very tight curl. On reflection, I prefer the wider animals, but mine fits perfectly in my small trophy room.

On my last safari I picked out my wartie and impala and they were both very, very good, but I still leave it up to a PH. It is imperative one discuss expectations before and during the hunt. The last thing you want is indecision as the opportunity for the potential trophy of a lifetime is fleeting. jorge

JJ-

Interesting Posts. I'm a rookie here but I'm at a loss as how both in the top pic are in the 50s or more accurately, that the narrow one is even close to the wide one.

That said all I'd care for is a good stalk, a good shot, and one with the "look".

George

since they're offline I'll hazard an answer: it's the depth of the curl that really counts in the "book" measurement. the wide one had shallow curls, the narrow one deeper curls. the measurement is taken on the outside of the curl--the deeper the curl the bigger the number.

Jim is exactly right...that is my bull in the photo..I did look at several bulls before I shot this one...he was exactly what I wanted [I think he is 52.5"] My son killed a bull that is 55" [and wide too] I also killed a 29.5" waterbuck, my son killed a 30" blue wildebeest. My son and I killed a total of 15 animals, not one of which was disapointing...Mostly we just enjoyed hunting with Jim and friends at Landelani...it was the trip of a lifetime.. I will post a report later..JMR

Hey Jim and Rick
I shot the bull on the right in Jims photo my first night i probably should have waited but found a simple solution i just shot another bigger one on my last day. Jims advise is right on the money focus on the look you want more so than inches, As a side note i have 2 friends who have shot a lot of Kudu's and both of them want to know what i plan on doing with my marilyn monroe horns. As everyone has said hunting with Jim was an incredible experience and i was very satisfied with the trophies and the whole experience.
thx
chris

Chris - that second one you shot sure is a nice one!

Are we talking about 2009?

Very nice Jim
Actually I would suggest that with kudu more than any other african game a fellow should almost try to become somewhat of a kudu specific PH himself before the final shot. A lot of PH's I've met are actually honest enough to tell you that the kudu is one of the hardest to pre score. What I mean by being your own PH is, look at a lot of photos, do a lot of research, come to a conclusion of what YOU want on your wall. There are a lot of other animals that you can blindly leave up to your PH to tell you weather its trophy or not. The kudu does not fall into that class. The first PH I had was trying to send me home with a dud, however it did give me the chance to see other horns measured. That combined with a lot of homework before going made it that when I got on the second place I new what I wanted. NOT what they wanted me to have. Remember this folks. Leaving really big, really well formed kudu alive for breeders, plus getting hundreds from you for second class stuff is kinda win win isnt it

Rick
we will be talking 2009 Africa truly does get in your blood,
Here's picture of my second Kudu. I can hardly wait to get back and look for a bigger one.
Chris

Knowing Chris wanted a really big bull, when I saw this one I really screwed up. I learned a valuable lesson even after all the years of doing this.

I said to Chris.... "That is likely the most magnificent bull you will ever see in your life"

Never put that pressure and stress on the shooter! He drilled it and it fell within sight of the point of impact. However he was a bit more jittery then his normal cold as ice prior shooting. I'll also say that I was bit more excited then normal as well.

Remember he stayed an extra day just for the odd chance of shooting a big bull and we found this one!

That kudu is spectacular!

Really nice.

yhat is a sweet bull! Good job on the patience...
Brent

From this angle, it does look like the larger one we saw at "Dave's Blind" on my last afternoon there. We saw two good shooter bulls that afternoon, and the only way I could tel which was bigger was the tips turned slightly out on the larger one.

So you DID shoot Norman!

That PH Dave has a weird habit for naming things. After you left he named several more animals he saw. Several of them were also "Norman". Impalas, warthogs, Kudu's etc.

Kinda odd to me, I don't want to name things I want to kill. My son had a Hampshire pig which is all black with a white band over the shoulders. My wife was a bit freaked out when it came time to shoot "oreo".

It was however the best Oreo I've ever eaten!

Wheh I tell my outfitter or PH that I'm interested in a really nice Kudu, and they ask me how big, my reply is always the same: "I won't shoot unless you say, Oh my God - you must shoot that bull now!" It hasn't let me down yet.