Field judging?

[iccyman001]

Do you guys have any tricks of the trade when it comes to field judging?


I.E: If the fronts are as long as his skull it equals xx\"
If he is down feeding and his beams do over his head, the beams equal xx\"
Or maybe even if they antlers are wider than the ears they could be at least xx\"


My best way to learn judging is by putting my hands on horns and measuring them, but I have no had my hands on many yet.....
So what tips do you use to field judge an elk?

 

[colorado russ]

I\'ll be watching this one closely Dan. I like the \'guess my score\' threads and this year with my tag I hope to be having to decide if it walks or not.

 

[otcWill]

Generally a bull with long mains and good whales (10\"+) will score north of 280. What is a long main? 40\"+. You just need to look at a lot of bulls to get a feel. Also, almost everybody, including the best will overestimate a bull on the hoof at close range. \"That was a 330\" , will quickly turn to \"this is a 280\", for the vast majority including myself.

Don\'t overthink it though! If he looks good, shoot him and don\'t worry about somebody else\'s score system.

 

[cohunter14]

Dan, here are some good numbers that I have seen:

- The average length from an elk\'s eyes to the tip of his nose is 13\"
- Base of antlers to the tip of the nose is typically 17\"-18\"
- Tip to tip ear spread is about 26\"
- Average length of a main beam to the G4 is roughly 28\"-30\"

 

[Ol' Arky]

I\'m no one to tell anyone how to judge a elk\'s antlers... But I know when I see a good one I know he\'s a good one BUT when I see a GREAT one I know he\'s GREAT!!!!

Just me but I look at a lot of pictures and video of elk and from those I get a feel of what I\'m looking at... Of course I might go crazy when I see a good elk and think he\'s GREAT but if I see a Great one i\'m sure I\'ll know as Russ will also...

As for \"Jake killer Dan\" it may take a bit more polishing of judging skills...

 

[cnelk]

My field judging is pretty simple.

Legal = Shooter

 

[WW]

I remember this quote from years past: \"A trophy is in the eyes of the beholder\"!

 

[cohunter14]

I\'ll be watching this one closely Dan. I like the \'guess my score\' threads and this year with my tag I hope to be having to decide if it walks or not.

Well Russ, I know this will be considered a spike where you are hunting this year, but I just so happened to pick up my euros today. How about a little \'guess the score\' practice on something a little smaller? Should be good practice for everyone. I\'ll post up the true score in a couple of days. Any takers?

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[iccyman001]

I\'ll be watching this one closely Dan. I like the \'guess my score\' threads and this year with my tag I hope to be having to decide if it walks or not.

Well Russ, I know this will be considered a spike where you are hunting this year, but I just so happened to pick up my euros today. How about a little \'guess the score\' practice on something a little smaller? Should be good practice for everyone. I\'ll post up the true score in a couple of days. Any takers?

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Love those dark horns......
That turned out great, Derek! :upthumb:

247\"

 

[F M]

Looks good Derek. :upthumb:

I\'ll say 240\"

 

[bowhunter]

I will guess 243 5/8\"

I go by Brads moto if its legal I\'m shootin till I get a few under my belt. I like elk meat to much to pass on anything.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I immediately thought, 240-250.

 

[cnelk]

255

 

[Ol' Arky]

Nice elk, Derek and one most anyone would shoot except Russ, this year....

Like I said I\'m not good with scores but he scored good enough.... Maybe like most are saying 240 to 260... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[razorback]

I would guess an even 250.

 

[Bowfreak]

My scoring system is....I see forked antlers!!!! I am shooting!

 

[colorado russ]

I honestly wrote down 240\" before seeing the other guesses! Thoughts are it might be a little lower but 230-240 range.

 

[david.denham.39]

234\"....???? :dk:

 

[WW]

195-210 tops! Good #1s but everything else is spindly at best. In the area I hunt, would I shoot him? Hell yes! :mg: That is a right decent average bull for my area

 

[Ucsdryder]

I will say they always look bigger on a skull mount. The skin and ears change the look. Can you post a kill picture?