Help me judge this AZ bull

He a solid bull but I don't think he is over 350 from his frame but hard to tell. You know where he is at so put him in your pocket for now and go look for more. Seeing what else the unit has to offer will help you decide if he is what your looking for
 
Internet and tv ruined our perception of a trophy and what we are willing to post or tell our tale about. That bull is a shooter for 99% of the population. If you are the 1% then it doesn't matter if you kill a bull or not, it's about the inches and bragging. The photos aren't easy to judge but getting into the 350 class level takes mass, tine length, and main beam length. Width is subjective. I have a 300 bull that went 50 inside and a 330 that is about 42. That 330 has a lot more mass overall and just looks much more mature. Now the 350-370 bulls, who different world of massive. I think that bull you're looking at one you need to ask if you'd shoot it on the last day of the hunt. Rule of thumb don't pass a shooter if you want to fill a tag.
 
My impression echoes the 330-340 estimates that have been previously given. Without better images its hard to give a confident estimate but I understand the desire for a high scoring bull after waiting 24 years for the tag. If your grandpa waited 24 years for this tag, it is safe to say he may never have another tag of this caliber if he has to wait another 24 years. In most states a 330 bull is a great bull but Arizona has a reputation for huge bulls. If that is the best bull you have found and he's predictable to kill, sometimes its better to take the sure thing and not get too greedy (speaking from experience more than once). Good luck-- sounds like an amazing hunt and some lifelong memories. Share success pictures when the hunt is over and if you kill this bull-- it will be great to see some upclose images so we all know how close our estimates are :)
 
Mogollon Hunter said:
He ended up right around 100 yards away this morning, with that close look I'm going to put him right around 350-60(excellent mass and stupid long front end). I'll update again when we put something down.
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Just out of curiosity, what unit did your grandpa draw? If it's the Unit 1 early muzzleloader hunt you might keep looking. If it's the early 4B rifle hunt, that's probably a shooter. My son and I both drew the 4B early bull hunt. Leaving today! Good luck to grampa!
 
I did something similar I put in for years to get enough points for an area that I wanted to hunt and had access to some great elk. I went on a 10 day hunt shot my bull on the 4th day it was a rifle hunt in the full rut. Bulls were bugling 24-7. We looked at lots of bulls over first 3 days. I wanted 400 inch bull. On the fourth day we moved several miles away from previous area. About noon we ran into a bull that had 10-12 cows out in an alpine meadow and there were several satellite bulls around him trying to steal his cows. I watched him for almost an hour looked at him thru bino's and spotting scope for a long time. I said he is good not great but he has non typical points and mass galore so I shot him. He is my best bull ever he scored 378 and change. He has character mass and his horns were really dark colored. I was hunting with my dad and my best friend and yes he was a really good bull but what I remember most was the time we spent together and the enjoyment of the whole hunt. Was I disappointed not to get a 400 in bull? NO, it was my most memorable hunt and the last bull I took over 320 or so. No regrets.

Enjoy the time you spend with your grandpa and make memories that last way longer then the meat in the freezer or the mount on the wall. Trophies come in many forms...

Good luck and I hope he gets a whopper...
 
Mogollon Hunter said:
So Grandpa finally drew a good tag this year year with 24 points. I'm familiar with the area and have been scouting and watching this bull a fair bit. I don't want to make this all about inches but he's been accumulating points for this hunt since before I was even born and I want him to come away from this hunt with a solid trophy and an impressive number to tell people. I know this is a really solid bull but I'm having a hell of a time putting a number to him. I look at him and think man he's got it all but I really don't trust myself to be objective about it. He appears to be a little lacking in beam length but at the same time he's a big bodied bull and maybe that's skewing my perception of him. I need some opinions on what this bull might tape out at. I know it's hard to say but that's why I gotta ask.
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Score is really not worth worrying about. A nice symmetrical rack hanging on the wall is much more impressive than lying about some random number at the bar.
 

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