antelopedundee
Well-Known Member
The ears are about 5 inches so there's sort of a built in ruler. Long and spindly won't score very high tho.
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How do you judge the size of a antelope in the field?
- Thread starter Okie Whitetail Hunter
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I was wondering why nobody had mentioned the ear length they are between 5 and 6 inch's long so if you have horns that are double the ear length they are around 12 inch's long then look at the cutters . What shape do you like some are kind of straight some are heart shaped . I have seen in some areas where they almost all had deformed horns , genetics, that were interesting .
I couldn't agree more. To judge an antelope is very hard. My decision is made by looking at the animal and if my initial impression is holy crap its probably a shooter. In Montana where I hunt antelope almost every antelope is a carbon copy of the next one. All about 14' and with minimal prongs. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a 14" antelope but the point is with everything being the same you sure notice when one step out that make your eyes a little buggy.
crkckr
Well-Known Member
The more you get look at them in the field, the better you'll get judging them. Off season is a great time to take your camera hunting! If you can, anyway, sometimes it's a pretty long trip just to watch goats disappear over the horizon. A good 300mm or bigger lens helps a whole lot, although you can usually get a bit closer in the off season. Then you can compare them to trophy bucks in the books or online at your leisure.
When deer hunting in MT and without a goat tag, I tried on several occasions to see just how close I could get without freaking them out. I found that if I bent over at the waist and cradled my rifle in my arms, I could walk up to within 50' of a small herd! But boy, it is horrible on your back! Starts to hurt very quickly and if you straighten up just a little, they head for the hills... fast! Did that twice and nearly laughed myself to death. Would have, too, except my back was killing me! Goats can sometimes be so wary and other times dumber than dirt. I've spotted goats 3 miles away and when I got the spotting scope on them they were looking right back at me! They're still beautiful and amazing critters, anyway you cut it.
Cheers,
crkckr
When deer hunting in MT and without a goat tag, I tried on several occasions to see just how close I could get without freaking them out. I found that if I bent over at the waist and cradled my rifle in my arms, I could walk up to within 50' of a small herd! But boy, it is horrible on your back! Starts to hurt very quickly and if you straighten up just a little, they head for the hills... fast! Did that twice and nearly laughed myself to death. Would have, too, except my back was killing me! Goats can sometimes be so wary and other times dumber than dirt. I've spotted goats 3 miles away and when I got the spotting scope on them they were looking right back at me! They're still beautiful and amazing critters, anyway you cut it.
Cheers,
crkckr
I agree with Wyowinchester, get the one that looks good to you. I have a few on the wall and my favorite scores just above 78". It has 3/4" pearl tips and deep curls. I've got a larger one still hanging on the back porch (over 80") but just does not have the deep curls or tips. I also have one more weekend this year to hunt and have been looking for an oddball or freak. I think they look cool, no matter the measurements.
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- Jun 14, 2009
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- Joined
- Jun 14, 2009
- Messages
- 95
MASS is the word when it comes to horned game! If score is important than look at mass first since it's the highest % of a bucks score. Obviously overall length and prong length can make or break a score. In Wyo there are very few bucks that are over 16" long....so mass is even that much more important for B&C. I generally look for Wyo bucks with 7" ish bases with the mass holding all the way to the tips.
It's IMPOSSIBLE to field judge antelope without a decent spotting scope! Do you think you can tell if a buck has 6 1/2 vs 7" bases at 400 yards with binos? How about 5 1/2" vs 6" prongs? If you spend time in the unit you are hunting and look over hundreds of bucks you'll likely be able to tell when you find an extraordinarily big buck. It always helps having lots and lots of country to cover to find the few large bucks that exist. Obviously certain areas tend to have better genetics, feed, older age etc than others.
It's IMPOSSIBLE to field judge antelope without a decent spotting scope! Do you think you can tell if a buck has 6 1/2 vs 7" bases at 400 yards with binos? How about 5 1/2" vs 6" prongs? If you spend time in the unit you are hunting and look over hundreds of bucks you'll likely be able to tell when you find an extraordinarily big buck. It always helps having lots and lots of country to cover to find the few large bucks that exist. Obviously certain areas tend to have better genetics, feed, older age etc than others.
midwesthunter
Well-Known Member
You will drive your self crazy trying to field judge them, unless you have a ton of time in the field. Mass is usually king, later season hunts help in size comparison, because they start to herd up and you can compare them to each other. But in the end, just shoot what makes you happy.
Steelthowl
Well-Known Member
Ears are around 6 inches long. That can help a bit with determining length.Antelope horn length seems to be what most people judge a quality trophy by. Similarly, people often judge mule deer by how wide they are. While mule deer width and antelope horn length are both important and noteworthy measurements, neither are good indicators of the animal's overall trophy potential. The Boone and Crockett (B&C) scoring system takes into account three different aspects of antelope horns to determine score. Mass (circumferences), horn length, and prong length.
At the taxidermy shop I got to see first hand the a huge pronghorn for Oregon...rifle kill....it had huge lenght....unbelievable mass and awesome cutters.......
But the very distinguishable part of that Billie.......how the horns grew towards the front of his head....looked like they extended well out towards his nose.....as to looking for bigguns(pronghorns guys) i have seen some big ones over at the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge in southeastern oregon....while deer hunting just outside the perimeter the ex and i took a seat in the shade of a juniper..a couple minutes later here comes a herd of speedgoats...the last three were big....but the last one was giant....on video at less than 50 yards...and they were just standing around not knowing we were there.....great video footage.....
But the very distinguishable part of that Billie.......how the horns grew towards the front of his head....looked like they extended well out towards his nose.....as to looking for bigguns(pronghorns guys) i have seen some big ones over at the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge in southeastern oregon....while deer hunting just outside the perimeter the ex and i took a seat in the shade of a juniper..a couple minutes later here comes a herd of speedgoats...the last three were big....but the last one was giant....on video at less than 50 yards...and they were just standing around not knowing we were there.....great video footage.....
