Antelope judging

[lumbergreg]

What techniques do you all use for field judging antelope? ie.....height above ears, outside ears, comparison to head???
Thank you!

 

[Mudranger1]

is it a buck? bang!

 

[npaden]

It's tough. I'm not even close to an expert, but here's my list.

1 - Base of the horns need to be bigger than the eye. Maybe even 1" bigger for really good mass.

2 - Prong should be above the ear. Mass should stay good up to the prong as well.

3 - The easiest part is the prong, it's either big or not. Pretty easy to tell.

4 - Total length - this is hard for me, especially when a couple inches is the difference between a really good buck and just a decent buck. I kind of do a thing where I look at how long it's horns are compared to how big it's head is. It needs to be the same at least. The tricky part is if there is a big curl or if it is fairly straight. I tend to see the fairly straight bucks and think they are monsters and see a buck with a lot of curl and think it's not that great.

If in doubt, pass on it, there are plenty of other bucks out there usually. One of the better pieces of advice I've heard is that you shouldn't shoot the first buck you see no matter what. There are a lot of 12" bucks out there that score 65 to 70 inches. I would guess you need to pass on 25 or 30 bucks before you see a good one in most areas.

That's my limited experience. Nathan

 

[mdunc8]

I typically shoot the first one a see and then measure it when I get home. Eliminates all the issues with field judging.

 

[fishing4sanity]

I typically shoot the first one a see and then measure it when I get home. Eliminates all the issues with field judging.

Last year that would have been the best advice to follow. Everyone told us not to shoot the first one you see, I went out with 2 of my sons and the first one we saw was one of the best we saw, passed him up and later my son got a smaller one. Best thing about it was that it was the funnest hunt I had been on in a long time and I wasn't even the one hunting. If you see one that you really like, shoot it, but Nathan's advice sounds very good as well.

 

[BuzzH]

There are no easy antelope to field judge.

Every thing from mass to prongs to length can be tough to judge.

Many different horn shapes as well as body size can throw your estimates for a loop.

I spent the last 4 days looking over 150+ bucks a day ( in a one hour stretch, a friend and I saw 51 bucks).

The more you look at, the more you realize just how damn hard they are to judge.

 

[ihuntelk]

I've gotten 2 really good pieces of advice concerning antelope judging.
1) take a buddy and let them pull the trigger first so you get to touch and feel one you just looked at on the hoof. Sometimes this is invaluable, especially when you think one that is really wide at the tips is big. Most goats with 'flare' aren't nearly as big as they look.

2) get the pronghorn dvd from Grimmet's - Pronghorn guide service - and watch it over and over. It works better if you have a couple mounts you can look at while watching. These guys have killed more 90 inch antelope than the rest of the 'best' guides in the country have seen.

Only problem with the dvd is everything is top end. I wish they had some basics to look for between 76 and 80 inchers. Not all of us are looking at 90's. 95% of the things they say, still apply, just on a smaller scale. Wyoming pronghorn are bigger bodied (heads and ears) than New Mexico and Arizona. So consider that when watching.

Good luck. They can be one of the hardest, but funnest critter out there to field judge.

-Cade
www.HuntForeverWest.com