Antelope Sizes

[BWO]

I went on my first antelope hunt this last week and had a blast. I have never spent any time seriously looking at them and trying to field judge them. I do not have any comparisons where I have field judged one and then killed it to see how close I was. So my question is, and I'm sure the answer is very subjective, at what point (score wise) does an antelope start looking big? I mean does a 75 inch antelope look big, does 78, or 80? At what point do most serious antelope hunters consider one to start looking big? Just curious and trying to learn a little about judging them. Thanks in advance for any replies or insights.

 

[gknutson]

Antelope are tough to judge. If you look at enough and then see a big one you will know it.

 

[Dr_Hunter]

Antelope are tough to judge. If you look at enough and then see a big one you will know it.

+1

You just have to get out and look at a lot of them. Look for mass. Mass is what will break or make a goat. Everyone gets caught up with "how tall is it?" It is mass that you are looking for. Get online and google pics, or get the DVD "Size is Everything." Great DVD and a detailed explanation of what to look for and how to field judge.
It's amazing the difference a couple inches will make. Be careful. Antelope hunting is VERY addicting!


"Half of being smart, is knowing what you're dumb about."

 

[Foreman4x4]

MPH = Mass, Prongs, Height, in that order.

I killed a buck a week ago that is only 13" tall, but taped a little over 77". Not a monster, but a good buck for the unit I was hunting. Saw some that were quite a bit taller, but were skinny horned with no cutters.

 

[Flint]

To an untrained eye, any antelope over 70 is going to look big. It is really tough to tell the difference between a 74-inch lope and a 78-inch lope, especially if you are several hundred yards away. A buck that has 7 1/2 inch bases will score much better than one with 6 1/2 inch bases. But at 500 yards, both will look about the same.

 

[Yakatak]

Antelope size is subjective to the area you are hunting. If your are seeing 75 inch bucks in almost every herd, a 78 inch buck will stand out big time. It's tough to find a good buck in almost any area but if you spend the time seeing as much of the unit as you can, it won't take you long to find a better buck in the unit you are hunting. For me, an 80 inch buck is the starting point in any area. Then I adjust for reallity and start looking for one of the better bucks.

Yak


When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.
Thomas Jefferson

 

[marley]

I am by no means an expert. This year was my first antelope hunt. The first night there I passed up around 30-40 bucks that all looked the same to me. I was really wanting a 75" or better buck but had no clue really what that looked like. The buck I shot I rough scored at 71". I think what made me pull the trigger on him though was that he was busy chasing out 3 other bucks that were all very similar to each other and mine was the best one. I was using the other 3 as a reference which made mine look big and then there was alot of ground shrinkage for me. Driving out I saw two bucks that were toads.......I know now what I will be looking for next year.

 

[Yakatak]

There ya go! Thats half the battle right there Marley! That experiance will prepare you to find the best buck in your unit next time. Check out Grimmetts video also during the off season.
Yak.

For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.

Thomas Jefferson

 

[SPAZ]

BWO, small antelope can look big and big ones can look small. If you're looking for a high score you have to learn how to judge them and Grimmet's video is good, but keep in mind all examples on that DVD are XL and most are looking at goats a lot smaller than what they are using for reference. Certain shapes can throw an untrained eye to judging goats. Best advice I can give is to look at as many as you can, hundreds of them. Pick your top 3-4 favorites, then find them again and decide which you like best, before shooting. If you can take pictures of them, and look at those, even better. That way, you should never be disappointed in results. In my opinion, some awesome trophy goats score in the 70s, and some mediocre plain-jane lopes score in the 80s. Bigger is usually better, but a number doesn't make a hunt or a trophy.

 

[west]

Spaz hit the nail on the head. Find 3-4 that stand out above the rest and focus on them. Decide between those which one is the biggest. Take pictures if you can. The biggest mistake guys make is they head out opening day and find that one lope that sticks out above the other 10 bucks they looked at that morning and shoot it. Sometimes it might pan out, but most likely not. If you have your list of 3 or 4 and have studied them your mind will establish much quicker in the field that the one you are looking at is not in that caliber. The differance between a 79 and 82 inch antelope is hard to tell by spotting them with your scope and doing a quick field judge. Homework will pay off everytime. If you travel from out of state and only have one week pick out the best one you think will score, but if you have time after take as many pictures of bucks as you can. Better yet if you feel there is not a ton of pressure spend a couple days analyzing bucks via pictures then pursue the biggest one.(assuming that 90 inch buck doesn't walk by). looking at pictures of bucks on here or on the video's is fine, but looking at pictures of bucks that you also have that mental image of what they looked like in the field is a whole lot different. Anther thing that kills guys is...they love that herd buck. If you are hunting early rut i would suggest looking in the draws 400 yards away from the herd and see what you find. JMO




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