Moose antler growth????

Cozmo8

Cozmo8

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Need some help from you experts. How much growth is on these two bulls, 70%, 80%, 100%. I realize width and fronts are essentially finished but how much more will be put on their paddles. I think I have been too optimistic about how much more they will put on. Also any other information ie., I have heard that if they have three brows they are an older bull or long tines equal older bull. I do not know much about moose antler growth and appreciate any advice and education on the subject. One last item what type of width do you think each bull has?
 
Mid 30's on the smaller bull, low 40's on the bigger one. The small one is basically done growing, the bigger one will likely get a little longer palms but don't expect much. He may get something that looks like a point or two on top but they very well may not be scoreable due to not being longer than the base of the point which is common up there at the end of the paddle.

If I had a Shiras tag in any state/unit, that bigger one would be dead in less than a heartbeat and that smaller one would probably be too after about 10 seconds of thinking about it :)

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"


Let me guess, you drive a 1 ton with oak trees for smoke stacks, 12" lift kit and 40" tires to pull a single place lawn mower trailer?
 
Not an expert. I think both bulls will form points on top of their palms and might increase palm length a little. Both are mature bulls and either should be a candidate for your tag. Sure there might be larger bulls, but those are mature. Looks like the narrow bull is upper 30s and the wider bull is mid-40s. What state/unit do you have?

As for points, it is a genetic thing 1st and old age can bring on long points also. Many bulls only have single fronts in their prime. Mature/prime bulls can have either long points or short one on top of their palms.

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www.sagebasin.com
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Points on the upper edge of the palms are the last part of moose antlers to form. Palm length is measured to the dip between palm tips to the fork in the brow (or main beam if both antlers don't have forked brows). Once pts on the upper edge of the palms start to form you should have a good idea of palm length. I'd venture a guess that both bulls in the photos have around 2" of additional palm length to grow.

I can guarantee the wider bull will score AT LEAST 18 pts higher than the narrower bull....just from the fact that the wider bull has forked brows on both sides. The narrow bull only has forked brows on one side so his palm length is measured from the main beam instead of the gap between the brow points.

There are outrageous bulls that don't come close to making the B&C books due to having 1 or no forked brows. In fact, there are hardly ANY single brow bulls in the B&C books! Palm length is a big chunk of a moose score so it's important to have forked brows on both antlers! If you want B&C or nothing make sure you don't shoot a bull with one or 0 forked brows! On my shiras hunt a few years ago I passed up several bulls that looked totally outrageous because they didn't have forked brows. They were A LOT more impressive than the bull I ended up getting but mine made B&C. You may want to think about this before you start your hunt...whether you would rather shoot a great looking bull with a single brow or wait for a bull w/forked brows on each side....that will score higher.
 
Very good explanation on moose antlers jims!
Many years ago I took a Wyoming bull based on looks, not score. He was an 8 year old bull with long dagger brows. Neither one forks so he falls short of the record book.
Regardless, he still adorns the wall of my family room and regularly puts a smile on my face.
It's pretty hard to find any good Shiras bull now days, but best of luck. I would not pass on any bull that makes you happy.
 
Sounds like a great bull Littlebighorn! I saw a whopper bull here in Colo a few days ago that will likely have close to a 50" spread, likely 12 pts on one side 10 on the other, with 11" wide palms. He only had a spike on one side and won't make B&C. Boy was he ever impressive! In fact I would likely not pass him up unless I had my eye on an impressive booner. That bull reminded me a lot of a bull I saw at the taxidermist. The giant bull w/spike brow dwarfed my B&C bull and my bulls rack literally fit inside the other rack. The other rack didn't come close to making B&C. Mine has forked brows WAY out on the tip of the brows which add 12"/side (24 inches) to the palm length measurement.

It's kindof a shame that B&C scores rely almost entirely on forked brows! There are GIGANTIC single brow bulls that don't make it. I wouldn't exactly call these "lesser bulls" because they have a spike? If hunters are picky about making B&C they are passing on spike brow bulls and leaving genetics for spikes in the herd. I imagine if states want to manage for "B&C" genetics they ought to have tags available only for bulls w/spike brows (management bulls)?
 
Again jims, you are dead on!

My bull was everything I was hoping for and more. He was 44" wide with 13" palms, but only 8 long points to a side. Most of the bulls in his area carried similar dagger brow genes. My friend took a bull from the same unit a few years later that looked like a grandson of my bull. I am guessing that is a direct result of years of hunters seeking "book" scoring bulls.

All of my young hunting years I dreamed of getting my name in "the book". Then I had an amazing string of good fortune, scoring on two "book" animals in one year. Since then, I have come to realize that while my "book" animals rank high in my favorites, they hold no more cherished memory than other lesser scoring animals. In fact most of my favorite trophies don't even approach "book" status.

Now days I am more prone to judge trophy status by the challenge of the experience, rather than by tape measure results.
 
Do you guys know the tip to tip average from ear to ear on Shiras moose? Trying to get better at judging their width.
 
Not sure but I have read 9-10 inches eyeball to eyeball. In these pictures I used that as a guide and I think it is pretty accurate.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-28-13 AT 06:34PM (MST)[p]For what it is worth, my mounted shiras moose is 9.5" eye ball to eye ball and 26" ear tip to ear tip.
It has been on my wall since 1996, so if anything it may have shrunk a bit. Regardless, that gives you an idea.(for reference purposes, my bull mount has ears laid out rather than upright.)

I was actually surprised at those measurements, since a moose is so much bigger than a mule deer with not that much smaller ear measurements.
 
My bull's ear to ear measurement is only 23". My bull's ears are more in an upright, alert pose so they are narrower than if extended outward. I've never liked using eyes, ears or head measurements to judge antlers or horns. Similar to people a buck or bull may have a stubby nose, shorter ears, smaller eyes, etc.

I wouldn't get too terribly caught up with antler spread...although if you look at the B&C books there aren't too many shiras bulls that make minimums with less than a 40" spread. The difference in a mediocre spread bull with 38" and a relatively wide shiras bull with a 44" spread is only 6" of score. That's 6" out of 140" total that makes minimum B&C. If a bull has forked brows on both sides he may have 38" palms. Without forked brows the same bull msy have 28" palms. That would be 76 vs 56 pts with forked vs spike brows.....or a difference in score of 20 pts! Obviously if you want to make B&C a bull pretty much has to have everything.
 
Thanks for all the advice and tips. Sounds like forked brows are pretty important. As for width I am just looking for average measurements to help judge width on such a big animal. My buddy has a shiras tag here in Utah and I am trying to help him judge a few bulls we are watching. Nothing too big yet though.
 
Forked brows ARE very important in B&C score, however the main beam is not the termination point for palm length on a moose with a spiked brow.

The correct method is using the longest line parallel with the inside edge of palm starting from a dip between top points. The measurement is taken on the backside of antler and must stay on antler(unlike when measuring an antler with forked brow which can cross an open bay)and can terminate on spiked brow. In many cases there will be some credit given in length on the spike brow, however usually not much.

This info is found in the B&C Field Guide to Measuring and Judging Big Game.
 
Okay growth is done help me out with this one. How wide is he and how long would palm measurements be? How about that Dewlap?

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Utah genetics yes moose resides in Colo. Transplanted In the 70s and expanded greatly since then.
 
Verry nice can we have them back? We will trade you for Turkeys, or White fish. Sorry we dont have any deer to trade and you already have more elk than us so how bout it.
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-13 AT 07:30AM (MST)[p]I would guess his palm length around 32ish" and his spread around 42-45ish". He's got forking brows, so that is good, and a good amount of scorable points. His circumference looks to be around 6.5". Looks like a younger bull that could be a hoss someday. As is I'll be he's somewhere in the 150-160" range.
 
I live in british Columbia and that's a good bull. Stop worrying about score on what I assume is a once in a life time or many many years draw. And assuming that your side view mirror from your truck is in the one photo. I would shoot him even more as he is close to the road:):)

BHB
 
Trust me score is a very small piece of it all. Yes we are in the truck taking these pics but season is 2 days away. You did a great job of judging this bull I underestimated him. His body looks young to me compared to another bull I found.
 
I think he's a young bull with excellant potential. I'd say south of 155, but unless you are seeing better, he's certainly tag worthy.

Yelum

Theres logic, and theres women. They don't go together.
 
Chet thanks i will remember to compare the spread to a one quarter inch or one half inch cloth tape, smart ass.
 
:)
kill that pig! hopefully he's inseminated more than a few slutty cows!! he's young and has awesome potential!
 
Well, great looking bull, trophy for sure.
witdth looks shy of 50" like around 48"
palms look around 30" long

Shoot him and put a tape on him. But mo mater the tape reads, that is a super once in a lifetime bull
Wish you luck on him

Bill
 

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